Whispers of the Past.
1546 Words
Leila straightened quickly. “Come in?”
The door creaked open, and Kara stepped in, holding a folded bundle of clothes. Her smile didn’t reach her eyes.
“Good morning, stray,” Kara said, her tone dripping with false sweetness. “Alpha Adrian requested that you begin work today. You’ll be assisting the healers in the infirmary.”
Leila stood slowly, still cautious. “Thank you. And… My name is Leila.”
“Oh, I remember,” Kara said lightly. “The name everyone keeps whispering about.” She set the clothes down on the bed. “You should hurry. Alpha doesn’t like people who keep him waiting.”
Leila nodded, clutching the soft cotton tunic. “Thank you, Beta Kara.”
Kara’s smile faded slightly at the title, but she turned and left without another word. When the door shut behind her, Leila exhaled. Something about Kara unsettled her. Her scent was sharp, bitter, a mixture of dominance and jealousy.
Leila dressed quickly and stepped out into the cold morning. The Dark Moon pack was already awake. Warriors trained in the yard, healers carried herbs, and patrols prepared to shift. Everyone moved with precision, this was no ordinary pack. They were built for battle.
As she walked toward the infirmary, she could feel eyes following her. Whispers again.
“That’s the woman Alpha saved.”
“She must be important.”
“Or dangerous.”
Leila kept her head down.
Inside the infirmary, the air smelled of herbs and antiseptic. An older woman with greying hair stood at a table, grinding roots into a paste.
“Ah, you must be the newcomer,” she said kindly. “I’m Iris, the head healer here. Come, child. You can help me crush these.”
Leila smiled faintly. “Yes, ma’am.”
As the morning passed, she helped Iris with herbs, bandages, and patients. It felt strange, to be useful again. To be needed. For two years as Luna, she’d served her pack with love. Now, she was starting over, quietly, in a strange place.
But at least here, no one ordered her to smile while breaking her heart.
By midday, Leila’s hands were sore, her apron stained green from herbs. Iris smiled at her.
“You have gentle hands,” she said. “You’ll do well here.”
“Thank you,” Leila murmured softly, a faint warmth spreading through her chest.
But her peace was short-lived.
The door swung open suddenly. Two warriors dragged in a wounded man, his side torn open by claws.
“Rogue attack!” one shouted. “At the northern border!”
Leila gasped and rushed forward. Blood pooled beneath the man’s body as Iris barked orders.
“Quick! Hold him down! Leila, hand me the wound seal!”
Leila’s fingers trembled but she obeyed, passing the paste and pressing cloth to the wound. The injured man groaned, pain twisting his features.
“His pulse is dropping!” Iris snapped.
Leila focused, ignoring the panic. “Please, stay with us,” she whispered to the man. She pressed her hands over his wound, her wolf stirring faintly beneath her skin.
And then, something strange happened.
A faint glow pulsed from her palms, soft, silvery light. The man’s breathing steadied. Iris froze, eyes widening in disbelief.
“Child… what did you just do?”
Leila looked down at her hands, trembling. “I… I don’t know.”
The glow faded instantly. But the man’s wound had stopped bleeding.
“I didn’t mean to…” Leila stammered, frightened.
Iris’s gaze softened. “That wasn’t ordinary healing. That was… divine energy.”
Leila shook her head. “No, it can’t be. I don’t have any powers.”
“Maybe you didn’t before,” Iris said, lowering her voice. “But something changed the night you survived those rogues.”
Before Leila could respond, the door opened again.
Alpha Adrian stepped inside.
The entire room fell silent.
He strode in with that same effortless authority, his eyes sweeping over the wounded man, then settling on Leila. “What happened here?”
Iris spoke quickly. “Rogue attack. The warrior will live, thanks to her.”
Adrian’s gaze sharpened. “Her?”
Leila lowered her head. “I didn’t do anything, Alpha. I just tried to help.”
He walked closer, stopping just in front of her. His silver eyes glinted. “Look at me, Leila.”
She obeyed.
“Your hands,” he said quietly. “Show me.”
