CHAPTER 13: The Boy Outside My Window
1998 Words
Open this diary only if you’ve ever been forced to choose between fear and trust.
What would you do if the boy you loved begged you not to open your window… but the stranger outside already knew your name?
Dear Diary… tonight, my ordinary life finally disappeared. Whatever comes next, I don’t think there’s any going back.
The three slow knocks echoed against my bedroom window once again.
Knock…
Knock…
Knock…
Each knock was softer than the last, yet somehow more terrifying. The silence that followed felt suffocating, wrapping around my room like invisible chains. My breathing became uneven as my fingers instinctively tightened around my diary. I could hear my own heartbeat pounding against my ears so loudly that it almost drowned out everything else.
Jack’s voice still echoed inside my mind. “Don’t leave your room. Lock every door. Lock every window. No matter who calls your name… don’t come outside.”
“I… I won’t,” I whispered to myself, although I wasn’t entirely sure whether I was trying to convince myself or Jack.
Outside, the figure remained perfectly still. The pale moonlight revealed nothing except the outline of a tall man standing on the thick branch of the old oak tree beside my bedroom. His face remained hidden beneath a black hood, but his glowing golden eyes never left mine.
Then… He smiled. It wasn’t a cruel smile, nor was it comforting, it was that smile of someone who had finally found what he had spent years searching for.
“Marionette Miche,” the stranger said calmly, his deep voice somehow carrying through the closed glass without raising itself. “You have your mother’s eyes.”
My entire body froze in shock. “My… mother?” I whispered unconsciously. The stranger nodded slowly and smiled almost unusual, “I was beginning to think I’d never see them again.”
I swallowed nervously before taking a cautious step backward. “W-Who are you?” I asked, my voice shaking despite every effort to remain brave. “How do you know my name? And… what do you mean by my mother?”
The stranger slowly lowered his hood. His silver hair shimmered beneath the moonlight, and although the golden glow in his eyes gradually faded into an ordinary hazel color, something about him still felt unnatural.
“My name is Rowan Ashcroft,” he answered politely, placing one hand over his chest in greeting. “Years ago, I served neither the Briggs family nor the Sterling family. I belonged to a forgotten pack that chose peace over power.”
His expression softened. “And your mother… was one of the kindest people I ever met.” My heart skipped for a bit that instant.
“You’re lying,” I replied immediately, shaking my head repeatedly. “My parents are ordinary people. My mother has never mentioned wolves… or hidden packs… or any of this.”
Rowan smiled sadly. “Of course she didn’t,” he replied gently. “Because she promised someone she never would.”
I stared at him, several opinions about him storms into my mind which I could only ignore. “A promise?” I asks again.
“One that cost her everything,” he said calmly, like he was telling the truth.
Before I could ask another question, Rowan suddenly looked toward the forest behind him. His expression changed completely, the calmness suddenly disappeared from his face, “They’ve found me.”
Almost instantly, several dark figures landed on nearby rooftops with impossible speed. Branches snapped from outside my house, leaves scattered into the air and deep growls echoed throughout the neighborhood.
My heart nearly stopped out of fear. They were wolves, real wolves. Each wore black tactical clothing bearing the Briggs family crest and ine of them stepped forward.
“Rowan Ashcroft,” the man declared firmly. “By order of Alpha Jack Briggs, you are forbidden from approaching Marionette Miche.”
I blinked in surprise and relief maybe. Jack… he had personally ordered wolves to protect me? I shouldn’t be surprised anymore at this point.
Rowan chuckled softly. “So the young Alpha finally inherited his father’s stubbornness,” he muttered.
The Briggs warrior narrowed his eyes, “This is your final warning.” Rowan ignored him and instead he just looked directly at me.
“Marionette,” he said seriously, “stop searching for answers outside yourself. They’re already inside your diary."
I frowned in surprise, upon hearing that, “My diary?” Rowan agreed and continues, “Read every page again.”
“I already have,” I replied, afterall it is mine, and I wrote it.
“No,” His eyes became surprisingly gentle. “You’ve only read the pages you wrote.” Before I could understand what he meant, Rowan suddenly leaped backward with his supernatural agility, his body disappeared into the darkness with unbelievable speed.
“After him!” one Briggs warrior shouted. Within seconds, every wolf vanished into the forest before my house, and silence returned afterward, only the rustling leaves remained.
I stood beside my window for several minutes, unable to move. My diary… What secrets were still hidden inside it that I am not possibly aware of?
Morning arrived far too quickly. I barely slept this time because every time I closed my eyes, Rowan’s words replayed inside my head.
“You’ve only read the pages you wrote.”
How was that even possible? A diary only contained what its owner wrote…Didn’t it?
I quietly slipped the diary into my backpack before joining my parents for breakfast. My mother smiled warmly while placing toast onto my plate.
“You look exhausted,” she said with obvious concern. “Did you stay up reading again?” I forced a smile. “Something like that.”
She gently touched my forehead with her you know, motherly concerns. “You’ve always overthought everything,” she said affectionately. “Even as a little girl.”
