Chapter Seven
1329 Words
— Dani
The silence in the room feels like it’s pressing against my skin.
I try to breathe.
I try to calm down.
I try to do everything Alaric said.
But the emotions inside me won’t settle.
Fear.
Confusion.
Embarrassment.
The echo of Alaric’s emotions tangled with mine.
The memory of disappearing.
The terror of not knowing if I’ll do it again.
It all churns inside me, too big, too sharp, too much.
My chest tightens.
My vision blurs.
The air around me thickens.
Not again.
Please, not again.
The door opens.
“Dani?” Alana steps inside, her voice soft. “Dad said you might need—”
She stops.
Her breath catches.
Her eyes widen in horror.
“Dani,” she whispers, “your wolf—”
My heart slams against my ribs. “What?”
She stumbles back a step, shaking her head. “I—I can see it. Behind you. No—on you. Dani, your wolf is—”
Her voice breaks.
I look down at myself.
Nothing.
Just me.
Just my human body.
But Alana sees something else.
“Alana,” I say, trying to keep my voice steady, “there’s nothing—”
She flinches like I shouted.
“Don’t move!” she cries. “It’s—Dani, it’s like your wolf is inside your skin—like it’s trying to come out—”
My stomach drops.
No.
No, no, no.
I’m not shifting.
I’m not glowing.
I’m not doing anything.
But she sees it.
She sees something that isn’t real.
My breath stutters. “Alana, listen to me—”
Footsteps thunder down the hall.
Alaric bursts into the room, Dr. Hale right behind him.
“What happened?” he demands.
Alana points at me with a trembling hand. “Her wolf—Dad, her wolf is—”
Alaric’s eyes snap to me.
He sees nothing.
His expression shifts instantly — from alarm to something darker. Something he tries to hide.
“Dani,” he says quietly, “what are you feeling right now?”
I shake my head, tears burning my eyes. “I don’t know. Too much.”
Dr. Hale steps closer, her voice calm but urgent. “Dani, look at me.”
I do.
And the illusion breaks.
Alana gasps as whatever she saw vanishes.
Her knees buckle, and Alaric catches her.
Dr. Hale exhales slowly. “Well. That was… unexpected.”
My voice shakes. “What did I do?”
Dr. Hale studies me with a mixture of concern and fascination. “I’m not sure yet. But it wasn’t phasing.”
Alaric’s jaw tightens. “It was something else.”
Alana clings to him, still shaking. “Dad… I saw her wolf. I swear I did.”
Alaric doesn’t answer.
Because he doesn’t know.
And neither do I.
But one thing is clear:
Whatever is happening to me…
it’s getting stronger.
---
The Grounding Test
My heart is still racing from the look on Alana’s face — the way she stared at me like she was seeing something monstrous, something impossible. My wolf. On me. Through me. I don’t even know.
I’m still shaking when Dr. Hale steps forward, her voice calm but firm.
“Alright,” she says softly, “we need to ground you before anything else happens.”
Alana is still clinging to Alaric’s arm, her eyes wide and glassy. She keeps glancing at me like she’s afraid the illusion will come back.
Alaric’s jaw is tight, his posture rigid, but his eyes… his eyes are locked on me with a mix of fear and something deeper he’s trying to hide.
Dr. Hale gestures toward the living room. “Let’s move somewhere with more space.”
I nod, even though my legs feel like they might give out. Alaric moves toward me instinctively — like he wants to steady me — but he stops himself at the last second, hands curling into fists at his sides.
I walk past him, careful not to brush against him.
Careful not to feel anything too strongly.
The living room is dim, lit only by the fire. Shadows dance across the walls, and for a moment I swear one of them moves wrong — too sharp, too alive — but I blink and it’s gone.
Dr. Hale motions for me to sit on the rug in front of the hearth.
“Dani,” she says gently, “I want you to sit with your back straight, feet flat on the floor.”
I do.
Alaric stands behind the couch, arms crossed, watching every breath I take. Alana sits on the far end of the sofa, knees pulled to her chest, still pale.
Dr. Hale kneels in front of me.
“Your emotions are triggering… something,” she says carefully. “We don’t know what yet. But we need to help your body settle.”
I swallow hard. “What if I disappear again?”
“Then we bring you back,” she says simply. “Just like before.”
Her confidence steadies me. A little.
“Alright,” she continues. “I want you to focus on one thing in this room. Something real. Something solid.”
My eyes drift — not to Alaric this time — but to the fire.
The flames crackle softly, warm and alive.
“That,” I whisper. “The fire.”
“Good,” she says. “Describe it.”
“It’s… orange. Gold. The logs are cracking. The heat feels… steady.”
“Excellent. Keep going.”
“It’s bright. It’s warm. It’s—”
A sudden spike of emotion hits me.
Not mine.
Alaric’s.
Fear.
Sharp and hot.
Directed at me.
My breath stutters. The fire blurs. The room tilts.
“No,” I whisper. “Not again—”
“Dani.” Dr. Hale’s voice sharpens. “Stay with me. Look at the fire.”
I try.
But the flames shift.
For a split second, they turn blue.
Then silver.
Then they twist into the shape of a wolf’s head — snarling, glowing, alive.
I gasp and jerk back.
Alana screams.
Alaric moves instantly, stepping between me and the fire like he can shield me from my own hallucination.
Dr. Hale grabs my hands. “Dani! Look at me!”
I can’t breathe. “It— it changed—”
“What did you see?” she asks urgently.
“A wolf,” I choke out. “In the fire. It looked real.”
Alana is shaking. “Dad, I saw it too. I swear I did.”
Alaric’s eyes snap to her. “You saw it?”
She nods, trembling. “It— it looked like it was coming out of the flames.”
Dr. Hale’s expression shifts — not fear, not confusion, but something like dawning realization.
She turns back to me slowly.
“Dani,” she says softly, “you didn’t just see the illusion.”
My stomach drops. “What do you mean?”
Her voice is barely above a whisper.
“You projected it.”
The room goes silent.
Alaric’s breath catches.
Alana’s eyes widen.
My heart stops.
I projected it.
Not just to myself.
To them.
To everyone in the room.
My emotions didn’t just slip out — they manifested.
Real enough to see.
Real enough to scare.
Real enough to make Alana scream.
I pull my hands away, shaking violently.
“I don’t want this,” I whisper. “I don’t want any of this.”
Dr. Hale’s voice softens. “I know. But it’s happening. And we need to understand it.”
Alaric steps closer, his voice low and steady.
“Dani,” he says, “look at me.”
I do.
And for the first time since this started…
I don’t disappear.
I don’t blur.
I don’t project anything.
I just breathe.
Because he’s grounding me without even trying.
And that terrifies me more than anything else.
- Writer
