CHAPTER 27
1812 Words
Elise sat alone on the wooden steps behind the packhouse.
She pulled her legs to her chest, and her chin rested on her knees.
It was still early in the morning, 6:32am in Archview.
The sky was still a cool blue color, and the sun hadn’t fully come out yet.
The grass was wet, and everything was quiet, like the world was still sleeping, because the world was Infact still sleeping.
She played her fingers round the tip of her shirt.
Her fingers were cold, but she didn’t feel like going inside.
She had been awake since before dawn, more like midnight.
Her dreams had been strange again; full of light, whispers and faces she didn’t know.
Her dream was so bright, almost as bright as the sun amd it was filled with faces she didn’t know.
None of the faces looked familiar in anyway.
She didn’t understand her dreams, but they left her heart beating fast when she woke up.
She heard the door creak open behind her.
“Elise,” came Kai’s voice.
His voice was so soft, like he didn’t want to scare her.
She didn’t turn around, instead, she froze abit at the sound of his voice.
Her heart skipped.
To think about the fact that things had been quite awkward around them.
The whole wolf or no wolf drama affected everything around them as much as it affected them.
Kai walked over and sat beside her.
He didn’t say anything at first.
He just sat, like he was trying to be quiet in her silence.
They watched the sky for a while.
“I didn’t sleep much,” Elise said finally, her voice small.
“Me neither,”……“Too much on my mind.” Kai replied
Elise turned to look at him. His hair was messy, his eyes also looked tired…. Proof that he didn’t actually sleep much like he said.
Infact, ever since the moonlight nonsense, he had looked like that.
Anyone could tell he was quite bothered and had things going on.
“Lucien stayed with you last night,” she said.
Kai nodded. “He found me outside when I was thinking about so much in my head, and he stayed till I felt better.”
Elise gave a small nod. “He’s a good friend.”
“Yeah,” Kai said. “He really is.”
Elise looked down again, she brushed some dirt off her pants. “Do you think that….” She started to say, her voice trailing off.
“Nevermind!” She said, sighing while looking down at her shoes.
“That what?”….”what’s the matter, love?” Kai asked, concerned.
Her heart jumped to the word “love”.
It was common for friends or people to call one another love around here, but Kai had never done that, neither has she.
They’d always just casually called one another by their government names.
She took a glance at him, but he didn’t seem bothered about it, so she just swallowed hard and let the thoughts drown with it.
“Do you think everyone hates me now?” She asked, staring back into the ground.
Kai’s face changed.
His eyebrows pulled together. “No,” he said quickly. “Why would you think that?”
“Because of what happened,” Elise whispered.
“Because I changed, because even I don’t know what I am.”
Kai didn’t answer right away.
He looked at her, then at the field in front of them.
“I think they’re scared,” he said at last.
“But not because you did something wrong.
They just don’t understand it yet.
And people get scared when they don’t understand things.”
Elise blinked. “Are you scared of me?”
Kai looked at her fast. “No, never!”
She looked away. “Kion is.”
Kai clenched his jaw. “Kion doesn’t understand youc he just doesn’t want to.”
“My grandfather thinks power should only look one way.” Kai continued to say , asif he was disappointed in elder Kion.
Elise gave a small sad laugh. “I didn’t ask for this, Kai, I didn’t ask to change. I was fine being no one, yes it hurt, but at least I knew what I was.”
Kai turned more toward her. “But you’re not no one, Elise, you’re brave, you’re kind, you’ve even survived things no one else could. You’re still you.”
Elise blinked fast like she was holding back tears. She wiped her face with the back of her palm.
“Do you believe that?” she asked.
“I do,” Kai said. “I see you. All of you.”
They sat in silence again.
The sun had started to rise, casting a gold light over the trees.
Birds chirped somewhere in the distance.
Elise reached down and touched the dirt, while using the tip of her fingers to draw circles in the soil.
“Do you think I’m going to lose control again?” She asked while looking up at Kai while she was still tracing the circles.
Kai didn’t lie. “I don’t know, but if you do… I’ll be there. We’ll figure it out. Together.”
Elise searched his face asif she was looking for a lie detector to buzz.
His eyes were honest.
“I’m scared,” she said softly.
“I know,” he said, just as softly. “Me too.”
She leaned her head on his shoulder.
He didn’t move.
