Chapter 8 : The Unspoken Thread
1001 Words
Some truths are easier whispered into the night—especially to the ones who survived beside you.
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Raine
The steam curled from my chipped mug as I sat cross-legged on my bed, my weighted comforter bundled around me like armor. I sipped the too-strong herbal tea and waited for the facetime call to connect.
One ring. Two. Three—
Then the screen brightened.
“Hi, baby,” my mother’s voice crackled through. Her hair was wrapped in a scarf, face bare and tired—but her eyes lit up the moment she saw me. “Everything okay?”
I managed a smile. “Hey, Mom. Yeah. I just… needed to hear your voice.”
Her smile faded slightly. “What happened?”
Of course she knew. She always did.
I leaned back against the wall and stared at the tea leaves floating in my mug. “I had a nightmare a couple of weeks ago and again the other night. The same one.”
She went still.
“The facility?”
I nodded. “Worse this time. I think my bear’s been edging closer to the surface lately, I just feel really on edge.”
Her jaw tightened slightly, the lines near her mouth deepening. “They never should’ve forced those things on you. You didn't deserve any of it.”
“Neither did you,” I said softly.
She looked down, sadness shadowing her face. “No. I didn’t.”
We let the silence stretch between us, not uncomfortable, just… heavy. Real.
“I saw something yesterday,” I said finally. “A collar. Like those collars. Near the garden path.”
My mom’s breath caught.
“I touched it. Next thing I know, I’m waking up in the infirmary.”
“Raine—”
“I’m okay. I just—” My voice cracked. “I thought they’d found me.”
“They haven’t,” she said fiercely. “I would know. We still have watchers, even now.”
“I know. But it felt real. And that’s not even the worst part.”
I hesitated.
She waited.
“I met someone,” I said quietly. “A boy. Jahlani.”
Her brows lifted slightly. “Okay…”
“He’s my mate.”
There was a pause, then her face softened in a way I hadn’t seen in a long time.
“Oh, baby…”
“I don’t know what to do,” I whispered. “He’s kind. Patient. Doesn’t push. But I can’t let him in, not all the way. I don’t know how.”
My mother nodded slowly. “When you were born, everything felt magical. Your father and I were happy, and for a while, I truly thought our lives would be perfect. But he wasn’t the mate I thought he'd be. He hurt you... he hurt us.”
I swallowed hard. My father was a ghost I never talked about, and she rarely mentioned.
“But when you grabbed my finger, five minutes old, I vowed to always protect you, no matter what.”
My throat tightened.
“You’re not broken, Raine,” she said gently. “You’re guarded. That’s different.”
“I don’t want to scare him away.”
“Then show him the parts you can share. Let him prove whether he’s strong enough to walk with you through the rest.”
A tear slipped down my cheek.
I brushed it away.
“He told me something too,” I said. “About a curse. One that nearly killed him. He knows pain. But he’s still so… good.”
My mom smiled softly. “Sounds like you both found each other for a reason.”
“Maybe.”
We sat there, separated by hours and distance and memories that still bled when pressed—but closer than we’d been in a long time.
“I miss you,” I said finally.
“I miss you more.”
A small silence.
Then, “Do you want me to come visit?” she asked.
“No. Not yet. I need to stand on my own here.”
She nodded. “Then I’ll stay ready. Always.”
I smiled.
After we hung up, I curled tighter beneath the blanket. My tea had gone cold, but something in my chest felt warmer.
Maybe she was right.
Maybe I could give Jahlani a piece of the truth… and see if he stayed.
---
Rogue Alpha Bear
The scent of scorched metal still lingered in the air—faint, but unmistakable. Not many would notice it. Fewer would know it.
I did.
From my place crouched in the shadows beneath the overgrown branches along the edge of the university’s enchanted garden path, I watched the spot where she had stood.
Where she had touched the collar.
I stepped forward, quiet as fog, my massive form barely disturbing the leaves underfoot.
There it was—half-buried in the ivy, glinting faintly in the moonlight like a cursed jewel. The black collar. One of mine.
She hadn't taken it.
Good. That meant she still feared what it represented.
I reached down with a gloved hand and picked it up, turning the dark leather over with reverence and disdain. “Still soft,” I muttered. “Still unsure.”
But not for long.
She was close—closer than she’d ever been. She’d survived the escape. The transformation. The early shift. But fear… fear would always tether her to the past.
I would be the one to tighten the leash.
“Soon, Raine,” I whispered to the night. “You’ll remember who you are. And what you were made to be.”
I slipped the collar into my coat pocket, then turned my gaze toward the dormitories across the garden, one hand clenched at my side. “And when you do… he won’t be able to protect you.”
With a final glance toward the moonlit path, I disappeared into the trees—silent, calculating, and far from done.
- Writer
