Chapter 2
1034 Words
Velari's POV
I couldn't sleep that night. Not even a little.
The fireplace had long gone cold, and the rain had disappeared as suddenly as it came, but its strong scent was still lingering in the air. I felt the weight of that crumpled, blood-stained paper pressing against my back pocket like a stone.
I listened carefully to every creak of the wooden floor, every last drop of rain, every distant howl in the forest, and my mother's steady breaths from her room. My wolf was restless, but I couldn't communicate with it since I had never let it out. I just couldn't do it.
It reminded me of why I hadn't moved—why I couldn't move. If they could take my father, they could take my mother and me.
I waited, silently hoping and praying. But deep down I knew that seeking answers would come at a cost—one which I wasn't sure I was ready to pay.
Morning came as fast as horses heading for war. I could hear wolves all around the pack stirring from their slumber, the sounds of a new day ringing like a church bell.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, slowly reaching for the paper. I stared at it for a while. My father's fate….our future…all lay in the paper. I wasn't ready.
But then I opened it. And I read…slowly, taking in every word.
“Thorne has been dealt with. Consider it my relentless mercy. He wouldn't have survived what was coming.
Ellise would take her place by my side by the next full moon. You can't run, and you most certainly can't fight.
You will learn your place eventually, as all wolves do. The Silverfang Pack's law is older than whatever grief you carry”
-Alpha Tobias
Every word came like tiny daggers thrown at me, each one sharp, cold, mocking, and calculating. What had my father done? What does Alpha Tobias mean by ‘the pack's law’?
A million and one questions flooded my brain but most of all….my mother's marriage to the Alpha?
Every normal wolf would be delighted at the thought of being related to the Alpha by any means necessary. But this is bad news for me. I already deciphered my father's fate from the letter. They didn't take him away to torture him, they took him away to kill him. We had no choice. We were now left at the mercy of Alpha Tobias.
The next full moon was in about 7 days. I folded the paper tightly and put it back in my pocket—not to keep it safe, but to make it seem less realistic. My father was gone, my mother claimed, and me…I hadn't even figured it out yet. I was weak and defenseless, I wasn't like others in the pack—I couldn't shift, I couldn't even howl without my voice breaking into a million pieces. And Tobias knew that. That's why he hadn't killed me yet.
I looked at my mother, who had just come out of her room, her face pale, her blue eyes staring into nothing. I knew what she was thinking. We had no choice. ‘The pack's law’ was greater than us….and our grief.
My mother's gaze flickered towards me for a moment. There was an unspoken truth between us—silence was better than reality. Maybe if we didn't talk about it, it wouldn't be real.
The morning light flickered through the window like it came to mock us. Outside I could hear the wind carrying the distant howls of other wolves. Somewhere, I could imagine my dad's blood spilled on the earth, his brown eyes shut in a silent prayer.
Mother moved calmly towards the cold fireplace and began stacking the wood. I could tell she just needed something to do with her hands. It was that kind of meaningless motion that is meant to keep dark thoughts deep down in the mind.
“You should eat something” her weak but stern voice jolted me back from my subconscious.
“I'm not hungry, mother,” I stood up to escape her subtle persuasion. She knew I was lying. My voice wasn't carrying only the weight of hunger, but the weight of uncertainty.
I hadn't taken up to 10 steps before I heard it. “Bright heart…..” It was the name my father had always called me. It sent shockwaves down my spine. I turned slowly but with intense poise, to look at my mother, but I was surprised to see a smile on her face. “It'll be okay,” she continued.
I wanted to believe her. I wanted to run into her arms just to escape the cruel reality. I really wanted to look at my mom and smile and grind grains while we waited for father to return from work like he always did.
But I knew it wasn't happening. Not today. Not in a thousand years.
The sound of paws on the wooden steps outside made me shiver. My body became rigid with the thought of impending danger. The footsteps stopped right outside our door and I could smell wet fur, mixed with an earthly smell.
Then it came. Four hard knocks. The type that whoever was outside didn't care about pulling down the door. My mother moved to open the door and then we saw him; Beta Ronin, Tobias's second in command. Tall with a graceful poise, and a sharp scar running down his cheeks.
He had a cold, mocking look on his face, and a slight smirk. I felt rage burn through me but my mother was as calm as the morning waters. She smoothed her hair at the sides and smiled gently at him, before bowing a little.
He didn't acknowledge her greeting and continued with his mission “Alpha Tobias sends his regards”. He uttered those words so flatly, as if they meant nothing. “He expects your presence at the Grand Hall tonight”. He spilled every word without warmth or any form of emotion. “Preparations for
the ceremony will begin as soon as possible”.
I froze.
- Writer
