CHAPTER 211: HOPE’S FIRST CHOICE

HOPE POV

Uncle Caleb’s worried feelings hit me like a big wave. He was scared about something he remembered, something that would hurt the pack people who wanted to help us. I could feel his heart breaking as he looked at all the brave faces around us.

I tugged on his shirt with my tiny fingers. "Uncle Caleb, tell them the truth."

Everyone turned to stare at me. Sometimes I forgot that most kids don’t talk like I do. But being the bridge between places means I understand things that are hard to say.

"Hope," Uncle Caleb whispered, "if I tell them, they might not want to help anymore."

"Good people deserve to know the truth before they choose," I said simply. "That’s what makes their choice real."

Through our family bonds, I felt Mama’s surprise and Papa’s joy. Uncle Aiden and Uncle Brock felt confused but trusted me. Even though I looked like a baby on the outside, my uncles’ memories helped me understand grown-up things.

Uncle Caleb took a deep breath. "Hope’s right. You all deserve to know what really happens in this rite."

Elder Iris looked worried. "Caleb, please think about this."

"The aging won’t happen slowly," Uncle Caleb said, his voice shaking. "It happens all at once, during the rite. Some of you might not just get older - you might turn to dust immediately."

The pack gasped. I felt their fear spike through the air like lightning. Some people stepped backward. Others looked at their children with scared eyes.

But Luna surprised everyone by moving forward again. "How many of us would die?"

Uncle Caleb closed his eyes, accessing his court magic memories. "Maybe ten or fifteen of the oldest pack members. And anyone who’s already sick or weak."

Elder Iris nodded sadly. "I knew, but I hoped... I’m sorry. I should have been completely honest."

For a moment, nobody spoke. The weight of the choice pressed down on everyone like a big blanket.

Then something beautiful happened. Old Mrs. Peterson, who was maybe eighty years old, hobbled forward with her walking stick.

"I volunteer to be first," she said strongly.

"Mrs. Peterson, no!" her grandson cried. "You’ll die!"

"Child, I’m already dying," she said with a gentle smile. "My bones ache every morning, and I can barely see anymore. But if my last act can help build a world where omegas are valued and alphas learn kindness, then my long life will have meant something important."

Other old wolves stepped forward too. Mr. Harrison, who’d been facing a sickness for months. Grandmother Willow, who could barely walk. Ancient Tom, who was possibly ninety and had outlived all his children.

"We’ve lived full lives," Grandmother Willow said. "Let our years buy the young ones a better future."

I felt tears on my cheeks as their brave hearts touched mine through the pack ties. But I also felt something else - a terrible wrongness in this answer.

"Wait," I said, my baby voice somehow getting across the clearing. "This isn’t right."

Everyone looked at me again. Mama held me tighter, probably worried I was about to say something that would make everything harder.

"Hope, sweetheart," Papa said gently, "sometimes adults have to make difficult choices to protect children."

"But you’re not protecting me," I said, standing up in Mama’s arms even though my baby legs were still wobbly. "You’re dying for me. That’s different."

Through the family ties, I could feel Uncle Caleb’s memories more clearly now. He’d seen this rite performed before, and it had worked. The gates had opened safely, and the world had been saved.

But the people who died in that rite had haunted him for centuries. He’d carried their faces through lifetime after lifetime, always wondering if there could have been another way.

"There’s always another way," I said, looking straight at him. "You taught me that in your memories."

"Hope, what are you thinking?" Uncle Aiden asked.

I took a deep breath, tapping power I’d never used before. Not the power to heal or to bridge realms, but the power to see all possible futures at once.

The visions hit me like a thunderstorm. I saw hundreds of different roads stretching out from this moment. In some, the pack did the ritual and many people died. In others, we gave up on the gates and I lost my power. In still others, we tried to find different answers and failed completely.

But there was one road that glowed brighter than all the rest. One option that nobody had thought of yet.

"I can do it differently," I stated, my voice getting stronger. "I can open the portals safely without anyone dying and without losing my power."

