Leaving Ashwood
668 Words
Dawn arrived too early.
I barely slept.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the silver key.
VAULT.
One word.
One mystery.
One very inconvenient piece of metal hidden inside my boot.
If Serena had wanted to confuse me...
Congratulations.
Mission accomplished.
Mrs. Hilda was already awake when I entered the kitchen.
She pretended to be busy kneading dough.
Pretended not to notice me.
Pretended her eyes weren't red.
"I made breakfast."
"I can smell that."
"Eat."
"I'm leaving in ten minutes."
"Then eat faster."
I smiled.
"I'll miss your warm personality."
"I certainly won't miss your mouth."
"I'll write."
"You can't."
"I'll learn."
"You hate reading."
"I hate vegetables."
"And yet you still complain every time I cook them."
"Exactly."
For a moment...
Everything felt normal.
Like I wasn't about to leave forever.
She placed a wrapped bundle in my hands.
Inside was fresh bread.
Cheese.
Dried apples.
And a tiny wooden wolf carved by hand.
"I made that when you were five."
I stared at it.
"You kept it?"
"I keep everything."
Her voice broke.
"In case my children come home."
I hugged her before I could stop myself.
She hugged me back.
Hard.
Neither of us said goodbye.
Goodbyes make leaving real.
The entire pack had gathered outside the manor.
Not because they wanted to see me leave.
Because the Royal Court was waiting.
Five black carriages stood at the gates.
Royal wolves paced silently beside them.
The silver-eyed envoy watched me approach.
"Ready?"
"No."
"Good."
I frowned.
"Good?"
"The people who leave willingly rarely survive Mooncrest."
That...
Wasn't comforting.
Alpha Victor stood beside the carriage.
For several seconds neither of us spoke.
Then he held out a leather pouch.
"Money."
I blinked.
"You've never given me money."
"I know."
"You're choosing a strange time to become generous."
His expression softened.
"I've chosen a strange time to become your father."
The words hit harder than I expected.
I swallowed.
"I don't know what to call you."
"You don't have to call me anything."
He hesitated.
Then placed something around my neck.
A simple silver pendant.
A crescent moon.
"If anyone asks..."
"...never take this off."
I touched the cold metal.
"What is it?"
"My last mistake."
Before I could ask what that meant...
He stepped back.
The distance between us suddenly felt enormous.
"Lyra."
I turned.
Serena stood several feet away.
Hands behind her back.
Looking anywhere except at me.
"You forgot something."
She tossed a small leather notebook.
I caught it.
Blank pages.
On the inside cover she'd written exactly one sentence.
Trust actions. Never words.
I looked up.
"Why are you helping me?"
She forced a smile.
"I'm not."
"Then why?"
She looked toward the waiting carriages.
"Because if they discover the truth..."
She stopped herself.
"What truth?"
For the first time...
She looked afraid.
Not of me.
Of someone far away.
"Don't let anyone at Mooncrest know your birthday."
I laughed.
"My birthday?"
She didn't.
"My birthday is dangerous?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
She took one slow step backward.
"You'll understand..."
"...on your nineteenth."
The envoy opened the carriage door.
"It's time."
I climbed inside.
The door closed.
The carriage lurched forward.
Ashwood Pack slowly disappeared behind us.
Mrs. Hilda wiped her eyes.
Alpha Victor never moved.
Serena stood alone at the gates.
Watching until the manor became nothing more than a shadow.
I looked down at the notebook in my lap.
Something was tucked between the last two pages.
A folded piece of paper.
Not written by Serena.
The handwriting was elegant.
Old.
Only five words.
Don't trust the Headmaster.
No name.
No signature.
Just one strange symbol pressed into the wax.
A wolf...
...surrounded by seven stars.
Outside, the carriage rolled toward Mooncrest Academy.
Toward the place that had waited eighteen years for my arrival.
And for the first time since this journey began...
I wondered if the voice in my head had been wrong.
Maybe the Academy wasn't where I would die.
Maybe...
It was where the hunt would begin.
- Writer
