OUR LITTLE SECRET
Annalise’s POV
He kissed my cheeks that morning and smiled, promising me a surprise when he got back from work. I waited all day for that surprise. But he never returned. Instead, what came was a knock on our door and a messenger carrying the weight of a tragedy.
“The words “accident,” “Chief driver,” and “he didn’t make it” echoed like a curse inside the tiny home. My mother dropped to her knees. My younger sister screamed. I stood frozen. Then, I broke.
I wept bitterly. My world crumbled in a moment. He was gone.
That night, I couldn’t sleep. My chest ached. My eyes burned. I felt like I was drowning in pain. I needed air. I needed to breathe. So I left the house and wandered outside, letting the cold wind guide me.
It was forbidden for an Omega especially one like me, only fifteen and not yet connected to a wolf to enter the forest at night. But I wasn’t thinking straight. I just wanted peace.
The deeper I walked, the more the pain in my chest began to ease, replaced by an odd warmth pulling me toward something.
That’s when I saw it …..hidden between the trees, a river I’d never seen before. The water shimmered under the full moon, a blend of crystal blue and green It was beautiful. Magical.
Drawn to its glow, I stepped into the water. It didn’t feel cold. It felt… alive. It began to ripple around me, glowing brighter as if it recognized me. Then the water started to boil but not a single part of me was harmed. Instead, power surged through my veins. Strength I’d never known rushed into me.
And then I heard her.
“Hey, Anne… Annalise. It’s me, Kayla your wolf. It’s so nice to finally meet you.”
My heart skipped. A voice inside me, but so clear, so real.
I whispered back, “Nice to meet you, Kayla… Can I see you?”
“You can,” she answered softly. “But you have to let me in. Breathe. Just breathe and let go.”
I closed my eyes. Inhaled. Exhaled. Again and again, until the world faded away and I felt myself shift.
When I opened my eyes, I wasn’t standing in the river.
I was inside the forest, but it felt dreamlike, suspended in time.
And there she was.
I walked closer to the river edge, and when I looked into the surface, I gasped.
There she stood my reflection. But not just mine. Ours. Standing on a four legs.
Her fur shimmered like the river itself black and silver glowing under the moonlight.
Her eyes shone with a light that looked red . She was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.
“You’re… beautiful,” I whispered.
“No,” Kayla corrected gently. “We are beautiful.”
I laughed gently through the tears, and that was when she said:
“Run with me.”
And we did.
We ran through the forest under the moonlight, our paws hitting the earth like thunder and silk all at once. I could feel the wind in my fur. Every tree we passed felt like freedom, every breath felt like life rushing back into me. It was as if the grief was still there, but I had the strength to carry it now.
We ran until we collapsed by the river again, panting and laughing in our own way. It felt like the first moment of true peace I’d had in so long.
We lay there together, Kayla and I, connected by something deeper than words.
She told me things I didn’t understand yet but I listened. She told me that it wasn’t time for the world to know about her.
“You can’t let them know I exist yet,” she said. “Not the pack. Not even your family. They’ll believe you’re wolfless but that’s okay. We’re just not ready yet.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s not safe. If they find out, we’ll be in danger.
I didn’t fully understand it then. But I trusted her.
That night, I finally felt a flicker of hope. Of strength. Of purpose.
And when I woke up the next morning, I was in my bed. No river. No forest. For a moment, I thought it had all been a dream. But when I looked at my reflection in the mirror, I could still see it in my eyes.
Kayla was real.
And she was with me.