"How?" Elder Iris asked.

"By giving up something else instead."

The pack leaned forward, eager to hear my answer. But I hesitated, because what I had to sacrifice was something important to me.

"I have to give up my memories," I said quietly. "All of them. Every lifetime I’ve lived, every world I’ve saved, every family I’ve loved. I’ll become just a normal baby with normal baby thoughts."

Mama gasped. "Hope, no! Your memories make you who you are!"

"Do they?" I asked. "Or do my choices make me who I am?"

Through the ties, I felt my family’s confusion and fear. They didn’t understand what I meant.

"I’ve lived hundreds of lifetimes," I explained. "But in every single one, I’ve made the same choice - to help others even when it’s hard. That choice doesn’t come from my thoughts. It comes from my heart."

Papa stepped closer. "But sweetheart, if you give up your memories, you won’t know how to use your power properly. You might make mistakes."

"Then you’ll teach me," I said simply. "All of you. Mama will teach me about love. Papa will teach me about wisdom. Uncle Aiden will teach me about leadership. Uncle Brock will teach me about safety. Uncle Caleb will teach me about truth."

I looked around at the pack, feeling their hope growing like flowers in sunshine.

"And the pack will teach me about teamwork. About how different people working together are better than one person working alone."

"But what if you forget why equality matters?" Luna asked. "What if you grow up thinking the old ways were better?"

I smiled at her. "Then you’ll remind me. All of you will remind me, by living as examples of what’s possible when everyone is treated fairly."

The plan felt right in my heart. Instead of carrying the weight of centuries alone, I’d learn to be strong with help from people who loved me.

"I can do this," I said firmly. "I can open safe portals and keep my power, but I’ll need to learn how to use it all over again."

Elder Iris studied me with old eyes. "Child, are you sure? Once those memories are gone, they’re gone forever. You’ll never remember the worlds you’ve saved or the people you’ve helped."

"I’ll make new memories," I said. "Better ones. Memories of growing up in a pack where everyone counts."

The clearing fell silent as everyone considered my suggestion. It was a huge risk. Without my centuries of experience, I might not know how to handle my power when really dangerous situations came up.

But through the family bonds, I felt something that made my choice final. I felt love. Not just from my dad and uncles, but from the whole pack. They weren’t just willing to die for me - they were willing to live for me, to help raise me right, to teach me everything I’d need to know.

"I choose to give up my memories," I revealed. "But I need everyone to promise something first."

"What?" Mama asked.

I looked around at all the faces - alpha, beta, and omega dogs standing together as equals.

"Promise that if I forget why this matters, you’ll show me. Promise that if I start thinking some people are worth more than others, you’ll tell me that everyone has value. Promise that you’ll help me grow up to be someone who chooses love over fear, even when love is harder."

"We promise," the pack said together, their voices forming a harmony that made my heart sing.

I nodded and gathered my power, preparing to open the ritual that would sacrifice my memories to make safe portals.

But just as I began, Uncle Caleb grabbed my arm.

"Wait!" he said quickly. "Hope, I just accessed another memory. There’s something about this rite you don’t know."

"What?" I asked, though part of me was afraid to hear the answer.

His face went white with fear. "Giving up your memories doesn’t just make you forget the past. It makes you forget how to control your power totally. You’ll have full strength but no idea how to use it safely."

The pack murmured in fear. I felt their fear spike again.

"What does that mean?" Papa demanded.

Uncle Caleb’s voice was barely a whisper. "It means Hope could accidentally destroy our entire world the first time her power triggers. One baby tantrum could crack reality itself."

I stared at him, realizing the horrible truth. My answer wasn’t better than the others - it was worse. Much worse.

And I’d already started the process. I could feel my memories starting to fade around the edges.

"How do we stop it?" Mama cried.

"We can’t," Elder Iris said sadly. "Once begun, this ritual must be completed."

As my first memories started disappearing, I looked up at my family with growing fear.

"I don’t remember how to control what happens next," I whispered.

And then my power exploded outward in all directions, completely wild and uncontrollable.