He just let her rest there, quiet and close.
Inside the packhouse, Aunt Thea was in the hallway, watching them through the window.
She didn’t say anything.
She didn’t even blink.
She turned and walked to the kitchen.
Her mind was racing.
She didn’t like the way Kai looked at Elise.
She didn’t like how close they were.
She did at first, because she’d be the only family to the Alpha’s mate which would have been Elise.
But now, they didn’t like her and wanted to get rid of her.
She knew the council was already watching Elise.
If Elise did something wrong, they’d take her away, and if they did that, Thea would lose everything she’d worked so hard to gain.
She poured water into a pot and placed it on the stove.
Her hands shook a little.
She remembered the day she brought Elise home as a child.
She remembered all the hard nights, the screaming, the crying.
Elise had always been weak, small, and useless.
And now… now the girl had something no one understood.
Something powerful.
Thea bit her lip.
Power.
That was the word everyone kept whispering.
She stirred her tea slowly without minding the bunch of maids who stared at her because she barged in like it was her kitchen.
They were carnal minded and wouldn’t understand her predicament.
Such lowly maids! She spat.
She didn’t have their time. She needed to focus on the matter on ground first.
If she played her cards right, she could still win.
She just needed to make sure Elise didn’t turn on her.
She needed to stay close.
Back outside, Lucien joined them.
He carried a bag of bread and a small jar of jam.
“I thought maybe we could have breakfast outside,” he said with a smile.
Kai lifted his head. “That sounds good.”
Elise wiped her eyes quickly.
She nodded.
Lucien sat on the grass in front of them and opened the bag. “Still warm,” he said.
“I stole them from the kitchen before the aunties saw me.”
Kai chuckled.
Elise managed a smile.
Lucien handed them each a piece of bread and set the jar between them.
“Thanks, Lu,” Kai said.
“No problem,” Lucien replied, chewing already.
“So, any big plans today? Are we going to save the world?”
Kai raised an eyebrow. “Not today.”
Elise shook her head. “Just trying to get through it.”
“That counts,” Lucien said, licking some jam off his thumb. “That definitely counts.”
They ate quietly, the mood was better now and less tense.
The sun was fully out now.
Elise looked at her friends and for the first time that day, she felt something like peace.
Even if it was just a small piece of it.
Later that day, Elder Tari came to see Elder Kion.
“She hasn’t done anything strange today,” Tari said, sitting beside Kion in the council room.
“She trained in the yard, spoke with Kai, ate breakfast with Lucien.”
Kion folded his arms. “Too calm.”
Tari gave him a look. “She’s a girl, not a weapon.”
“You talk asif she’s a ticking time bomb yunno?… I saw her that day, all she did was glow and protect everyone” Tari said demonstrating with her fingers.
Kion didn’t reply.
Tari continued, “You want her to fail, that’s why you’re watching so hard.”
Kion frowned. “I want to protect the pack.”
“From a child?” Tari asked.
“Because that’s what she is, Kion, Elise is just a girl who’s been hurt and is just starting to grow.”
Kion said nothing.
Tari stood up.
“You’d better think carefully before you push too hard. She has people now, Kai, Lucien, and even Thea, as fake as she may be.”
“You didn’t count yourself. I thought you must be on her team since you’re so defensive of her”. Kion answered, scoffing.
“I’m just a watcher in this, a watcher is allowed to have opinions, not so?” Thea answered.
“She’s still dangerous,” Kion muttered.
“She’s still a child,” Tari said again. Then he walked away.
Back in the yard, Elise was stretching with Lucien.
They were doing light training, not the rough kind.
Just simple moves.
Kai watched from under a tree. He liked seeing her smile again.
Even if it was small.
“Your balance is better today,” Lucien said as Elise did a spin.
“I’ve been practicing,” she said proudly.
Lucien gave her a thumbs-up.
Kai got up and walked over. “You two want lunch?”
Elise nodded. “I’m starving.”
Lucien grinned. “Let’s race to the kitchen.”
Elise took off running before anyone said go.
Lucien shouted after her, laughing. “Cheater!”
Kai chased after them, heart lighter than it had been in days.
Far away, someone else watched.
A figure stood at the edge of the trees, unseen.
Eyes locked on Elise.
A whisper floated on the wind.
“She’s not ready…”
Then the figure stepped back into the shadows.
- Writer
