"They hunted me for days."
My mom's voice was calm now.
Too calm.
Like she had replayed this moment in her mind so many times that it no longer shook her.
"I was alone," she continued. "Injured. Carrying you."
I swallowed hard.
The image alone made my chest tighten.
"I couldn't fight them directly," she said. "Not all of them. Not in that condition."
"But you survived," I said.
She nodded.
"Because I refused to die."
A faint glow formed around her fingers again.
Soft.
But powerful.
"I used everything I had," she continued. "Magic… instincts… anything to stay alive."
Leona stepped closer.
"She didn't just survive," she said quietly. "She fought them off."
I looked at my mom differently.
Not just as my mother.
But as someone who had faced death… and won.
"But survival came with a cost," she added.
My chest tightened again.
"The colony found out."
I already knew what was coming.
"They didn't accept it," I said.
"No," she replied. "They didn't."
Her voice turned colder.
"To them, I had broken the most sacred rule."
"A witch carrying an Alpha's child…" Leona added.
"…was considered a betrayal," my mom finished.
Silence filled the room again.
"So they banished you," I said.
She nodded slowly.
"I lost everything that day."
Her eyes softened slightly.
"Everything… except you."
Before I could respond, Leona spoke again.
"And her mother."
I looked at her.
"Your grandmother," my mom explained. "She was the only one who stood by me."
A strange warmth filled my chest.
"She helped me survive," she continued. "Helped me raise you… from the shadows."
"And you?" I asked, turning to Leona.
She hesitated for a second.
Then stepped forward.
"I wasn't just sent to protect you randomly," she said.
My brows furrowed.
"Then why?"
Her eyes locked onto mine.
"Because I was chosen."
A chill ran through me.
"In every hundred years," she said slowly, "a witch is born with extraordinary power."
My heartbeat picked up again.
"And that witch is..."
"Me" Leona complete
The room felt different now.
Heavier.
Important.
"Your grandmother believed your existence would change everything," she continued.
"So she assigned me to you."
I stared at her.
"All this time…"
She nodded.
"I've been watching over you."
"Since when?" I asked.
"Since you were a child."
That hit differently.
Every strange feeling.
Every moment I thought I was alone.
I wasn't.
Outside, a low howl echoed through the night.
Long.
Deep.
And this time… closer.
I turned slowly toward the window.
The forest wasn't empty anymore.
Shapes moved between the trees.
Watching.
Waiting.
"They're not here to observe anymore," Leona said quietly.
"They're here for you."
My chest rose slowly.
But this time… I wasn't just afraid.
I was angry.
"So the man who sent them…" I said.
"…is my father."
No one answered.
They didn't need to.
My eyes hardened as I stared into the darkness.
"Then let them come."
My voice was steady now.
Different.
"I'm done running."
Outside…
The glowing eyes shifted.
And something deep inside me responded.
Not with fear.
But with power.
The Alpha in me… was waking up.