Chapter 2
1224 Words
CHAPTER 2
The Stranger in the Shadows
Years passed.
The little girl who had once stared at the gray Moonstone grew into a quiet child who had learned to live with the silence surrounding her.
Criliah was now twelve.
By then, she had stopped asking when her wolf would come.
She already knew the answer.
It wouldn't.
Every birthday, every Moon Ceremony, every time she watched another child discover their wolf, the truth became harder to ignore.
She was different.
And the world of Lycans had little patience for those who were different.
Still, there was one thing Criliah had always wanted.
A chance to see the world beyond the Valerienne estate.
That chance finally came when her father decided she was old enough to attend Lunaris Academy, the most prestigious school for young Lycans in the kingdom.
It was where the children of Alphas, Betas, warriors, and noble bloodlines were trained.
And it was also where everyone would learn exactly what Criliah was.
Wolfless.
---
The academy stood at the edge of the Silverpine Forest.
Its towers were built from black stone, covered in ancient runes that glowed faintly beneath the moonlight.
Hundreds of young Lycans filled the courtyard on Criliah's first morning.
Some shifted their eyes to wolf-gold.
Some allowed their claws to emerge as they trained.
Others proudly wore their pack insignias.
Criliah walked among them with her books pressed against her chest.
She tried not to look nervous.
She failed.
"That's her."
A whisper came from behind.
Criliah kept walking.
"The Valerienne girl."
"The wolfless one?"
"Yes."
Another voice laughed.
"Why would they even let someone like her attend?"
Criliah's fingers tightened around her books.
She had heard worse.
She could survive whispers.
At least, that was what she told herself.
Then someone stepped directly in front of her.
A tall boy with dark blond hair stood blocking her path.
His uniform carried the crest of the Blackfang Pack.
Two other students stood behind him.
"You're Criliah, aren't you?"
She nodded cautiously.
"Yes."
He smiled.
Not kindly.
"I heard you don't have a wolf."
The courtyard seemed to grow quieter.
Criliah lowered her eyes.
"So?"
The boy laughed.
"So you're useless."
One of his friends snickered.
"Careful. She might cry."
Criliah looked at them.
"I have somewhere to be."
She tried to walk around them.
The boy stepped sideways, blocking her again.
"Where?"
"Class."
"You think you're better than us?"
"No."
"Then prove it."
He reached for the book in her hands.
Criliah pulled it back.
"Give it to me."
"Why?"
"Because it's mine."
The boy grinned.
"Then take it."
He tossed the book onto the muddy ground.
Several students laughed.
Criliah stared at it.
Her face burned.
She slowly bent down to pick it up.
But before her fingers could reach it—
A foot stepped on the book.
The boy looked down at her.
"Say it."
Criliah frowned.
"Say what?"
"Say you're weak."
She remained silent.
"Say it."
"No."
His smile disappeared.
"What did you say?"
Criliah stood.
"I said no."
The boy's eyes flashed gold.
His wolf surfaced beneath his skin.
The air around him suddenly became heavy.
Several students stepped away.
"Maybe you need a lesson."
Criliah's heart pounded.
She had no wolf.
No supernatural strength.
No way to fight him.
Still, she refused to step backward.
"I didn't do anything to you."
"Your existence is enough."
His hand shot toward her.
But before he could touch her—
A cold voice cut through the courtyard.
"Enough."
Everyone froze.
The boy turned.
A stranger stood beneath the shadow of the academy's stone archway.
He wasn't wearing the academy uniform.
He appeared slightly older than the students, dressed in a dark cloak that concealed most of his features.
His face remained partly hidden beneath the hood.
Yet his eyes—
Criliah noticed them immediately.
Golden.
Not the ordinary gold of an Alpha wolf.
They were darker.
Sharper.
Almost luminous.
The bully's expression changed.
"Who are you?"
The stranger stepped forward.
"You don't need to know."
"This doesn't concern you."
"It does now."
The boy growled.
"Stay out of it."
The stranger's gaze hardened.
For a moment, the courtyard became completely silent.
Then an unfamiliar pressure swept through the air.
It wasn't loud.
It wasn't violent.
But every wolf present instinctively lowered its head.
Even the bully.
His face turned pale.
"What... are you?"
The stranger didn't answer.
He simply looked at the boy.
"Pick up her book."
The boy swallowed.
"What?"
"You heard me."
The command carried something unnatural.
Something that made the boy's knees weaken.
He immediately bent down, picked up the book, and handed it to Criliah.
She accepted it cautiously.
"Thank you."
The stranger looked at her.
Their eyes met.
For a strange moment, Criliah felt something inside her stir.
Not fear.
Not exactly.
It was a strange warmth beneath her ribs, like an old door inside her had suddenly been touched.
The stranger's expression changed too.
His eyes narrowed.
As though he had sensed something he couldn't explain.
Then he looked away.
"Go to class."
Criliah blinked.
"You saved me."
"No."
He turned.
"I merely stopped something that shouldn't have happened."
She watched him walk away.
"Wait!"
He stopped.
Criliah hurried after him.
"What's your name?"
The stranger remained silent for several seconds.
Then he glanced over his shoulder.
"Names are dangerous things."
Before she could respond, he disappeared through the archway.
Criliah stood there, confused.
Behind her, the students began whispering again.
"Who was that?"
"I've never seen him before."
"Did you feel that pressure?"
"His aura was terrifying."
Criliah looked toward the empty corridor.
For the first time in years, she had encountered someone who hadn't looked at her with pity.
He hadn't called her wolfless.
He hadn't treated her like she was broken.
He had simply helped her.
And somehow, that small act meant more than he could ever know.
---
That evening, Criliah returned to the Valerienne Manor.
Her mother noticed the dirt on her uniform immediately.
"What happened?"
"Nothing."
Evelyne frowned.
"Criliah."
"I fell."
Her mother studied her.
Then she sighed.
"Stay away from trouble."
Criliah nodded.
"Yes, Mother."
She walked upstairs.
But before entering her room, she stopped beside the window.
The moon was rising above the forest.
She thought about the stranger.
His golden eyes.
His strange aura.
His voice.
And the way every wolf in the courtyard had instinctively bowed before him.
Who was he?
Why had he been at Lunaris Academy?
And most importantly—
why had she felt something inside herself awaken when their eyes met?
Criliah pressed a hand against her chest.
Nothing happened.
No wolf appeared.
No voice answered.
Only silence.
She lowered her hand.
Perhaps she had imagined it.
Perhaps she was simply desperate to believe that something extraordinary could exist within her.
But deep in the forest, far from the academy and the Valerienne estate, the stranger stood beneath the moonlight.
He pulled back his hood.
Golden eyes gleamed in the darkness.
His expression was no longer calm.
It was troubled.
Because he had felt it too.
The moment he saw Criliah—
something ancient inside him had recognized her.
And for the first time in centuries, a question haunted him.
How could a girl without a wolf carry an aura that even his own wolf could not ignore?
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