Chapter 34
1172 Words
Vivian’s pov
The broken window terrified me.
Not because it was dangerous. But because I’d done it without meaning to. Without touching it.
Freya had come and gone, bringing supplies to fix it. She was calm about the whole thing, explaining again how my power responded to emotion. How I needed to learn control, and how this was normal for an awakening.
Although nothing about it felt normal.
The violet glow had fade my skin hours ago, but I still could feel the power underneath. I could still feels the way it wanted to break things. To burn thing. To hurt things.
I was standing at the repaired window, careful not to touch it, when Rowan appeared at my door.
He didn’t knock. Just came in like he had a right to, which was either very brave or very stupid.
“The pack is talking,” he said without preamble.
“About what?” I asked.
“About you,” he said. He moved to stand near me, but not close enough to seem familiar. “About the way the Alpha has been avoiding the great hall. About the way Vespera has been spreading new rumors. About the fact that something is happening and no one knows what.”
“What kind of rumors?” I asked.
“That you’re using dark magic,” Rowan said bluntly. “That you’re controlling the Alpha through the bond. That you should be executed before you hurt someone.”
My stomach twisted.
“I haven’t done anything,” I said.
“I know,” Rowan said. “But the people who believe Vespera don’t care about facts. They care about fear. And Vespera is very good at creating fear.”
He was quiet for a moment.
“There’s more,” he said. “Some of the warriors are taking bets on whether the Alpha will execute you or exile you. There’s a faction that thinks he should do both—execute you publicly, then desecrate your grave so your spirit can’t come back to haunt us.”
I felt the power surge.
The air around me got hot. Very hot. The temperature in the room rose so quickly that I could see Rowan’s breath suddenly appearing in front of him like he was standing in winter.
“Control it,” Rowan said, not moving. Not showing fear. “You have to learn to control it.”
I closed my eyes and tried to breathe. Tried to push the power back down. Tried to remember what Freya had said about guiding instead of fighting.
Slowly, the temperature dropped. The hot air faded.
When I opened my eyes, Rowan was studying me with an expression that was hard to read.
“You’re stronger than I expected,” he said.
“I don’t feel strong,” I said. “I feel like I’m about to explode.”
“That’s because the power and the emotions are tangled together,” Rowan said. “Once you separate them, once you learn to feel the power without feeling the fear and anger and guilt, you’ll be able to control it.”
“How do you know so much about it?” I asked.
“Because,” Rowan said, “I watched the last awakening in this pack. A warrior named Gareth. His wolf had been suppressed by a curse. When the curse broke, his power came back all at once. He nearly burned down the eastern tower before he learned control.”
“What happened to him?” I asked.
“He became one of the Alpha’s strongest warriors,” Rowan said. “And then he fell in love and his whole life changed again. But that’s a different story.”
He moved toward the door.
“The Alpha will handle Vespera,” he said. “I don’t know how or when, but he will. Until then, you need to learn control. Because if you lose it while the pack is already afraid of you, there won’t be anything he can do to save you.”
After he left, I sat on the bed and felt the weight of what he’d said.
The pack wanted me dead. They were laying bets on how I would die. They saw me as a threat that needed to be eliminated.
And I had power that I couldn’t control. Power that could hurt someone. Power that, if unleashed, would prove them all right.
Through the bond, I could feel Dominic in the lower levels. Could feel his exhaustion. His turmoil. His ongoing internal war.
He was dealing with something. Something that was consuming his attention.
And I was up here, terrified, trying not to break things.
“Because,” Mira said, “you’re not choosing to be Solari. You’re choosing to be here. You’re choosing to survive in a place that hates you. And some people respect that.”
She was quiet for a moment.
“Also,” she continued, “your power is becoming visible. People are starting to see it. And once people see power, they respect it, whether they like you or not.”
Mira arrived in the afternoon. She glanced at my face and immediately sensed that something had changed.
“What’s going on?” she inquired.
“Rowan came by,” I replied. “He filled me in on the rumors, the bets, and the fact that there are people wishing for my death.”
“People have wanted you gone since you got here,” Mira stated as she sat down beside me. “That’s nothing new.”
“But Vespera is fueling new rumors,” I explained. “She’s talking about dark magic, control, and painting me as a threat.”
“She’s feeling cornered,” Mira responded. “The investigation is getting closer to the truth, and she knows it. So she's trying to stir up more chaos and fear, giving the pack reasons to view you as dangerous.”
“Is it effective?” I asked.
“Yes,” Mira confirmed. “But not in the way she intends. Those who already believed Vespera see you as a threat, but now those who were undecided are being forced to make a choice and some of them are choosing you.”
“Why would they pick me?” I questioned. “I’m Solari. My father killed the Alpha’s father. I’m seen as a threat”.
That evening, I felt Dominic in the corridors again.
He came to my door but didn’t enter. Just stood there like he was gathering his strength. Like he was fighting the urge to come in.
Through the bond, I could feel his exhaustion. His guilt. His conviction that he was still making the right choice by staying away.
I could also feel something else.
Resolve.
Like he was getting closer to something. Like the investigation was reaching a point where he would have to make a decision.
I didn’t know what that decision was. But I knew it would change everything.
- Writer
