SILVER WHISPERS

Zero. One. Two. Lately, this has been the thing. My father counting his breaths every time we gather at functions. As if - if he stays just calm enough, my wolf would finally show up. But tonight, even his control is fading. They say your life can end in a single moment. They’re wrong. Life ends in layers, bit by bit, until everything comes crashing down all at once. Mine crashed on what was supposed to be the best night of my life. But I didn’t know that yet. Right now I’m just the girl no one’s looking at - at yet another pack gathering. The invisible girl. I’m good at it. Not the superpower kind of invisible. The kind where wolves pause their conversations when they see you coming. The kind were people don’t really notice someone’s there except it’s for something bad. Mothers introduce their daughters with so much pride: “she’s sixteen, starting University soon.” - but it’s never been you. My father tries. Ricardo Veiga. A human. Every few minutes, he glances at me. Wondering. Calculating. How much longer can he pretend that this shift would finally happen? I’m twenty-three. Most wolves shift at eighteen. I’ve never shifted. “Isn’t that Ricardo’s daughter?” The whispers come from two women standing a few feet away from the food stand. They’re not even trying to be quiet. “She’s the one,” the second woman concurs. “The dormant one. From SilverPine.” “It’s embarrassing, really. Twenty-three and still nothing?” “What do you expect when half of their weak pack is human?” The first woman leads the other away. I don’t flinch. Flinching would mean they’d gotten to me. I stopped caring what people think since I turned twenty one. Thats when the names started changing. From “late bloomer” to “ the broken one.” It’s now a sad part of my identity. The ballroom is filled tonight. About 60 wolves from six different packs. We call it the “Autumn gathering” - a chance for unmated wolves to mingle and interact. For pack hierarchies to form alliances. And for parents to show off their kids. My father keeps bringing me to these events with optimism - but in truth - it’s been fading over the years. Tonight, it seems he’s finally called it. It started when I was eighteen. I stood alongside other female wolves at the ceremony waiting for my turn to shift. Nothing came. People told me different things. Different reasons. Nineteen came. Nothing. Twenty came with all sorts of names - “broken,” “half-blood failure,” “witch.” At twenty-one, my father started looking at me differently. Twenty-two, I was basically a ghost. Twenty-three, I gave up. I tried everything. Did meditations, met some higher wolves who promised they could “awaken the dormant spirit,” - even down to participating in some rage exercises where I’d scream my lungs out in a bid to provoke my wolf into defending herself. Nothing. Pointless. Every freaking thing disastrous. I had no option. No solace. So I found something. Something that could take the misery away. Late at night when my father is asleep, I’d lock my door, set up my equipments and start recording. I created an account two months ago on OnlyWolves. A platform for wolves - to be intimate. Most users are humans. The purer packs - like Ironfang Pack - don’t mix with these type of things. They consider relations with humans as low level. We on the other hand are able to see these things regularly - because half of our pack is human. It’s anonymous. Faceless. Just me and my voice. Over there, I’m SilverWhispers. I make ASMR content. The kind that helps lonely people sleep at night . People that don’t have anyone to talk to. People that just want to be heard or seen. It’s soft spoken bedtime stories read in a calm, comforting and relaxed voice. Like whispers - with soft background music. Nothing s****l. Nothing explicit. “Close your eyes. It’s okay. Let me read you something that takes the pain away.” Comments flooded daily. “Thank you so much! Your voice saved me tonight. First time I’ve been able to sleep in weeks.” “Omg! I listen to you every night. Thank you!” The subscribers count grew. And so did the revenue. By the end of the second month, I averaged around twelve hundred dollars monthly. It was mine. My own money. I had regulars. People who commented on every video. One subscriber, MoonWatcher27, had even been messaging frequently. The messages started from casual compliments on how my voice sounded, then they got more personal. We moved from just comments to direct messages. One time they wrote: “Your voice makes me feel less invisible when I’m alone.” “I know what that feels like,” I replied them. “Being invisible.” “Tell me about it?” And I did. I told them things I’d never told anyone. How I was the girl people forgot was even in the room. How conversations died down when I approached. How even my father stopped looking at me with regard. “That must have hurt,” MoonWatcher wrote back. “Having to be surrounded by people that much and still feel alone.” “Every day. But here, I feel seen. Like someone’s actually listening.” “I see you, SilverWhispers. More than all of them.” It’s safe. Anonymous. Just two lonely people connecting in a dark space. Laughter pulls my attention back to the ballroom. The gathering is in full swing. Everyone’s mingling. Everyone except me. I’m about to slip away when someone looks at me. Really looks. Intensely. Eyes locked on mine from across the room. Kael Ironfang. Twenty-six years old Beta heir to one of the most powerful packs in our region - The Ironfang Pack. Nice hair. Golden eyes. Aggressively handsome. And beside him stands a woman with golden eyes too. Watching separately. He walks towards me. Conversations begin to die down across the room. People start to notice. Heads start to turn. My heart pounds in my head. He stops in front of me. Stares at me for a moment. Then: “You felt it.” I’m struggling to hold myself together. “F—-Felt what?” “The bond.” The world stops in front of me. It’s like I’m the only one on the room. “I don’t have…I can’t…” “You’re dormant. I know.” He holds my hand. “I felt the bond anyway. It’s there. Between us.” I swallow. Try to regain calmness. But he follows up immediately. “Can I court you?” Everything happens so fast my senses struggle to keep up. I nod, lost for words. “I’ll see you tomorrow then.” He turns. Then leaves. I stand there frozen. Hand to my mouth. Heart pumping so fast like I might actually pass out. People begin to whisper around me. “Did Kael Ironfang just..” “No way. With her?” “The dormant one?” My father appears beside me. Eyes wide with something I haven’t seen in years. Something like hope. “Luna, what was that?” I barely find my voice. “I think I just found my mate.”