Without a choice

g. There I was, lying on the same old metal bed, staring at the familiar cracks on the ceiling of my room at the orphanage

lled the air, laughing and playing in the courtyard. I used to be like them, but now, with my 18th birthday just b

akfast, one of the car

o pick up the brea

e handed me. It was a simple task, som

kery was always the same. I passed the cracked sidewalks and faded storefronts,

idewalk and glanced over my shoulder, but there was no one there. Just the empty street and the cold

y path. He was tall, with a stern appearance, dressed in a dark overcoat that s

as if my name wer

, clutching the bag

my name?" I asked, trying to s

anations here. They're co

as or what he wanted, but something abou

voice shaking despite my b

treets: a howl. It wasn't the sound of an ordinary dog. I

d and grabbed my arm f

on't lo

bread and started running. He guided me through narrow streets and alleyways, his steps quick an

ess, trying to make sense of why my

ully. My name is Kael, an

" I crossed my arms, s

th, as if carefully

belong to an ancient bloodline, destined to pro

ugh, but the sound came out

's it. I don't have a bloodline or a destin

ad and saw a wolf step out of the darkness. It was enormous, with thick

I whispered, my vo

itioned himself between me and the animal.

simply stood there, staring at me. I

like that?" I asked, tr

eplied, his gaze unwavering. "It knows wha

ead, taking

not any of that. I'm jus

if he'd expect

t, but the truth is a

the warehouse: footsteps. Many footsteps. I tu

oice was drowned out by the soun

ce. They didn't seem entirely human; there was something more to t

om inside his coat and

he said, not looking back at

rything erupt

ever seen before. Kael moved like he wasn't human either, taking down two men at once w

d touch me, something inside me erupted. A surge of energy coursed through my body, exploding outward like a

e wolf, and even the attacke

?" I whispered, starin

spite the chaos

your true se