ORIGIN OF THE PACT (THREE)

The memories didn’t just play in Jax’s head—they consumed him.

They ran like a broken tape, over and over, dragging him through everything she had felt. The pain. The suffocating insecurity. The raw, uncontrollable fear of herself.

That night… she hadn’t wanted to transform.

She hadn’t had control.

And when she came back to her senses… all she saw was destruction—what she had done. What she could have done to him.

So she ran.

Not out of guilt.

But out of fear… that next time, she wouldn’t stop.

“You… you weren’t lying,” Jax muttered, his voice low and unsteady as the memories finally released him and he returned to the present.

Elena just stared at him.

She had calmed down now, her body no longer trembling, her form fully human again. But her expression was painfully exposed. Vulnerable in a way she clearly hated.

“I thought you’d assume the memories were fake,” she said quietly.

She pushed herself off him and stood, brushing off her clothes like she could wipe away everything that had just been seen.

Jax followed, rising to his feet, his gaze still locked on her.

“Fake memories have flaws,” he said, voice steadier now, but not cold. “Gaps. Contradictions.”

He paused, his eyes narrowing slightly.

“And you forget… I’m an Alpha. I can see those things.”

Elena let out a hollow smirk, leaning her weight back against the wall.

“Yeah…” she muttered. “I forgot you aren’t my Jax anymore.”

That one landed heavier than anything else.

Jax exhaled slowly, dragging a hand down his face.

There were too many questions. Too many things he wanted—needed—to ask.

But he didn’t have the luxury.

“My pack comes first,” he said finally.

He looked back at her then.

And for the first time, his eyes weren’t empty.

They weren’t soft either, but something had shifted. Something human.

“Elena… I need your help.”

A beat.

“My pack is in deep trouble. If you don’t help… they’re done.”

Elena’s gaze lingered on him.

There was something in her eyes—something deep, complicated, unnamed.

She sighed.

“If I share my power with your entire pack,” she said slowly, choosing her words carefully, “can you guarantee they’ll handle it?”

Her eyes sharpened slightly.

“You know as well as I do… most of them won’t. Power like that doesn’t just strengthen people—it twists them.”

Jax clenched his jaw.

His fists tightened at his sides.

“I’m backed into a corner,” he muttered under his breath. “What the hell am I supposed to do…?”

For a moment, Elena just watched him.

And then—

A flicker.

A memory.

A younger Jax. Reckless. Stubborn. Human.

A small, genuine smile tugged at her lips.

“…at least not all of you is gone,” she whispered.

She straightened slightly, her expression shifting as she thought.

“…there is another way,” she said after a pause.

Jax looked up immediately.

“What way?”

“They made a contract with a celestial,” she replied. “So we make our own.”

Jax blinked, caught off guard.

“…how?” he asked.

His voice carried disbelief now.

“To even approach a celestial, you need their favor. And even then,” he shook his head, “the price is never small. Not for the kind of power we’re asking for.”

Elena’s expression dimmed slightly.

“I know.”

She looked away for a moment before continuing.

“During one of my… adventures, I met a sage. She had the favor of the great Khali.”

Her voice softened slightly, more reflective now.

“I trained under her for a while. She’s the reason I have even this much control over my powers.”

Jax stayed silent, listening.

“To gain that control,” Elena continued, “I had to earn Khali’s favor.”

Her fingers curled slightly.

“And the price… was part of my sanity.”

A faint, bitter smile appeared.

“My power didn’t just settle. It split. Became something else.”

Her eyes flickered.

“Something I can see. Argue with. Fight against.”

She let out a quiet breath.

“Honestly, it’s easier than being controlled by something you can’t even understand.”

Silence settled between them.

Jax thought it through.

Every risk.

Every consequence.

Then he nodded.

“Alright,” he said. “What do I need to do?”

Elena walked over and sat on the edge of the throne-side table, her posture relaxed, but her mind clearly wasn’t.

“Nothing,” she said simply.

Then she looked at him.

“Just be ready to lose something.”

A brief pause.

“I need time to speak to Khali,” she added. “By tomorrow morning, I’ll have her answer.”

Jax nodded.

And with that, they parted ways.

Elena returned to her cell, though now it was more of a formality. She could come and go as she pleased.

Jax went back to his chambers.

Neither of them slept easy.

Elena sat on the edge of her bed, the dim light of her cell barely touching her face.

She closed her eyes.

And slipped inward.

Her Kantar realm bloomed around her instantly.

A vast field of lavender stretching endlessly beneath a glowing purple sky. Beautiful. Calm.

Deceptive.

Because she wasn’t alone.

Her power stood before her, manifested in a humanoid form.

Smiling.

“Poor Elena,” it said, voice soft and mocking. “Still hopelessly in love with a man who’s already moved on.”

It tilted its head.

“And even now, you’re ready to throw everything away for him.”

Elena’s face didn’t change.

But her hand trembled.

“Shut up,” she said quietly.

Then, firmer—

“I want to speak to Khali.”

The entity’s grin widened.

“As you wish.”

Its form twisted.

Shifted.

The air grew heavy.

The sky darkened.

The lavender field trembled.

Khali.

Her presence pressed against everything.

Her glowing purple eyes locked onto Elena instantly, seeing through her.

“Are you certain, mortal?” Khali’s voice echoed. “What you seek will demand a great sacrifice.”

Elena swallowed.

Her chest tightened.

She closed her eyes.

Took a breath.

Then another.

Then she nodded.

“Yes,” she said.

Her voice was steady, but barely.

“I come as a representative of Jax’s pack.”

Her hands clenched.

“I want you to grant them your power.”

A pause.

“And in return…”

Her voice faltered.

“…I offer myself.”

Silence.

“My soul. My body. My mind… everything.”

“I will belong to you.”

Khali watched her.

Unmoving.

“You understand,” Khali said slowly, “that what you offer is absolute.”

“You will not die unless I allow it.”

The ground trembled.

“You will have no will of your own.”

The air tightened.

“You will exist only to serve.”

Elena’s breath shook.

Her body wanted to break.

To run.

To stop this.

But she didn’t.

“I understand,” she whispered.

And this time—

She didn’t hesitate.

“And that,” Hannah said, sitting cross-legged on the wooden bed, “was how the contract was made.”

The room was silent.

“And how the wolves gained the power they needed to defeat the humans.”

She looked at the others.

No one spoke.

Only shock