A Burrowed Name
1058 Words
The cottage was small, but warm.
Nyxara noticed it immediately when she stepped inside. The scent of burning firewood filled the air, mixed with something sweet—bread, maybe.
It felt… peaceful.
Something she had not felt in a very long time.
The woman guided her gently to a wooden chair near the fireplace.
“Sit down, dear,” she said softly.
Nyxara obeyed, lowering herself slowly. The warmth of the fire touched her cold skin, making the exhaustion in her bones even heavier.
The man set the bundle of firewood beside the hearth and began feeding the flames.
“Let’s not overwhelm her with questions,” he said quietly to the woman.
“I know,” she replied, though concern was still written across her face.
She disappeared briefly into another room and returned with a small wooden box.
Nyxara watched carefully.
The woman knelt beside her and opened the box, revealing cloth bandages and a few bottles.
“Let me see your shoulder.”
Nyxara hesitated.
Her instincts screamed at her to hide the wound. Wolves healed faster than humans. If the woman noticed how quickly the injury was closing…
But refusing would raise suspicion.
Slowly, Nyxara removed the torn part of her jacket from her shoulder.
The woman inhaled sharply when she saw the claw marks.
“Oh goodness… what did this?”
Nyxara quickly looked away.
“A wild animal,” she said quietly.
It wasn’t entirely a lie.
The woman gently cleaned the wound with a cloth.
“You’re lucky,” she murmured. “It could have been much worse.”
Nyxara remained silent.
The man approached them again, wiping his hands.
“Let’s introduce ourselves properly,” he said kindly.
He gave her a small smile.
“My name is Daniel Hale.”
He gestured toward the woman.
“And this is my wife, Eliza Hale.”
Nyxara nodded slightly.
“Thank you… for helping me.”
Eliza wrapped the bandage carefully around her shoulder.
“No child should be wandering the forest alone,” she said softly.
Nyxara felt something strange stir in her chest.
Kindness.
It felt unfamiliar.
Daniel pulled another chair closer and sat across from her.
“What’s your name?” he asked.
The question made her pause.
For a moment, she considered lying.
But her first name wasn’t known outside the pack. It was her surname—the name of the Alpha—that would reveal her.
So she answered truthfully.
“Nyxara.”
Eliza smiled gently.
“That’s a beautiful name.”
Nyxara wasn’t used to hearing that.
Daniel leaned back slightly.
“Well, Nyxara, you’re welcome to stay here for now until we figure out what to do.”
Nyxara blinked.
“You… would let me stay?”
“Of course,” Eliza said immediately. “You need rest.”
Daniel nodded.
“And food,” he added with a faint chuckle.
As if on command, Nyxara’s stomach growled loudly.
Heat rushed to her face in embarrassment.
Eliza laughed softly.
“I’ll prepare something right away.”
She disappeared into the kitchen.
Nyxara sat quietly as Daniel studied her for a moment.
“You must have traveled far,” he said.
Nyxara nodded.
“I didn’t really have a destination.”
“Well,” Daniel replied gently, “you’ve reached a good place.”
He gestured toward the window.
“Our town is called Ebonridge.”
Nyxara glanced outside.
Through the glass she could see rooftops scattered between the trees in the distance.
A small town.
Peaceful.
Hidden.
Daniel continued speaking.
“It’s quiet here. Most people know each other.”
That sounded perfect to her.
Then he added something that caught her attention.
“There’s also a school here. A very good one.”
Nyxara looked back at him.
“A school?”
“Yes,” Daniel said. “Blackthorn Academy.”
He smiled slightly.
“It has a boarding hostel too. Students from many places come to study there.”
Nyxara felt something shift inside her.
A school meant normal life.
A chance to disappear among ordinary people.
A chance to hide.
Daniel seemed to read her thoughts.
“If you’d like,” he said slowly, “we could help enroll you there.”
Nyxara stared at him in surprise.
“You would do that for me?”
Eliza returned then, carrying a small tray with bread and warm soup.
She set it on the table in front of Nyxara.
“Of course we would,” she said gently.
Nyxara looked between them.
These people didn’t know her.
They didn’t know what she really was.
Yet they were offering her a place… a future.
Emotion tightened her throat.
“There is one thing though,” Daniel said.
Nyxara looked up again.
“If you enroll at the academy,” he continued, “you’ll need a proper name in their records.”
Nyxara’s heart skipped.
A name.
Her real surname could never appear anywhere near humans.
The Alpha’s daughter would be discovered immediately.
Eliza smiled kindly.
“You could take ours.”
Nyxara blinked in surprise.
“Our family name is Hale,” Daniel explained.
“If you wish… you could be Nyxara Hale.”
The words hung softly in the room.
Nyxara Hale.
A borrowed name.
A new identity.
A chance to disappear.
Slowly, she nodded.
“I would like that.”
Eliza beamed.
“Then it’s settled.”
Just then, the front door opened.
A girl stepped inside carrying a school bag.
She stopped when she saw Nyxara.
Curious brown eyes studied her.
“Oh,” the girl said softly.
Daniel smiled.
“Nyxara, this is our daughter, Lena Hale.”
Lena gave her a friendly smile.
“Hi.”
Nyxara hesitated for a moment before answering.
“…Hello.”
Eliza placed a gentle hand on Nyxara’s shoulder.
“You’re safe here.”
Nyxara looked down at the warm bowl of soup in front of her.
For the first time since escaping the pack, her shoulders relaxed slightly.
Maybe this place really could be what she hoped.
A refuge.
A place to start again.
A place where Nyxara Virell—the Alpha’s daughter—no longer existed.
From this moment forward…
She would be Nyxara Hale.
And Ebonridge would become the beginning of a story far bigger than she could ever imagine.
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