Coming Home.
1111 Words
"Savanah's POV"
“Savanah, Mira, Niran, Eliah. My office. Now.”
Rosi’s command cut through the noise in the dining hall like a blade.
All conversation stopped.
Mira and I exchanged a glance. Without a word, we pushed our trays aside and stood up, shrugging silently before heading toward his office.
In the hallway, we caught up with Eliah and Niran.
“Do you know what this is about?” Mira asked them.
They both shook their heads. No.
Before we had time to say anything else, Niran stepped forward and knocked on the heavy wooden door.
“Enter,” came Rosi’s muffled voice.
We filed in.
“I have orders for you,” he began without preamble. “The four of you leave today. One of the packs needs assistance with a rogue attack. Go pack your things. You leave in one hour. A car will be waiting outside. I don’t care who drives.”
He looked at us with a faint smirk.
“In an hour, you’re no longer my problem.”
Mira raised a brow. “Where are you sending us?”
The room fell silent. Even Eliah turned to her in disbelief, as if she’d just crossed a line no one dared touch.
Rosi’s expression didn’t change.
“Ironclaw,” he said simply, then turned to look straight at me.
“Savanah knows the way. After all… she’s going home.”
And just like that, with a dismissive wave of his hand, we were dismissed.
He had nothing more to say.
I stood frozen. The weight of that single word—home—slammed into me like a tidal wave.
Home.
Mira gently tugged on my arm, grounding me just enough to get my feet moving.
“Are you okay?” she asked once we were back in the corridor.
I didn’t answer.
I couldn’t.
“Mira,” I finally choked out, panic clawing at my chest, “I can’t go back.”
She didn’t argue. She just took my hand and pulled me through the maze of stone hallways, leading me toward my room.
I tried to breathe, to stay calm, to keep it together—but my thoughts were spinning out of control.
What about my parents?
Will the Alpha be angry I’ve returned?
God… Dean.
What if he hates me?
What if he thinks I’m still the same scared girl who disappeared without a word?
What if he’s moved on… and I’m nothing but a ghost from his past?
I wasn’t ready for this.
But it wasn’t up to me anymore.
“Savanah. Savanah! Hey, can you hear me? Savanah!”
Mira’s voice sounded panicked. That alone was terrifying—Mira never panicked.
A sharp slap snapped me out of my trance.
“You slapped me?” I blinked at her, stunned.
“Of course I did! You weren’t responding! You were just sitting there, breathing like a lunatic. I thought something was seriously wrong.”
Now she was the one breathing like she’d run a marathon.
“Could you be any more dramatic?” I muttered, flopping down onto the bed.
“I can’t go back there, Mira. What if the Alpha gets angry? What happens to my parents?”
Panic spilled out of me like a broken dam.
“What are you talking about, Savanah?”
I looked at her, my chest rising and falling too fast.
“Mira… I was sent to the Academy because I caused problems in the pack.”
My voice trembled, but I forced myself to continue.
“I’m adopted, you know that. Some of the pack kids... they bullied me. Made sure I knew I didn’t belong. Dean—he’s the Alpha’s son—he was the first one who ever stood up for me. He was my first real friend.”
I swallowed hard. That memory still ached.
“When he turned sixteen, his parents threw him a birthday party. Some guy kept following me around, asking me to leave the party with him. I kept saying no. I didn’t want drama, I really didn’t… but suddenly Dean was there, furious. He snapped and attacked the guy. The Alpha lost it.”
I paused, taking a shaky breath. “He said I was nothing but trouble. That the best option was to send me to the Academy—for ‘re-education.’”
I made air quotes with my fingers, but my heart was pounding.
“He gave me an ultimatum: either I went quietly, or he’d exile my parents from the pack. They would’ve lost everything. So I agreed.”
Mira’s eyes widened. “You agreed to that?”
I nodded. “Of course I did. My parents… they’re good people, Mira. They may not be my blood, but they gave me everything. When the Alpha brought me in as a kid, he let the pack vote on whether someone would take me in. No one volunteered. Everyone looked away. Until my parents—both on patrol that night—barged into the mess hall. They didn’t even hesitate. They said yes.”
My voice cracked.
“They gave me a home. Read me bedtime stories. I was terrified of thunderstorms, and even when they weren’t home, the moment the thunder started, they came for me. I never had to ask. How could I say no to them after that?”
A lump formed in my throat. “And then there was Dean. The Alpha warned me to stay away from him. So I did. I ignored his messages, his voice under my window… everything. I just disappeared.”
For the first time since I’d met Mira, she was speechless.
“Say something… please.”
She stared at me with that fierce, unshakable gaze.
Then, without hesitation, she said, “You’re not alone, Savanah. I’m with you. Your parents are with you. And Dean?” She scoffed. “You’ll explain everything. And if he doesn’t get it, I’ll kick him in the balls myself. I swear.”
A weak laugh escaped my lips.
“We’ve got this. Together,” Mira said, gripping my hand. “You were never the problem, Savanah. Your Alpha’s a coward. We’ll go to Ironclaw, deal with the rogues, and you’ll show them what they lost when they threw you away.”
Her eyes blazed with fire.
“You don’t owe them anything. And never forget—you’re stronger than all of them.”
I stared at her, overwhelmed by the storm of emotions inside me.
But in her gaze, I found a steady anchor.
“We’ve got this,” I whispered.
“Together,” she said again, squeezing my hand.
- Writer