She lifted them. Faint traces of light still shimmered beneath her skin, like starlight trapped inside her veins.
Adrian’s jaw clenched slightly. “Interesting.”
“I didn’t mean to…” she started.
“You didn’t mean to save a life?” he interrupted. His voice was cold but not cruel. “Power doesn’t ask for permission, Leila. It reveals itself when it chooses.”
Her chest rose and fell quickly. “What does that mean?”
He didn’t answer. Instead, he turned to Iris. “Keep her under watch. No one outside this room speaks of this. Understood?”
“Yes, Alpha,” Iris said immediately.
Adrian turned back to Leila. His gaze softened, but his voice stayed firm. “Come with me.”
Leila hesitated. “Did I do something wrong?”
He shook his head. “That depends on what you are.”
They walked in silence through the halls, until they reached his private study. The room was dimly lit, lined with old books and maps of territories. Adrian closed the door behind them and faced her.
“Tell me again,” he said. “How did you end up on my border that night?”
Leila swallowed hard. “I… left my pack after my mate rejected me.”
His expression darkened. “Your mate. The Alpha of Silvercrest?”
She nodded slowly. “Darius.”
Adrian’s eyes turned stormy, his wolf stirring inside him. So it’s her. The woman he threw away.
“I see,” he said finally. “You’re carrying his child, aren’t you?”
Her breath caught. “Yes.”
For a moment, silence filled the room, thick, heavy. Adrian’s gaze dropped briefly to her stomach, then back to her face.
“You’re lucky I found you first,” he said quietly.
“What do you mean?”
“There are people who would kill you just for being his Luna. And others… who’d use you to get to him.”
Leila’s voice trembled. “Why? What did Darius do?”
Adrian’s eyes flashed with something, anger, regret, and something else she couldn’t name. “He broke alliances. Betrayed packs. Including mine.”
Her eyes widened. “Yours?”
Adrian turned away, staring out the window. “Once, our packs were allies. But Darius’s greed ruined that. He wanted power, more than peace.”
Leila felt her stomach twist. “I didn’t know.”
“You weren’t supposed to,” Adrian said bitterly. “He keeps his Luna in the dark, just like he kept secrets from me.”
She hesitated, her heart pounding. “Then why did you save me? If you hate him…”
Adrian turned sharply, his voice low but fierce. “Because I’m not like him.”
The intensity in his tone made her freeze. His gaze softened after a moment. “You may stay here as long as you need, Leila. But understand this, your presence will draw attention. If Darius learns you’re alive, he’ll come.”
She lowered her head. “I know.”
He stepped closer, his scent enveloping her, power and frost and something warm beneath the surface. “If he comes,” Adrian said quietly, “he won’t take you again. I promise.”
Her breath hitched. “Why do you care?”
His jaw tightened. “Because some things don’t deserve to be broken.”
For a moment, their eyes locked, hers full of confusion, his full of something darker, something dangerous.
A knock broke the silence.
Kara’s voice came from the other side of the door. “Alpha, the patrols are ready.”
Adrian’s expression hardened again. “We’re done here,” he said, his voice cold once more. “Rest. You’ll start work again tomorrow.”
“Yes, Alpha,” she whispered.
He left without another word, brushing past
Kara, who lingered at the doorway just long enough to give Leila a venomous smile.
“Careful, stray,” Kara murmured. “The Alpha might save you now, but this pack doesn’t forgive outsiders easily.”
Leila said nothing, only watched as Kara left.
When she was alone again, she placed her hand over her heart. It was beating too fast, too hard.
Far away, under a different moon, Darius stood at the edge of the Silvercrest border, his wolf restless. His Beta approached cautiously.
“She’s gone, Alpha. No trace of her body.”
Darius’s jaw tightened. “You’re saying she’s alive.”
The Beta hesitated. “Possibly.”
Darius’s eyes darkened, his wolf growling inside him. She was mine.
“Find her,” he ordered coldly. “Even if I have to burn every border down.”
And as his howl pierced the night, miles away, Leila woke with a startled, heart pounding, breath shallow.
- Writer
