The Calling

Chapter 4

The air in the room shifts before I understood why. The two men had gone completely still. Not frozen in fear, but focused. Their pupils are dilating as if they are staring at something far beyond these walls. The shorter man leans against the wall, jaw tight, his breathing steady but controlled. A low hum of tension filled the space, subtle but unmistakable.

The few minutes felt like eternity waiting for these two men to come out of the trance they were in.

"They're at the northern border," the tall man murmured. "Vampires testing the boundary." I felt the temperature in the room drop. Vampires?

The shorter one straightened. "Eli and Marcus are already in position."

"Go," the woman chimed in. "We'll be fine."

The tall one nodded. "We'll be back soon. You," he points to me, "stay in this room."

"You can't just lock me in here!" I panick. My chest feeling tight.

"You're not locked in, but you are staying." His tone left no room for argument.

"We won't be long, Luna," the shorter one slightly bows to the woman.

The taller one paused at the doorway. "If you hear anything...don't open the door."

Then both men were gone. The silence they left behind felt heavier than their presence. I just learned that werewolves are real, now vampires. This is all too much too fast. What else is real? My mind is swimming with so many questions.

The woman turns to me, "They do have manners, they just misplace them when vampires are near."

I stare at her. "What just happened?"

"They were mind-linking," the woman said as she adjusts herself in the chair.

I laugh nervously. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Mind-linking," she repeated calmly. "Pack communication. Silent. Instant. Very useful in situations like this."

"That's not possible." I didn't mean to say out loud. But at this point, I am not sure what is and isn't possible anymore.

She tilts her head. "You haven't questioned vampires existing."

I hesitate. She wasn't wrong. "...fair."

She studies me carefully. "You truly don't know anything beyond the legends."

"I've heard stories. Read books. Watched movies. Everyone has. But I didn't think," I stop, "so vampires are real, and you're werewolves?"

"Yes. Large ones." Her eyes softened. "Beautiful ones." She pauses for a moment. "We're not mindless beasts. We're human like. We have schools, work jobs, have families, we are more alike than you realize."

I swallow. "And you're...what did he call you? Luna?"

She inclined her head slightly. "Luna is the Alpha's mate. The female leader of the pack. But you may call me Janine."

When she spoke, there was a deep sadness in her eyes.

With this revelation of learning more, I realize that everything has been happening so quickly that I don't even know who these people are. There was no introduction. No getting to know one another.

"I haven't thanked you yet for taking me in and helping me. For that I am sorry. I'm Clara." I put my hand out to shake hers. She looks at it for a moment before taking it.

"Nice to meet you Clara." She smiled sweetly. "I will have to introduce you to Tyler and Jack when they return."

I nod. "Which one is Tyler?"

"Tyler is the one with short hair." She answered.

"Does he have a title, like you?" I genuinely want to get to know my hosts.

She nods. "Yes, he is the beta. You should address him as such."

"Beta?" I question.

"He is second. He enforces the Alpha's will and commands in his absence." That explains the commanding presence he carries.

"And Jack?"

"Jack is the Gamma. Stragesist. Lead fighter."

My mind racing. "So this is like...a military?'

Janine chuckled. "In some ways." She leans forward slightly. "There are ranks. Alpha at the top. Then Luna beside him, not beneath. Then Beta, Gamma, Enforcers, Warrios, and Omegas."

"Omegas?" I ask quietly.

"The lowest rank. Often younger wolves. Or those without strong dominant traits. But they ar still protected. We are a family before we are soldiers."

I study her. "You said Luna is the Alpha's mate. You're married to the Alpha?"

Janine's expression shifted. Something proud and nostalgic in her eyes.

"I was," she said gently. "My mate passed 3 years ago. My son, Chase, is the Alpha now." She stares for a minute, tears welling in her eyes. She quickly wipes them away. "Chase is out meeting with the other pack Alphas at the moment. He should be back in about a week." I nod.

"Is Tyler and Jack going to fight the vampires?" Seeing Janine in her emotional state talking about her mate, I change the subject.

"They will be," Janine said calmly. "If it escalates."

I feel my stomach twist. "Vampires are really at your border?"

"Yes."

"And is that normal?"

"Unfortunately."

I wrap my arms around myself. "Why are they coming here?"

Janine's gaze sharpened slightly. "That is the question,"

A beat of silence passes. Then Janine studies me with quiet curiosity.

"Tell me about your family."

The sudden shift catches me off guard. "My family?"

"Yes. You spoke earlier that you have one."

