Chapter 4
1087 Words
CHAPTER 4
The Secret Beneath the Gray Stone
Criliah couldn't breathe.
She stared at Rhaevan, unable to understand the words he had just spoken.
Your wolf isn't missing.
She's sleeping.
For twelve years, she had believed there was nothing inside her.
No wolf.
No power.
No place among the Lycans.
And now a stranger was standing in her room, telling her that everything she had ever believed about herself was a lie.
"What do you mean?" she finally whispered.
Rhaevan didn't answer.
His attention remained fixed on the broken window.
The night wind swept through the room, disturbing the curtains.
"Rhaevan."
He turned toward her.
"Did you hear what I said?"
"Yes."
"Then explain it."
His golden eyes softened slightly.
"I can't."
Criliah's brows furrowed.
"You just told me my wolf is sleeping."
"Because that's what I sensed."
"Sensed?"
He nodded.
"Every Lycan has a presence connected to their wolf. Even before they shift for the first time, an Alpha can feel the strength of another wolf."
Criliah looked down at her hands.
"Then why can't anyone feel mine?"
"Because it's hidden."
"By whom?"
Rhaevan's silence answered before his words did.
"I don't know."
Criliah shook her head.
"No. You know something."
"I know enough to tell you that your family cannot learn about this."
"My family?"
"Especially your father."
Her chest tightened.
"Why?"
Rhaevan stepped closer.
"Because if the Valeriennes discover that you're not wolfless..."
He paused.
"They won't see you as their unwanted daughter anymore."
Criliah stared at him.
"What will they see?"
Rhaevan's eyes darkened.
"A threat."
---
The following morning, Criliah barely remembered sleeping.
The broken window had been repaired before sunrise.
There was no sign that anything had entered her room.
No footprints.
No blood.
Nothing.
Only the faint cracks covering her Moonstone.
She hid the pendant beneath her clothes before leaving for class.
When she arrived at the academy, something immediately felt wrong.
Students were gathered around the courtyard.
Whispers traveled through the crowd.
"Did you hear?"
"Something entered the academy last night."
"The guards found traces of dark magic."
Criliah stopped.
Her heart began beating faster.
Then she heard another voice.
"They said someone attacked a student."
She looked around.
Someone?
Her fingers instinctively touched the Moonstone.
A strange warmth spread through her palm.
Then—
"Criliah!"
She turned.
A girl from her class hurried toward her.
Her name was Elara.
Unlike most students, Elara had never mocked Criliah.
"What happened?" Criliah asked.
Elara lowered her voice.
"They're searching everyone's belongings."
"Why?"
"They think the creature that entered the academy left something behind."
Criliah's blood ran cold.
"What kind of something?"
"No one knows."
Before Criliah could answer, a bell rang.
A group of instructors entered the courtyard.
"All students are to report to their classrooms immediately!"
The crowd began moving.
Criliah followed Elara.
But as she passed one of the instructors, she felt something strange.
The man suddenly looked directly at her.
His eyes narrowed.
For one brief second, Criliah felt as though he could see straight through her.
Then he looked away.
She continued walking.
But a cold sensation remained in her stomach.
---
That afternoon, Criliah was summoned to the headmaster's office.
She stood before the massive wooden desk, hands clasped tightly.
Headmaster Arven studied her.
"Criliah Valerienne."
"Yes, Headmaster?"
"You were present in the academy courtyard yesterday when the disturbance occurred."
"Yes."
"Did you see anything unusual?"
Criliah hesitated.
She remembered Rhaevan.
The creature.
The glowing Moonstone.
She shook her head.
"No."
The headmaster watched her carefully.
"You are certain?"
"Yes."
He leaned back.
"Very well."
Criliah turned to leave.
"One more thing."
She stopped.
"Yes?"
"Your necklace."
Her hand immediately moved toward her chest.
"What about it?"
"May I see it?"
Her heart pounded.
Rhaevan's warning echoed in her mind.
Don't let them know.
Criliah forced herself to remain calm.
"It's just a family necklace."
"I asked to see it."
She slowly reached beneath her collar.
But before she could remove the pendant—
CRASH!
The office doors suddenly burst open.
A young instructor stumbled inside.
"Headmaster!"
Arven immediately stood.
"What happened?"
"Someone has been found unconscious near the northern forest."
The headmaster's face changed.
"Who?"
The instructor swallowed.
"One of the academy guards."
Silence.
Then the instructor added:
"There were claw marks on the trees."
Criliah's blood ran cold.
The same creature.
It was still nearby.
---
That evening, Criliah didn't return to her dormitory.
Instead, she slipped through a side entrance and headed toward the northern forest.
She didn't know why.
Perhaps she wanted answers.
Perhaps she wanted to prove to herself that she wasn't afraid.
Or perhaps the strange voice inside her had begun calling again.
Come.
Criliah stopped.
"Who's there?"
The forest remained silent.
Come.
She followed the voice.
Deeper.
And deeper.
Until she reached a clearing illuminated by moonlight.
At the center stood an enormous ancient tree.
Its bark was covered with strange symbols.
Criliah stepped closer.
The moment her fingers touched the trunk—
WHOOM!
Silver light erupted from the tree.
She stumbled backward.
The Moonstone around her neck began glowing brighter than it ever had before.
The symbols on the tree illuminated one after another.
Then a voice echoed through the clearing.
Not Rhaevan's.
Not human.
Ancient.
"The blood of the First Moon has returned."
Criliah froze.
"What?"
The voice continued.
"The child who was hidden."
The silver light intensified.
"The child without a wolf."
Criliah's breath caught.
"Who are you?"
The tree began to crack.
A symbol appeared beneath her feet.
A crescent moon surrounded by a crown.
Criliah stared at it.
Then—
a howl thundered through the forest.
She spun around.
Rhaevan stood between the trees.
His expression was furious.
"What are you doing here?"
"I—I heard a voice."
"You shouldn't have come."
"Why?"
Rhaevan looked at the glowing symbol beneath her.
His face went pale.
"Because now they know where you are."
Criliah's heart dropped.
"Who?"
Rhaevan stepped toward her.
"The ones who have been hunting your bloodline for centuries."
A branch snapped somewhere behind them.
Rhaevan immediately turned.
His golden eyes flashed.
"Stay behind me."
Criliah obeyed.
From the darkness came several pairs of crimson eyes.
One.
Two.
Five.
Ten.
They surrounded the clearing.
Rhaevan's claws emerged.
His aura exploded into the night.
Criliah stared at the creatures approaching them.
Then the voice beneath the ancient tree whispered one final message.
"Wake, little moon."
The Moonstone shattered.
And for the first time in twelve years—
Criliah heard her wolf breathe.
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