Chapter 124
Lily POV
He didn’t deny it.
“You know I have visions? Intuitions that tell me if danger is ahead? I used to have that for a while, but it wasn’t like this. There was no vision and I trailed off. “Gut instincts. I would sense danger or feel when something was off. But this I swallowed hard. “This is different. I saw it happen before it did p>
My uncle remained quiet.
I wanted to keep speaking when it hit me. my lips parted as I stared at him in horror. If my uncle knew about this, then he must have seen it before. Someone else must have experienced the same thing.
“You’ve seen this before,” I whispered
His eyes darkened but he didn’t say anything.
“You’ve known someone like this before,” I continued, my heart pounding faster.
He didn’t answer.
“My mom?” I started tentatively. “She was like this too p>
The look in his eyes told me everything I needed to know, and suddenly the tea in front of me seemed like the most important thing in the world. I wrapped my trembling hands around the warm cup, trying to anchor myself to reality as my world tilted on its axis once again. All those times I’d had “lucky guesses” or “bad feelings” about things – they hadn’t been coincidences at all. They were something else entirely, something I’d inherited from my mother.
His hands clenched into fists. His throat bobbed as he swallowed. Then in a low, grave voice, he finally said p>
“Yes. She did p>
The world seemed to shift beneath me.
I had spent years wondering about my mother, knowing so little about her, wishing I had more than just fragments of memories gotten from people in my former pack and then the constant dream of a woman in a art lab whose face I never saw.
And now, this.
She had visions. Just like I did.
She knew things before they happened.
And my uncle knew all along.
My stomach twisted. I felt like I was standing at the edge of something massive—something bigger than I ever imagined.
Something that, for better or worse, was about to change everything.
The dining room buzzed with lapped voices around us at the mess was cleaned up, but I barely noticed, I was too caught up with what my uncle had just revealed. There were so many questions I wanted to ask, so many things I needed to know, but for now, I just sat there, sipping my tea and wondering what other secrets about my mother-and myself – were yet to be discovered.
I couldn’t focus on my breakfast, pushing the food around my plate while stealing glances at my uncle. Questions burned in my mind, making it impossible to think about anything else. I needed to talk to him alone, to understand what was happening to me and why these visions were suddenly so vivid.
My mother—Harriet—had been like me. She had seen things before they happened. The realization shook me to my core, and I needed answers.
I needed to know everything.
As if reading my thoughts, my uncle suggested we take a walk after breakfast. Before I could agree, Celeste spoke up.
“You can walk within my lands,” she said, her voice carrying a note of authority. “It would be wise for you not to be seen with Lily elsewhere p>
My uncle’s brow furrowed. “Why is that p>
“It’s… complicated,” Celeste replied, but I understood what she wasn’t saying. She was trying to protect me from the pack’s gossip. Things were already tense enough with the Kai situation – I didn’t need curious pack members spreading rumors about my mysterious uncle too.
Just before we left, Celeste pulled me aside, her voice dropping to a whisper. “I’ll send a bird after you. It’ll keep its distance so you can have privacy for your discussion, but it’ll monitor you to make sure you’re safe and that you’re not being taken away p>
I nodded, grateful for her protection even as part of me wanted to laugh at the idea of my uncle being any kind of threat. But in our world, one cannot be too careful.
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Thanks, Cel p>
She squeezed my hand and let me go.
My uncle and I walked in silence for a good fifteen minutes, following a winding path through Celeste’s vast property. The land stretched endlessly before us, with patches of trees and wide-open fields. The occasional chirping of birds filled the quiet, but my mind was racing.
As we moved deeper into the woods and far from the house, I knew somewhere in the skies, Celeste’s birds were watching. I wasn’t afraid. Finally, unable to take the silence anymore. I turned to my uncle, realizing something absurd.
“Do you know I dodn’t even know your name p>
He threw his head back and laughed – a deep rich sound that surprised me. “You didn’t ask p>
“Honestly, I didn’t remember. It didn’t cross my mind that you’re supposed to ask that kind of thing when you meet people,” his laughter was contagious so I joined him.
“Fair enough,” he said. “I suppose I should have introduced myself properly from the start.” He turned to me, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “My name is Tobias Bennet – but Bennet is the name I gave myself personally. Our last name was too long and tedious p>
“Nightbane?” I said the name tentatively. “Grandpa Marcus was right p>
He nodded. “Tobias Nightbane from the Nightbane Pack p>
“Tobias,” I repeated testing the name on my tongue. It felt oddly familiar, like something I should have known all along.
Tobias nodded, his expression softening.
I hesitated before asking my next question. “And… my mother. Her name was Harriet, right p>
A soft sigh escaped his lips and his eyes mirrored pain and fondness at the same time.
“Yes,” he said quietly. “Harriet Nightbane. She was he paused, seeming to search for the right words. “She was the best werewolf who ever lived. Beautiful, inside and out. Strong, stubborn, and fierce. She was just like you, Lily. The same eyes, the same way she tilts her head like a sparrow if she doesn’t understand something. The same determination in your expression.” He swallowed hard, his voice dropping to a whisper. “You remind me so much of her. Sometimes when I look at you, it’s like seeing her ghost p>
A lump formed in my throat.
I had never known my mother. I had never even seen a picture of her. All I had were vague, half-formed memories mostly from my dreams that barely felt real.
I wanted to badly tell him about Alpha Gregory and Vanessa but it was my trump card to make sure I wasn’t been deceived.
Hearing Tobias talk about her—knowing that I looked like her, that I reminded him of her—made my chest ache in ways I couldn’t explain.
I wanted to know more.
I needed to know more.
“Tobias,” I said carefully, “can you tell me about her? About our family p>
He turned to me with a sad smile. “I will,” he promised. “But first, before I tell you everything I know, I need to make sure you’re okay p>
I frowned. “What do you mean p>
“You just had two visions in less than twenty-four hours,” Tobias said seriously. “Your body is reacting to something, and I need to be sure you’re not pushing yourself too hard p>
I wanted to argue, but he held up his hand.
“Before anything else, before I tell you what I know, let’s make sure you’re comfortable and well-seated. These aren’t easy things to hear standing up.” He gestured toward a garden bench nestled among blooming flowers. “Shall we p>
Reluctantly, I followed him.