CHAPTER 17(Remodified)
1630 Words
Elise hadn’t slept well.
After the strange peace she’d found in the focus circle, and the quiet moment with Kai by the riverbank, she’d expected rest to come easily.
But the images that haunted her dreams weren’t her usual memories of the Thea’s sharp voice.
Instead, she kept seeing that flicker of light again, the spark in her chest.
The way it had ignited and then disappeared like smoke.
And worse, she dreamed of eyes watching her from the forest.
Cold, shadowed eyes that never blinked.
This was a new type of dream and she felt scared.
All her dreams were usually about somethijg that has happened, and now, this one was something that is yet to happen.
By the time the day broke, Elise felt more exhausted than when she had closed her eyes.
She rolled out of bed and paced across the room, splashing water on her face at the basin.
As she stared into the mirror, she expected to see something different.
Some glow in her eyes.
A mark on her skin.
But she looked the same; messy hair, sleep-heavy lids, the faint shadow of doubt clinging to her expression.
So there’s still no wolf after all the embarrassment she made herself go through by crying in front of the whole pack.
The knock at her door startled her. She paused, drying her face quickly.
“Elise?” It was Kai.
She opened the door and stepped aside. He came in without hesitation, eyes scanning her like he could see her thoughts.
“You look tired,” he said softly.
“Didn’t sleep much.”
Kai nodded like he understood. “I didn’t either.”
She leaned against the edge of her dresser. “Because of the cloth Lucien found?”
Elise knew about the clothes because she overheard Kai and Lucien talking about it when she couldn’t sleep.
Maybe this was her talent, finding things out even if she was not supposed to.
He hesitated, figuring she must have overheard them,then nodded again. “That, and… something else.”
She looked at him, waiting.
He rubbed the back of his neck. “My grandfather sent a message this morning, Elder Kion. He wants to meet you.”
Elise froze. “Your grandfather? Why?”
Kai’s jaw tightened a little, like he didn’t quite agree with the reason.
“He heard about what happened at the school. And the forest. And the ritual Lucien ran yesterday. Word travels fast among the elders.”
Her heart sank a little. “So now he wants to come judge me too?”
Kai reached for her hand. “It’s not a trial, Elise. He just… wants to meet you. See for himself.”
“That’s worse,” she muttered, pulling away gently. “Seeing for himself means he doesn’t believe anything you’ve said.”
Kai didn’t argue. Maybe because it was true.
Elise exhaled slowly. “When?”
“Tomorrow.”
She nodded stiffly. “Okay.”
But it wasn’t okay.
She didn’t say it out loud, but the thought of facing another powerful wolf who would look at her and see nothing; no fangs, no claws, no golden glow made her stomach churn.
And to crown it all, she was his dear grandson’s mate.
What would he think?
His favorite grandson was in love with a wolfless girl who deceived others that she had an extraordinary wolf.
Elise’s heart was in her stomach,
Kai seemed to sense her turmoil. “We’ll get through it. Together.”
Elise offered a small, tired smile. “You always say that.”
“Because it’s always true.”
Later that morning, Elise found herself walking toward the infirmary building.
She hadn’t meant to go there. Her feet just… led her.
Becky was still recovering in one of the rooms, surrounded by herbs and a soft silver glow from the protective spell the healers had placed around her bed.
Elise stood in the doorway for a while before stepping in.
Becky looked pale but peaceful, like someone caught between dreams and reality. Her usually sharp features were relaxed, and there was no hint of the bitterness she used to carry in her eyes.
Elise sat beside her.
“I don’t know if you can hear me,” she said quietly, “but I’m sorry.”
The words caught her off guard.
She hadn’t come here to apologize, not really.
But now that she was sitting here, the guilt clawed at her.
“I know I saved you,” she went on. “But I don’t think that makes me better than you. Or anyone else. I didn’t do it to prove anything. I just… couldn’t leave you like that.”
Becky didn’t stir.
Elise watched her for a long time, then stood and brushed a hand against the bedsheet.
