Chapter 2 — The Strange Voice
1455 Words
Chapter 2 — The Strange Voice
I didn't sleep that night.
I stayed beside my window until the first light of dawn appeared behind the mountains.
The golden eyes never returned.
But the voice did.
Not constantly.
Just enough to make me question whether I was dreaming.
Remember.
Listen.
Run.
Every time I closed my eyes, those words echoed through my mind.
By sunrise, exhaustion had settled heavily over my body.
I finally stepped away from the window.
Maybe I had imagined everything.
Maybe I had been frightened and tired, and my mind had created a voice to fill the silence.
That was the only explanation that made sense.
I rubbed my eyes.
“I'm losing my mind.”
The moment the words left my mouth, the voice answered.
No.
I froze.
My heart slammed against my ribs.
The voice was clearer now.
Closer.
You are remembering.
I swallowed.
“Who are you?”
Silence.
Then—
I am the part of you they tried to bury.
I stumbled backward until my shoulder hit the wall.
“What does that mean?”
Ask them about your mother.
Everything inside me went still.
My mother.
That word had almost never been spoken in my house.
I'd been told my parents died when I was very young.
That was all.
Whenever I asked how they died, where they were buried, or what they had been like, my relatives always gave me the same answer.
You were too young to remember.
But the voice knew about her.
“How did my mother die?”
Not yet.
My hands curled into fists.
“Then tell me who you are!”
Nothing.
The connection disappeared.
I stood in the middle of my room, breathing heavily.
I wanted to believe it had all been a dream.
But dreams didn't know things I'd never told anyone.
---
By midmorning, I was at the infirmary.
The smell of dried herbs and medicine filled the small building.
Mara, the pack healer, was sorting bottles behind the wooden counter when I entered.
She looked up.
“You look terrible.”
I gave her a tired smile.
“Good morning to you too.”
She frowned.
“Did you sleep?”
“Not really.”
“Nightmares?”
I almost laughed.
“I wish.”
Her hands stopped moving.
“What happened?”
“Nothing.”
The word came automatically.
I had become too good at saying it.
Mara studied me.
Then she walked around the counter and took my wrist.
“Let me see you.”
The instant her fingers touched my skin—
Everything changed.
My vision blurred.
The room disappeared.
Fire.
That was the first thing I saw.
Huge flames rising into a black sky.
A woman was screaming.
A newborn baby was crying.
A wolf stood in front of a burning house.
Then the vision vanished.
I gasped and pulled my hand away.
Mara stumbled backward.
Her face had gone completely pale.
“You saw it,” I whispered.
She stared at me.
“What did you see?”
“You tell me.”
Mara looked away.
“Mara.”
“You should leave.”
“What?”
“Go home, Judith.”
Her voice was strangely urgent.
“But—”
“Now.”
I stared at her.
There was fear in her eyes.
Real fear.
“You know something.”
“I don't.”
“You're lying.”
She turned away.
“Please.”
I picked up my basket.
As I reached the door, she spoke again.
“Judith.”
I stopped.
Her voice was barely audible.
“Whatever you hear in your head…”
I turned.
“…don't answer it.”
A chill moved down my spine.
“How do you know about the voice?”
Mara's face changed.
For one second, she looked as though she'd accidentally revealed something she shouldn't have.
Then she shook her head.
“I don't.”
I left.
But I knew she was lying.
---
I took the longer path home.
I didn't want to return to the forest.
Not after what had happened.
Unfortunately, I didn't get far.
I heard voices ahead.
I recognized one immediately.
Ravenna.
I stopped behind a tree.
Another voice answered her.
Xavier.
My heart began beating faster.
“You're sure?” Xavier asked.
“Of course I'm sure.”
Ravenna sounded irritated.
“I saw her near the northern forest yesterday.”
Xavier was silent.
“She shouldn't have been there,” Ravenna continued. “If something happens to her, the Alpha will blame the patrols.”
“Why are you telling me?”
“Because I care about the pack.”
I almost rolled my eyes.
Ravenna cared about herself.
Nothing more.
Xavier didn't respond.
Ravenna lowered her voice.
“Did she see anyone?”
“I don't know.”
“Did she speak to anyone?”
“No.”
Silence.
Then Ravenna asked the question that made my stomach twist.
“Why are you so interested in her?”
Xavier's voice became cold.
“I am not.”
“You've been watching her.”
“Enough.”
“Xavier—”
“I said enough.”
A branch snapped beneath my boot.
Both voices stopped.
My heart dropped.
“Who's there?”
Xavier.
I ran.
I didn't think.
I just ran.
“Judith!”
His footsteps followed behind me.
I pushed through the trees, branches scratching my arms.
“Judith, stop!”
I ran faster.
I had no idea why I was running.
Maybe because I didn't want him to catch me.
Maybe because I didn't want to answer his questions.
Or maybe because something inside me was telling me to run.
Faster.
The voice.
I stumbled.
“Why?”
Don't let him catch you.
I looked behind me.
Xavier was getting closer.
I turned forward again—
And suddenly a sharp pain exploded through my skull.
I screamed.
My knees gave out.
I fell to the ground.
The forest disappeared.
---
I was standing somewhere else.
A stone chamber.
Torches burned along the walls.
The air smelled like smoke.
A woman stood in front of me.
She was holding a baby.
I couldn't see her face.
“Take her,” she whispered.
A man's voice answered from the shadows.
“We cannot.”
“You must.”
“She isn't an ordinary Omega.”
The woman tightened her arms around the baby.
“I know.”
“Then you know what will happen if they discover her.”
The woman looked down at the child.
Tears filled her eyes.
“They must never know who she is.”
The vision shattered.
I opened my eyes.
I was back in the forest.
Xavier was kneeling beside me.
His hands were gripping my shoulders.
“Judith!”
I stared at him.
He looked terrified.
“What happened?”
I could barely breathe.
“I…”
My eyes moved around the forest.
“You saw it too, didn't you?”
His expression changed.
“Saw what?”
“The woman.”
“What woman?”
I stared at him.
“You didn't see her?”
“No.”
“Then why do you look scared?”
His jaw tightened.
“I don't.”
“You do.”
He released my shoulders and stood.
“Go home.”
I slowly got to my feet.
“You always say that.”
“Because you never listen.”
I stared at him.
“You knew something was wrong.”
He didn't answer.
“You felt it yesterday,” I continued. “When we looked at each other.”
His eyes hardened.
“You don't know what you're talking about.”
“I know something happened.”
“Forget it.”
“I can't.”
“Judith.”
His voice became quieter.
“Whatever you think is happening…”
He stepped closer.
“…stay away from it.”
I frowned.
“Why?”
For the first time, Xavier looked genuinely conflicted.
“Because some truths are dangerous.”
He walked away.
I watched him disappear between the trees.
Then the voice whispered again.
He knows.
My blood ran cold.
“What does he know?”
The answer came softly.
Who you are.
I stared in the direction Xavier had gone.
For seventeen years, everyone had told me I was weak.
Ordinary.
Worthless.
Now there were too many secrets.
My mother.
The strange visions.
The voice.
Xavier's reaction.
The golden-eyed wolf.
I clenched my fists.
If everyone was determined to keep the truth from me…
then I would find it myself.
Whatever it was.
Whatever it cost.
I would uncover the truth.
Even if the truth destroyed everything I thought I knew.
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