My smile faded that moment, “Mom…” She looked at me. “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course,” she instantly agreed. I hesitated at first, my heart pounded before muttering up confidence to ask. “Did you… ever know someone named Rowan Ashcroft?”
For the briefest moment, my mother’s hand froze. That smile disappeared from her face, then almost immediately, she laughed.
“I’m afraid I don’t know anyone by that name,” he answered too quickly, far too quickly than ordinary. My father looked up from his newspaper and asked her, “Everything alright, honey?”
“Yes,” my mother replied before I could speak. “Marionette was only asking something she probably heard at school.”
She changed the subject immediately. I noticed it and for the first time in my life, I realized that my mother was truly hiding something from me, and it might as well concern me a lot.
Crescent High Academy looked perfectly normal. Students laughed at each other, teachers complained because someone had already failed the morning math quiz.
Ordinary life continued as regular, but only mine no longer felt ordinary. As I walked through the front gate, I immediately spotted Jack waiting beneath the old maple tree.
The moment his eyes found mine, the tension inside his shoulders visibly disappeared. He released a quiet breath of relief, which means that he must have been worried.
He walked toward me quickly. “So…” he began quietly, trying to sound casual although his concern was obvious. “You came to school.”
I raised an eyebrow, “You sound surprised.” Jack rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “I wasn’t sure you would.”
“Why wouldn’t I?” I got confused and surprised that he can possibly say that. He looked directly into my eyes. “After what happened last night… I thought you might still be frightened.”
I laughed nervously and replied, “I was terrified.” His expression became guilty. “I’m sorry for dragging you into this.”
“You don’t have to apologize,” I replied softly. “You weren’t the one standing outside my window.”
Jack’s eyes immediately sharpened. “So… he really approached you.” I nodded slowly. “His name is Rowan.”
Jack’s face changed instantly, “He told you?”
“He introduced himself,” Jack lowered his voice in surprise. “What else?” I hesitated before speaking out again. “He said…” I looked around before continuing. “…that he knew my mother.”
Jack’s breathing stopped and stared at me in disbelief. “That’s impossible.”
“Why?” I asked him, since he seemed like he doesn’t want to believe what I just said. “Because Rowan Ashcroft disappeared fifteen years ago,” he said.
“What?” u almost shouted. Jack slowly nodded. “He wasn’t declared missing.” His voice became unusually serious. “He was declared dead.”
A cold chill spread throughout my body that very moment. Dead…Then who had spoken to me? Before either of us could continue, hurried footsteps echoed behind us.
“Jack!” Eliza approached, clutching several official documents against her chest. Unlike her usual composed appearance, she looked genuinely shaken.
“Thank goodness I found you,” she said breathlessly. “The Council moved today’s emergency meeting forward.”
Jack frowned, as his mood changed instantly, “What happened?” Eliza looked around carefully before lowering her voice. “They found another Luna Diary.”
I looked between both of them. “What… did you just say?” Jack slowly turned toward me. “There should only be one.” Eliza nodded grimly. “Exactly.”
Confusion washed over me. “If there’s another diary…” I whispered. Jack finished my sentence. “…then someone else knows the truth.”
Before anyone could say another word, the emergency alarm suddenly blared throughout the school. Students screamed instantly, as teachers shouted instructions. Luxury vehicles rapidly entered the campus through the front gates.
Every student turned to look, the lead limousine stopped in the center of the courtyard. Its door slowly opened, as an elderly man dressed in an elegant charcoal suit stepped onto the pavement.
Silver hair, sharp blue eyes and with an overwhelming presence, every Briggs wolf immediately lowered their heads, even Eliza bowed respectfully, but Jack remained perfectly still, his jaw tightened.
I looked at him in confusion. “Who is he?” I asked him quietly. Jack didn’t take his eyes off the man, his answer was barely above a whisper.
“My grandfather.”
The elderly Alpha slowly surveyed the entire courtyard, the students, teachers, and the security guards. Then, his eyes stopped on me. For several endless seconds, he just simply stared, then he smiled. It wasn’t a kind smile, it was that smile of someone who had just confirmed an important suspicion.
He raised his walking cane slightly before speaking in a calm, commanding voice that carried across the silent courtyard.
“There she is,” he said, as every eye turned toward me. Jack instinctively stepped in front of me, his grandfather looked at him without emotion.
“Move aside,” Jack didn’t move. “I’m afraid I can’t do that, grandfather,” Jack replied respectfully, yet firmly. “She’s under my protection.”
The old Alpha's expression remained unreadable. “You would oppose your own grandfather?” he asked quietly. Jack met his gaze without hesitation, “No, I would protect the person I was entrusted to protect.”
For a brief moment, the old man’s eyes narrowed at him. Then, before anyone could react, he uttered the words that made every wolf present freeze in horror. “Then perhaps…”
He slowly pointed his cane toward me. “…it’s finally time to tell the human girl why every Alpha in this country is willing to start a war for her.”
- Writer