“Get well soon,” she whispered. “We’ve both got a lot to figure out.”
Sighing, she left.
She wasn’t really thinking about Becky today.
Elder Kion has clouded her thoughts.
By midday, the packhouse buzzed with a tension Elise couldn’t quite explain.
It wasn’t just the usual training noise or daily patrols.
People moved faster, glanced over their shoulders more often, spoke in hushed tones.
Like they were waiting for something they were scared of.
Lucien found her just after lunch, sitting outside under one of the large ash trees near the eastern wing.
He handed her a folded parchment without a word.
She opened it and read the scout’s update.
Another strange feather had been found.
This one was soaked in something dark blood or something else, they couldn’t tell.
“They’re testing our borders,” Lucien said.
Elise felt a chill crawl up her spine. “Do you think it’s about me?”
Lucien didn’t answer at first, “I think the timing is suspicious”, he said after hesitating a bit.
She folded the note. “What do you think they want?”
His eyes flickered. “You.”
Elise stared at him. “But why me?”
“I don’t know yet,” he said.
“But it’s not just about your magic. It’s about what you are. Or what you’re becoming”, he added.
She frowned. “That’s not helpful, Lucien.”, she said, thoughts clouding her mind once more.
“I know.” He gave her a small, tight smile.
“But I promise, we’re not going to let anything happen to you. Even if Elder Kion doesn’t see what we see, it doesn’t change what’s true”.
She wanted to believe him, but she didn’t.
Even if they saw it, Elder Kion’s approval meant a lot to not just her, but everyone.
If he approved of her, everyone would have no choice but to do the same.
He was like a god in Archview.
But she was almost sure that he’ll disapprove of her.
Even she would disapprove of her.
There were better mates Kai could choose. People of higher class, higher ranking, and real wolves specifically.
The quality of one’s wolf was used to decide one’s ranking in werewolf packs.
Elise was starting to feel sick as she thought about it.
She was barely in grade 1in this werewolf thing.
She felt sad, wishing she could she who she was.
That evening, Elise walked with Kai again.
They didn’t say much.
Just wandered the forest edge, listening to the rustle of leaves and the distant howls of patrolling wolves.
Eventually, Elise spoke. “What’s your grandfather like?”
Kai glanced at her.
“He’s… intense. Proud. Very traditional. But he’s not cruel.”
“He’s going to hate me, isn’t he?” Elise asked, self doubting again.
Kai stopped walking. “No.”
Elise stopped too. “You can’t promise that.”
“I can promise he won’t define you,” he said.
“No matter what he says, you’re still you. And I’m still with you.”
She studied his face in the fading light. “Why does that mean so much to me?”
“Because you’ve had to stand alone for a long time,” Kai said. “And now you don’t.”
Something in her chest softened. She reached out and took his hand again.
Not because she was scared.
But because this time, she felt ready to face whatever came next.
Even Elder Kion.
That night, she packed a few things.
She wasn’t sure why, maybe it gave her something to control, something to fall back on, a small action that distracted her from the knot of anxiety building in her stomach.
Maybe she’d eventually run away, she thought to herself, almost jokingly, but more seriously.
When she lay down, her head started to wander about.
She imagined the moment she’d meet Kai’s grandfather.
The way he might look at her with disappointment.
The questions he might ask that she couldn’t answer.
What are you?
Why don’t you shift?
What can you offer the pack if you become their Luna?
She had no idea what she would say.
She had no idea what the real answers were.
If she just stared at him blankly, would she look dumb?
If she started to say something and didn’t finish it out of fear or confusion, would that make her look dumber?
“Ohhh great Elise! You’ve really entered this”, she thought to herself.
It felt to her like she was about to take a test or an examination she could only take once in her lifetime, and she half knew that she was going to fail.
But underneath the fear, a tiny flame still burned.
A spark.
Like someone had lit a candle inside her, and this time, maybe it wouldn’t go out so quickly.
- Writer
