CHAPTER 2
1070 Words
“Wake up, Elena. Please.”
Sara’s voice pulled me back from somewhere dark and heavy. I groaned softly, my head pounding as if I’d been hit by a truck. The smell of antiseptic filled my nose, sharp and clean, nothing like the gym’s mix of sweat and bleach.
I cracked my eyes open. White ceiling. Fluorescent lights. Infirmary.
“Oh thank God,” Sara breathed. Her face hovered above mine, mascara slightly smudged, eyes red like she’d been holding it together by pure will. “You scared the hell out of me.”
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. My throat felt dry, my chest sore in a way that went deeper than muscle. “How long was I out?”
“About twenty minutes.” She squeezed my hand. “The nurse said it was shock. Or exhaustion. Or… something.”
Something. Right.
I pushed myself up on the narrow bed, the thin blanket sliding down to my waist. My body felt strange. Not weak, exactly. If anything, I felt too aware. Every sound was louder. The ticking clock on the wall. Footsteps in the hallway. Even Sara’s heartbeat, steady and fast, like I could almost count it.
That wasn’t normal.
“I feel weird,” I admitted.
“No kidding. You collapsed in front of Caleb Sterling like you were in some dramatic TV show.” She rolled her eyes, but her voice shook. “Which, by the way, I will never forgive him for.”
At the sound of his name, my chest tightened.
Caleb.
The invisible thread snapped back into my awareness, tugging somewhere deep inside me. I winced, pressing a hand over my heart.
“Hey.” Sara frowned. “What is it? Does it hurt?”
“It’s… hard to explain.” I swallowed. “It’s like something woke up inside me.”
Her expression changed. Less joking. More serious. “Elena.”
The door creaked open before she could say more.
The nurse peeked in. “You’re awake. Good. How are you feeling?”
“Embarrassed,” I said honestly.
She smiled faintly. “Vitals are stable. But I’d like you to rest tonight. No work. No classes.”
“I can’t miss work,” I said automatically. “I need the hours.”
The nurse gave me a look that said she’d heard that excuse too many times. “Your health comes first.”
I nodded, even though we both knew that wasn’t how my life worked.
After she left, Sara leaned closer. “Okay. Talk to me. What really happened back there?”
I stared at my hands. They looked the same. Slim fingers, chipped nail polish from cleaning chemicals. Nothing about them screamed destiny or wolves or anything supernatural.
But inside?
“There was a voice,” I said quietly. “In my head.”
Sara didn’t laugh.
She just nodded slowly. “Okay.”
“It sounded… female. Strong. Calm. Like she’d been waiting.”
Sara sucked in a breath. “Elena, that sounds like—”
“I know what it sounds like,” I cut in, panic creeping up my spine. “But that’s not possible. I didn’t even shift until recently. And even then, nothing happened. No wolf. No pack. Nothing.”
“Not everyone’s awakening is dramatic,” she said gently. “Some people suppress it for years.”
“I didn’t even know I could suppress it,” I muttered.
Silence stretched between us.
Then Sara groaned. “I hate this place.”
“Silverwood?” I asked.
“No. The hierarchy. The way people like him get everything handed to them while you work yourself half to death just to exist.” Her jaw tightened. “And now this.”
As if summoned by her anger, the pull in my chest flared again.
Sharp. Insistent.
I gasped softly.
“Elena?” Sara grabbed my arm.
“He’s close,” I whispered before I could stop myself.
She froze. “Who?”
I didn’t answer.
The door opened again.
Caleb Sterling filled the doorway like he owned the room, broad shoulders tense under a clean hoodie, golden eyes sharp and searching. The moment his gaze landed on me, the air shifted.
Sara stood up instantly, positioning herself between us. “You’ve got some nerve.”
“I just want to know if she’s okay,” he said.
His voice was calm. Too calm. But I could see it now—the strain beneath it, the way his hands curled into fists at his sides.
I looked at him over Sara’s shoulder.
Our eyes met.
“Elena,” he said sharply.
Sara glanced back at me, then at him. “Don’t say her name like that.”
He ignored her. His gaze never left mine. “Are you sick?”
“No,” I said, surprising myself with the steadiness of my voice. “Just tired.”
Something flickered across his face. Disbelief. Fear.
Good. He deserved to be afraid.
“Then why did you react like that?” he pressed.
“Maybe because you enjoy intimidating people,” Sara snapped. “Ever think of that?”
Caleb’s jaw tightened. “This isn’t about you.”
“Everything is about me when my best friend collapses after you start staring at her like she’s a problem you need to erase.”
Erase.
The word hit too close to something raw.
“I’m fine,” I said quickly, not wanting this to escalate. “Really. You can go.”
He didn’t move.
The pull burned hotter, my chest aching, my skin buzzing. Inside my head, the voice stirred again.
He knows.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
“Go,” I repeated, more firmly.
For a moment, I thought he wouldn’t. Thought he might say something that would shatter whatever fragile control I had left.
Instead, he stepped back.
“Stay away from me,” he said suddenly.
My eyes flew open.
“What?” Sara scoffed. “Excuse you?”
Caleb’s gaze hardened, locking onto mine like a warning. “For your own good.”
Then he turned and walked out.
The door shut behind him with a soft click that somehow felt louder than a slam.
I stared at the empty doorway, my heart pounding.
“What the hell was that?” Sara demanded.
I shook my head slowly. “I don’t know.”
- Writer
