HOW MY FATHER BECAME A WEREWOLF (THE UNKNOWN IS HIS FATHER)

Chapter 3 : Secrets in the Dark

Secrets in the Dark

The attic had always been a place of dusty memories and forgotten relics, a part of the house Aiden rarely ventured into. It was a small, sloped room with cobwebbed corners and floorboards that creaked with every step. Boxes of old clothes, photo albums, and forgotten toys lined the walls like the silent witnesses of generations past.

But today, curiosity overpowered caution. Liam had left the house early, claiming errands in town, and Aiden found himself drawn to the attic by a restless energy he couldn’t explain. It was as if the room itself was calling to him.

He climbed the narrow staircase, the wooden steps groaning under his weight. Dust motes danced in the slanting sunlight from the small attic window, and for a moment, everything seemed ordinary.

Then he saw it.

A trunk, unlike the others, sat in the far corner. It was carved from dark, heavy wood, adorned with intricate symbols of wolves, crescent moons, and swirling patterns that seemed almost alive in the dim light. The edges of the trunk were worn, the metal clasps tarnished with age. Something about it drew him closer, a sense of inevitability that he couldn’t ignore.

Aiden knelt before it, brushing away layers of dust. The carvings felt strange under his fingertips, as if they pulsed faintly with life. He lifted the lid slowly, half-expecting a cascade of moths to fly out. Instead, the contents seemed almost ceremonial: a bundle of letters tied with a faded ribbon, a leather-bound journal, and a silver pendant shaped like a wolf’s paw.

He picked up the letters first, feeling the weight of years in the fragile paper. The handwriting was elegant, flowing, and completely unfamiliar. As he read the first one, his heart began to race.

“Liam, the blood of our family carries a power both magnificent and cursed. One day, you must understand it, for the strength you inherit comes with burdens unseen. Never forget what has been lost, and what must be protected.”

Aiden’s hands trembled. The letter was old

decades, maybe more but the warning in it was clear. He flipped through more letters, each revealing fragments of a story he had never known: a legacy of power, of wolf blood, and a man he had never met his grandfather.

The pendant caught his eye next. Silver, shaped like a wolf’s paw, it seemed to hum faintly against his skin. He held it close, feeling an inexplicable connection, as if it were calling to him.

A noise made him jump.

“Ah… so you found it.”

Aiden spun around to see Liam standing in the attic doorway, hands in his pockets, his face unreadable. “Dad! You scared me!” Aiden exclaimed.

Liam stepped closer, his expression a mix of resignation and something heavier, almost sorrowful. “I suppose it was inevitable. You were bound to discover the truth eventually.”

“The truth? What is all this?” Aiden asked, gesturing to the letters and pendant. “Why didn’t you ever tell me about about any of this?”

Liam sighed, running a hand over his face. “Some things in our family… are dangerous. Knowledge comes with consequences. I wanted to protect you while I could.”

“But what is it? What do these letters mean? And this pendant?”

“It means,” Liam began slowly, “that you come from a long line of… extraordinary people. People who carry the blood of wolves. And that blood doesn’t sleep forever. It awakens when it must, and sometimes, it awakens too early.”

Aiden staggered back as if struck. “You’re saying what exactly?”

Liam looked away, his voice low. “It means that our family has a curse, a legacy that you were never meant to know so soon. But now you do. And soon… it may begin to awaken in you.”

The words hung in the air, heavy and suffocating. Aiden felt a mixture of fear, disbelief, and a strange, aching curiosity. His father always human, always the man who made pancakes, told bedtime stories, and laughed like nothing could touch him was hiding something monumental. And now, that hidden world was clawing its way into Aiden’s life.

He picked up the journal next. Its pages were filled with detailed accounts, sketches of wolves, symbols, and strange diagrams. One page stood out: a sketch of a man, muscular, with piercing eyes, standing beneath a full moon. “Grandfather,” Aiden whispered.

“Your grandfather,” Liam said quietly, appearing at his side, “is… a complicated man. A man who made choices that reverberated down through generations. Choices that brought this curse upon our family.”

Aiden’s mind swirled. “He… he’s the reason our family carries this? Why you why all of this is happening?”

Liam nodded slowly. “Yes. And there are things you need to understand if we are to survive what is coming.”

Aiden swallowed hard. “And what exactly is coming?”

Liam hesitated, then reached for the pendant in Aiden’s hand. “That,” he said, “is the key. Our bloodline, our instincts, and our enemies they all converge here. One day, you will need it. But for now… you must learn patience.”

Aiden frowned, frustration and fear mixing in a tight knot in his chest. “I’m nineteen, Dad! I don’t want patience. I want answers!”

Liam let out a low chuckle, the kind that carried both amusement and melancholy. “Patience is a lesson many in our family have ignored, only to regret it. You have time… for now. But soon, time will not be a luxury you can afford.”

The room was silent except for the wind rattling the attic window. Dust swirled around them like restless spirits. Aiden stared at his father, trying to reconcile the man he knew with the man now standing before him a man who carried secrets that spanned lifetimes.

“Dad… are you.... are you going to change?” Aiden asked, the words almost a whisper.

Liam’s expression darkened. “I don’t know. But I fear it may begin soon. And when it does you need to be ready.”

The weight of the moment pressed down on Aiden. He had always imagined adventures, mysteries, and even danger, but never like this. His life the life he had known as ordinary, safe, predictable was gone. Replaced by a world he didn’t yet understand, ruled by instincts, bloodlines, and the pull of the unknown.

Later, as they sat together at the kitchen table, the pendant between them, Liam spoke quietly, almost to himself. “We will need allies. Friends who understand, who can be trusted. And you, Aiden… you must decide who you can trust, and who you cannot. Not everyone will be as they seem.”

Aiden’s mind raced. His thoughts drifted to Isla, to the town, to the forest beyond their home. He realized that trust was more fragile than he had imagined, and that the line between friend and foe could be blurred by secrets he could barely comprehend.

“You said our bloodline awakens,” he asked finally. “What happens when it does?”

Liam’s eyes glimmered, haunted and wise. “Strength, speed, senses beyond human understanding. But also hunger. Instincts that may conflict with the person you want to be. You must master it, or it will master you.”

Aiden shivered. It was thrilling, terrifying, and beautiful all at once. The unknown stretched before him like the endless forest outside their window dark, full of life, and pulsing with secrets.

As night fell, the shadows of the attic seemed to move with a life of their own. Aiden held the pendant close to his chest, feeling the warmth of the silver against his skin. The forest whispered in the distance, carrying with it a sense of inevitability, a promise that the ordinary life he had known was gone forever.

He realized that tomorrow, perhaps even tonight, the first step into that legacy would begin. And whether he was ready or not, he would be pulled along, drawn into the shadows, the secrets, and the ancient bloodline that was his inheritance.

Aiden closed his eyes, heart pounding, wondering if he had the courage to face what was coming

and whether his father could survive the change that was fast approaching.

The pendant glimmered faintly in the moonlight, as if acknowledging his fear, his hope, and the adventure that was only just beginning.