I hesitate, then nod slowly. "My mom's Holly. It's her birthday. She works a lot. My oldest sister Marissa thinks she runs the world. But I am closest to my little sister Jenn."

Janine smiles softly. "You miss them."

I look down. "...Yeah."

"You are protective of them?"

"Of course I am."

Janine nods once. "Then you understand us more than you think." I look up. "Everything we do," Janine continued, "every battle, every border patrol...it is to protect our family. The pack."

The words settle between us. I exhale slowly. "So that's why they don't trust me."

Janine doesn't soften it. "Yes."

I swallow. "Because I'm not in the pack."

"Not yet," Janine corrects gently.

My head snaps up. "Not yet?"

"Like I said, every second here your wolf grows stronger. I feel her. When she fully awakens, and she will awaken, you will need a pack. You do not want to be a rogue," she warned.

My heart quickens. "What is a rogue?"

"Wolves are highly social creatures. When a wolf has no pack, no structure, no heiarchy, their wolf takes full control. They lose their humanity," she explained. "Once they have lost their humanity, there is no coming back. They are dangerous. Unpredictable."

I shutter at the thought. Outside, somewhere far off in the woods, a distant howl split the night. I froze. Janine did not. She simply listened and smiled faintly.

"Our wolves," she said calmly as I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding.

Janine stood from the chair and started for the door. She opened it slightly, then turns back to look at me. "I suggest you get some rest. I'm sure you still have questions, as do we. Tyler will want to start his interrogations first thing." She pauses for a brief moment. "Remember what I told you, he is a Beta first, protecting this pack. Be truthful in your answers, his wolf will know when you lie." And with that she left the room. The door softly clicks as it shuts.

I'm exhausted from the day's events. I take Janine's advice and lay down. I need these wolves to trust me so I can get home. Home. I wonder if anyone even knows I am missing yet.

I think of my mother. Would she hide this from me my entire life? What about Jenn and Marissa? I have so many questions and the only person that can answer them isn't here. She is in the human realm, likely sleeping soundly in her bed. If I am what Janine says I am, half wolf, who do I get that from? Janine said one, if not, both of my parents are from here. I need answers but those can wait. For now, I need sleep.

I drift into sleep the way someone falls through thin ice. Slow at first, then all at once. The dream began gently. I was back in the woods. The air smelled of pine and damp earth. The wolves a few feet away, tense. Watching me, studying me. Suddenly the sky fractured.

The trees stretch unnaturally tall, their shadows lengthening into clawed fingers. The ground beneath my feet liquefies into black mist, swallowing my ankles, my knees...."Wait..." I try to shout. Too late. The world flipped. I was falling. The shadow realm.

Cold. Endless. A void that swallowed sound. The air itself presses against my ribs as if it wants to crawl inside my lungs. Shapes move at the edge of my vision. Whispers without mouths, eyes without faces.

Then—a flash. White fur. Red eyes.

The wolf stands across the darkness, impossibly bright against the void. Its coat shimmered like moonlight on snow, but its eyes burned crimson, ancient and knowing. It doesn't snarl. It doesn't move. It simply watched me.

The scene shifts again, Jack and Tyler standing in front of me, their faces hard, telling me to stay in the room. Janine's steady gaze. The door closing. Then the darkness returns. Closer this time.

The white wolf flickers in and out of existence, appearing behind me, then in front of me, then towering above me like some silent guardian—or judge.

The shadows hiss. A low growl rolls through the void. Not from the white wolf. Something deeper. Larger. The white wolf's ear twitches. And then the ground trembles.

Out of the darkness steps a massive black wolf, larger than any natural creature. Its fur absorbed the dim light, swallowing it whole. Its eyes were molten gold, blazing with power and authority.

It's not watching me. It's watching the white wolf. The air tightened. The two wolves lock eyes. The white wolf lowers its head slightly, not in fear, but in recognition.

The black wolf steps forward until it stands between me and the encroaching shadows. The void recoils. Then the black wolf lifts his head and howls.

The sound is deafening. It split the darkness like lightning splits the sky. The howl carries command, protection, warning—an ancient promise wrapped in power.

The shadows shriek and fracture. The white wolf dissolves into streaks of pale light. I feel myself being pulled backward—ripped upward through layers of dark. And I jolted awake.

The room is silent. The sun spilling through the window. My skin is slick with sweat, my heart hammering violently against my ribs. The echo of the howl still vibrates in my bones, as if it hadn't entirely belonged to the dream. For a moment, I swear I still hear it, faint, distant, somewhere beyond the walls. Watching. Waiting.