Silent howl

Prologue: The Servant of Dhabathi Isabella’s world was nothing but shadows. For as long as she could remember, the harsh, unforgiving streets of Dhabathi Town had been her prison. The iron walls of the town, both physical and emotional, confined her to a life of silence, suffering, and servitude. She had been abandoned at seven an orphan with no memory of her past, no recollection of her true identity. Her past was a blur, a gaping hole in the fabric of her life that no amount of searching could fill. But that didn’t stop her from wondering who had left her to fend for herself in this cold, cruel world? And why? Her early years were nothing more than a haze of painful memories, a constant stream of abuse, loneliness, and neglect. Raised by the town’s rulers, Isabella had been treated like less than a human more like a shadow, a servant bound to an existence of scrubbing floors, washing dishes, and performing menial tasks. Never welcomed. Never loved. Her name, her identity, her worth they meant nothing to anyone here. And yet, Isabella held on to something, something deep inside that refused to be silenced. A whisper. “You are more than this.” That voice had been her constant companion since she was a child. Roy, a name she didn’t understand, a voice that echoed inside her mind like a faraway thunderclap. Sometimes it was gentle, coaxing her to keep going. Other times, it was sharp, almost urgent, as if warning her of something terrible to come. Roy was her only friend in this bleak existence, her only solace in a world that wanted to break her. But even Roy couldn’t stop the pain. It didn’t matter how much she tried to convince herself she was more than a servant, she was still forced to crawl through life in the shadows, unseen and unheard. Every day was the same: the harsh commands from her ‘masters,’ the cruel punishment for mistakes, the whispers of pity behind her back. No one cared for her. No one saw her. She was just a tool. A forgotten soul in a broken town. Yet, something about Isabella was different. Even though they tried to break her, she didn’t bend. She would never bend. She would never belong here. She couldn’t. But Isabella didn’t understand what it was that kept her alive, what was pushing her to survive, to fight. It was as if there was something inside her that kept whispering, urging her to keep searching. To keep moving. Something powerful, something old, that reminded her she wasn’t just a servant. She wasn’t just a forgotten child. There was more. In the quiet moments, when the world grew still, Roy’s voice became clearer. “You are destined for more.” Isabella didn’t know what that meant. She didn’t know who had spoken those words or why Roy had told her she was more. But as the days stretched into years, she began to believe it. It was the only thing that kept her from breaking. The thought that there had to be more to life than this. That there had to be a reason she was still here. And then, one night, everything changed. The rain fell in sheets, soaking the cobblestones of Dhabathi Town, turning the streets into rivers of mud. The wind howled, rattling the shutters of the humble house she served in. Isabella’s fingers were raw from cleaning, and her back ached from bending over the fire all day. She was just about to finish for the night when the heavy door to the mansion opened, and the cold, imposing figure of Alpha Mike Wulfric stepped into the room. She froze. Alpha Mike was a legend in Dhabathi Town a ruthless ruler who commanded fear and respect. His eyes were dark, his expression cold as the winter night. The stories of his brutal reign spread like wildfire through the town, and anyone who crossed him never lived to tell the tale. He had built his empire on violence, betrayal, and death. To Isabella, he was more than just an Alpha. He was a symbol of everything she despised. He was the embodiment of the suffering she’d endured untouchable, unfeeling, and cruel. He ruled with a hand of iron, with no care for the wolves beneath him. Yet, in the moment that their eyes locked across the room, Isabella felt something stir deep inside her. The world around her seemed to blur, the rain against the windows fading into nothing. Her breath caught in her throat. It was a feeling she couldn’t explain. A pull. A magnetism. She looked away, but it didn’t stop. It wasn’t physical attraction, not like what she had heard about in the whispers of the town. This was something deeper, primal, something she couldn’t control. She shook her head, willing herself to ignore it. “Don’t be weak,” Roy’s voice whispered inside her mind, more urgent now. “You have to fight it.” Isabella clenched her fists, her nails digging into the palms of her hands. She couldn’t afford to feel anything for him. Not for the man who represented everything that had broken her. She was no one’s mate. Alpha Mike stood still in the doorway, watching her with an intensity that sent a chill through her bones. She could feel the weight of his gaze, as if it were pressing into her very soul. There was something about the way he looked at her, as if he was seeing through all her walls, all her defenses. He opened his mouth, his voice low, like the growl of a wolf about to strike. “Who are you, little wolf?” Isabella didn’t respond. She couldn’t. Mike’s eyes narrowed, studying her with a mix of curiosity and something darker something that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She wasn’t sure whether she wanted to run or fight, but she knew one thing for sure: this man, this Alpha, was not just another tormentor. He was different. She could feel it. Something was about to change. But for better or worse, she couldn’t tell. As Mike turned to leave, Isabella’s heart hammered in her chest. That feeling, that spark, was still there, lingering like smoke in the air. She knew, in the deepest part of her soul, that this was the beginning of something far more dangerous than anything she had ever faced. Something she wasn’t prepared for. And yet… she couldn’t turn away from it. As the rain continued to pour outside, the weight of the storm pressing down on the town, Isabella’s mind raced. What had just happened? And why did it feel like the storm wasn’t just in the sky, but inside her too? Her fate had just changed forever.