Episode4
1283 Words
"Don't move."
The voice behind me was thick. Serene.
But it wasn’t Damian.
I could breathe again as the pressure eased in my chest.
I turned around slowly.
Alpha Rylan stood a step away, his hand on my shoulder lightly. His sharp eyes searched my face instead of looking at the crowd as if he hadn't even noticed the hundreds of wolves staring at us. "You've gone pale," he said. "I'm fine."
That was a lie.
There was nothing fine about me.
Not after hearing my wolf’s voice.
Not after she'd told him someone had chained her.
Not after she said the guilty party was standing behind me.
Rylan narrowed his eyes. "No, you're not.
Before I could respond, Damian stepped between us. “My sister has always been dramatic.”
Sister.”
It was an odd word to hear from him.
He hadn't used that word on me in years.
I was a criminal in everybody else’s eyes.
A weight.
A blot on our family name.
Rylan stared at Damian with a blank face.
"Interesting." "What?"
“You remembered that she’s your sister.”
The words hit like a slap.
Several elders bowed their heads low.
Damian's smile stiffened.
"I have never denied it."
"You only bound her to the whipping post.
Silence.
Nobody dared to interrupt.
I glanced at my brother.
He would pick me up on his shoulders to reach apples from the highest branches.
He used to tell me that no one would ever hurt me.
Now it was he who held the sword to my throat.
How had we become strangers? “Alpha Blackthorn,” Damian said carefully, “this is a private family matter.
Rylan didn’t even blink.
“Once you tried to kill my mate, it was no longer a private matter.
The crowd went crazy. “Mate?” “No way!”
"The Moon Goddess would never select her!"
I tucked my arms around myself.
Every time he called me his mate my heart would race with fear and confusion.
How could that be?
I didn't have a wolf even.
Or... well I thought I didn't. "I'm here.
The soft voice resonated inside my mind.
I almost choked. "You...
“Don’t answer out loud,” my wolf said softly. “They can’t hear me.
A lump rose in my throat.
I’d been pleading for this moment for three years.
Now that she was here at last I wanted to ask her a thousand questions.
I didn't say anything.
“That’s good,” she said quietly. "Keep listening.
Rylan was still looking at me.
He looked at her a second longer than he should have.
Almost as if he knew something had changed.
“What happened?” he asked gently.
I shook my head. "Nothing.
He did not buy it.
I could see it on his face.
But he dropped it.
For the time being.
Damian snapped his hands together. "The execution is called off.
The crowd was suddenly taken aback.
"We will continue the meeting of the alliance inside
His eyes locked on me. "As for Serena...
He smiled. " ... back to the servants' quarters.
The old instinct came into play.
Drop your head.
Follow.
Live.
I took a step backwards.
Then another one.
I glanced around and saw a servant coming toward me with a basket of folded blankets.
She dropped.
The basket tipped over.
I reached out, without thinking.
The blankets fell through my fingers—
—and one corner of the rough stuff brushed over my shoulder.
My ragged dress swayed at the neck.
Enough.
A cool breeze brushed my skin.
Rylan whipped his head around to me.
His eyes fell on my bare shoulder.
Everyone stopped.
In that instant his face changed.
Stunned.
Big surprise.
Before I could straighten the fabric he had closed the gap between us.
"What you doin'?" I whispered.
He did not answer.
His hand halted just inches from my shoulder.
He never laid a finger on me.
He just looked.
By the faint silver brand just below my collar bone.
It was a crescent moon twined with a flowering vine.
I had seen it before.
It was there all along.
Old.
Just barely visible.
I thought it was a mole.
Rylan's breath came easier. "No...
His voice was little more than a whisper. "It lived."
Damian's face turned white.
"Cover it up!
Everyone was startled by his shout.
My dress was quickly adjusted by the servant.
I scowled. "What is wrong with you people?
No reply.
The old men were scared stiff.
One even made the sign of the Moon Goddess on his breast.
I looked at them.
"What's that sign?"
No reply so far.
Eventually Rylan looked away from my shoulder.
He and Damian locked eyes. "You knew.
It was no question.
Damian clenched his fists. 'You don't understand.
"I know enough.
"No," she answered.
Damian took a step forward. "If she wakes up, everything we've protected will be gone."
I looked at one then the other.
"What do you mean?"
The two men ignored me.
Frustration boiled within me. "Quit talking like I ain't standing right here!"
The words rang through the square.
For the first time in ages...
I had turned up the volume.
The crowd gaped.
Even Damian was surprised.
I swallowed heavy.
Maybe I’d gone too far.
But I was weary.
Tired of the whispers.
Sick of secrets.
I’m tired of everyone making my life decisions for me and not telling me the truth.
“What’m I?” I said.
No one moved. "What happened 3 years ago?
Silence.
I looked directly at Damian. "What are you hiding from me?
His face hardened. “Enough.
'No!
Before fear could stop it, the words came out. "You've taken everything from me.
My voice quivered. “My parents.” “My memories.”
"My wolf.
I gestured to the elders.
"And you each one saw.
The silence was agonising.
So then...
From the crowd a grey-haired woman stepped slowly forward.
I recognised her at once.
Older Miriam.
She’d been there when nearly every pup in Silvermoon had been born.
She looked at me with tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry child.
My heart jumped. "Sorry for what?"
She parted her lips.
"Do not.
Damian’s voice raked across the square like thunder.
She twitched.
But this time...
She did not fall back.
Instead she looked straight at me. "The mark on your shoulder . . .
She breathed quaveringly.
"...is from the line of the First Luna."
The crowd inhaled.
My mind went blank.
First of all... Luna?
I gave a feeble laugh. "But that's impossible.
"It isn't so."
Miriam's voice quivered. "It disappeared centuries ago."
"Everyone thought the blood line was dead," Rylan said softly.
My knees grew weak.
Nothing made sense any more.
I looked at my hands.
Everybody said the very hands were stained with blood.
Could they possibly be part of a bloodline everyone thought was extinct?
I told you.” My wolf whispered softly. “You were never ordinary.
Before I could speak another question—
A piercing whistle split the air.
Rylan's eyes went wide. "Down!
He sprang on me.
A black arrow went through the place my head had been just a heartbeat before.
It crashed into the wooden execution post behind me.
The shaft shook in convulsions.
Attached to it...
A little scrap of black cloth. Was
One of Rylan’s warriors pulled it free and handed it to him.
He opened it.
His face went colder than I’d ever seen.
I saw a flash of the message written in dark red ink.
Bring us the Luna Hidden...
...or the next arrow will be her heart.
- Writer
