Chapter 7 A Warning In Blood

• I thought I was finally safe.
• Ronan gave me a room with a lock on the inside. His warriors didn’t glare at me anymore. Some even nodded when I passed. And the ache in my chest, the one left by Kai’s rejection, wasn’t as sharp as it used to be.
• But peace is a lie in my world.
• I was carrying a tray of fresh bread and berries up from the kitchen when the scent hit me.
• Blood.
• Not just any blood—mine.
• I dropped the tray. It crashed to the ground, berries scattering like spilled secrets. My heart pounded as I followed the scent, my steps quickening as I turned the corner near my room.
• The door was ajar.
• No.
• I hadn’t left it that way.
• I pushed it open slowly. The room was dim, the curtains drawn, but I saw it immediately.
• Someone had been here.
• My bedsheets were slashed. The mirror was cracked. But what made my stomach twist was the symbol smeared in blood across the wall above my bed:
• “RUN.”
• I stumbled back, pressing a hand to my mouth.
• Whoever had done this… knew me. Knew I’d recognize that scent.
• It was mine.
• The blood was old, dried, but unmistakably from me. From that night, I was dragged through the forest by my former pack, cast out like a disease. My wolf stirred restlessly under my skin.
• “Lupita?”
• Ronan’s voice cut through my panic.
• I turned, and there he was at the top of the stairs, golden eyes narrowing as he took in my expression. Then he moved, fast and silent, stepping into the room like a storm.
• His jaw tensed as his gaze scanned the damage, landing on the blood.
• He growled low. “Who let this happen?”
• I said nothing.
• He turned to me, his voice tighter now. “Did anyone touch you?”
• I shook my head. “No. I went to get food for ten minutes, maybe.”
• He stepped closer, his tone quieter but more dangerous. “This wasn’t just a warning. It was a threat.”
• I swallowed hard. “From whom?”
• “I don’t know yet. But if they think they can touch you in my territory, they’re wrong.”
• His words warmed me in a way I didn’t want to admit. But fear still coiled in my gut. “Ronan… What if it’s him? What if it’s Kai?”
• Ronan’s brows furrowed. “The Beta who rejected you?”
• I nodded.
• “I wouldn’t be surprised,” he muttered. “A fool like him wouldn’t know what to do with someone like you. But I do.”
• His words lingered in the air between us, heavy and impossible to ignore.
• That night, I couldn’t sleep.
• Even after Ronan had guards posted outside my door, even after he promised nothing would touch me again—I lay awake, staring at the cracked ceiling and hearing whispers in the dark.
• You don’t belong here.
• You’re cursed.
• You’re nothing.
• My fingers brushed the mark on my shoulder, the one I was born with, shaped like fire curling around a crescent moon.
• My aunt once said it was a bad omen. My uncle called it the devil’s brand. But Ronan… he hadn’t flinched when he saw it. He hadn’t turned away.
• Maybe that scared me more than anything.
• The next morning, Ronan was already waiting in the training yard.
• He didn’t speak at first. He just handed me a wooden staff.
• “You’re going to learn to fight,” he said.
• I blinked. “What?”
• “You said you didn’t want to be helpless again. Then don’t be.”
• I hesitated, then took the staff from his hand. “And you’re going to teach me?”
• His lips curled, just a little. “I don’t trust anyone else not to break you.”
• We trained until my arms ached and my palms stung. Every time I fell, he made me get up. Every time I faltered, he pushed me harder. But he never looked at me with pity, only focus, fire, and something else I couldn’t name.
• And at some point, something shifted in me.
• I stopped flinching.
• Stopped doubting.
• I started to fight back.
• By the time the sun began to set, my breathing was ragged and my shirt stuck to my skin. But there was pride in Ronan’s eyes when he looked at me. Not just approval.
• Respect.
• “You learn fast,” he said.
• “I have to,” I whispered. “If I don’t, I won’t survive.”
• He stepped forward, voice low. “You’re not just surviving anymore, Lupita. You’re becoming something dangerous.”
• Dangerous. Not cursed. Not broken.
• My heart thudded.
• But just when I thought maybe I could breathe, the darkness returned.
• When I got back to my room that night, something was waiting for me on the pillow.
• A torn scrap of fabric.
• Familiar. Faded. Stained.
• It was from the dress I wore the night Kai rejected me.
• My hands trembled as I picked it up. His scent clung to it like smoke and betrayal.
• I sat down slowly, the weight of it sinking into my lap like a stone.
• Kai was here.
• Or someone who wanted me to remember him.
• Either way…
• My past had followed me, and it wasn’t done destroying me yet.