The disclosure lingered in the stale air of the empty warehouse. Lycan. His father. The term repeated in Damien's mind, a key fitting into a vault of half-formed memories and unexplainable instincts. The silver in Coralia's hair was more than a freak of nature; it was a physical indicator of a family drenched in old power.
Sheriff Stilinski gazed at Coralia, his expression a mask of shock. "Lycan? Like… a werewolf?"
Coralia's eyes were keen. "Different, Sheriff, but much older and stronger. Werewolves are usually made, their mutations caused by a bite. Lycans are born. Their power is in their being, their changes mastered, their bond to the wolf stronger and deeper." She returned to Damien, her blue eyes blazing. "Your father was a pureblood Lycan, Damien. A member of a line that goes back centuries."
Damien experienced a rush of something primal inside him, an awareness of the power that had awakened within him while he fought Peter, the instinctual knowledge of the wolf that had dictated his actions. It wasn't merely Leo's meta-knowledge; it was something imprinted upon his very essence.
"And you?" Damien asked, his question infused with a hopelessness for knowing. "You said you were connected.
Coralia's face softened, a touch of sorrow in her eyes. "My own family is. complicated. Let us just say I am tied to the Lycan bloodline, with certain obligations." She glanced at Scott, a touch of fear in her eyes. "Obligations that are growing increasingly. problematic.
Scott. Reeling from the evening's revelations, and now confronted with this. This new deluge of unbelievable. Information. Only. Staring. His mind trying to comprehend the presence. Of not one, but two different types. Of were. Creatures.
"The Alpha," Damien said, interrupting the blank silence. "Peter Hale. Is he dangerous to… Lycans?"
Coralia's face. Darkened. "Peter Hale is a new Alpha, fueled by anger and ambition. He has no control, no comprehension. To a pureblood Lycan, he would be… nothing." Her eyes again fell upon Damien, a warning spark in them. "You are not yet a pureblood in your own mind, Damien. Your Lycan nature has been dormant, your human mind in charge.". He might be a threat to you, particularly in your present state of awakening."
"Awakening?" Damien repeated.
"The death trauma, the rebirth, the closeness to another werewolf shift – it has awakened your Lycan blood," Coralia said. "You will undergo changes, urges you don't recognize. You will be susceptible until you master your power."
Sheriff Stilinski, given the sheer ridiculousness of the discussion, experienced a chill of fear settle in his belly. The animal attacks, Scott's shifting, and now this… mention of ancient lines and rogue Alphas. His little town was quickly becoming a hub of something awful.
"Why meet here?" Damien asked, sweeping his arm over the vacant warehouse. "Why where mountain ash cannot touch?"
Coralia's gaze turned grave. "Because there are other forces at play in Beacon Hills, Damien. Forces far older and more dangerous than a newly turned Alpha. Forces that are drawn to power, and repelled by the natural order that mountain ash represents." Her eyes flickered towards the shadows within the warehouse, a hint of fear in their depths. "Forces that are already aware of your arrival."
A chill ran through Damien's spine. The coded messages, the purposeful meetup site… it wasn't merely a case of Peter Hale. There were other, invisible forces at work here.
"What kind of forces?" Damien insisted.
Coralia slowed, her eyes darting back and forth around the warehouse. "Ancient ones. Ones that feed on chaos and terror. Ones that have lain dormant for centuries, but are now awakening." She brought her voice down to a whisper. "The Darach… it has come back to Beacon Hills."
Leo's memories crashed into Damien like a physical impact. The vengeful druid, warping nature's force to her own sinister ends. The mounting animal attacks, the murders targeting particular groups… everything fell into place.
"The animal attacks… the sacrifices." Damien gasped, a chill of horror gripping his heart.
Coralia nodded sternly. "It has started. And your coming, Damien, your awakening… it has added another factor into the equation. You are a wild card, a force they didn't see coming."
Sheriff Stilinski's expression was pale. "Sacrifices? What are you speaking of?"
Coralia faced him, her face serious. "Sheriff, the world of the supernatural is not one of easy heroes and monsters. There are old laws, old powers that date back even to the Lycans. And when those powers are raised by darkness and revenge." She left the sentence hanging, her eyes heavy with warning.
The seriousness of Coralia's words hung heavy in the stillness of the warehouse. Damien, stunned by the discovery of his lineage and the impending danger of the Darach, felt his world rock beneath him. He was no longer just a reincarnated enthusiast. He was a Lycan, a descendant of an ancient lineage, flung into the midst of a centuries-old supernatural war far greater and more perilous than he could have ever conceived. And the mysterious messages, the clandestine meetings, the quiet whispers in the shadows – they were all leading towards a struggle for the heart of Beacon Hills, a struggle he was now helplessly a part of. The game had actually started, and the stakes were higher than he could ever imagine.