The Voice
674 Words
CHAPTER FIVE
Elara didn’t attend her morning lecture.
She sat on the floor of her bedroom with her back against the bed, staring at the cracked mirror.
She hadn’t slept.
Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the forest.
The boy.
Her mother.
The blood.
And the voice.
Run.
She picked up her phone.
She almost called her mother.
Almost.
But something stopped her.
Her mother had been acting strangely for years whenever Elara asked about her childhood.
Whenever Elara mentioned the forest, her mother changed the subject.
Whenever Elara asked about the scar on her knee, her mother said it was from an accident.
Whenever Elara asked about the little silver necklace she used to wear as a child, her mother told her it had been lost.
Now Elara wasn’t sure she believed any of it.
A knock sounded at her door.
Nia.
Elara opened it.
Nia stared at her.
“You look terrible.”
“Thanks.”
“I brought food.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“You’re eating.”
“Nia—”
“Eat.”
Elara smiled faintly.
Then Nia noticed the mark.
“It’s worse.”
Elara nodded.
“I think something is wrong with me.”
Nia became serious.
“Tell me everything.”
Elara did.
The visions.
The voice.
Riven.
The golden eyes.
The rejection.
Nia listened without interrupting.
When Elara finished, Nia was silent.
“You believe me?”
“I believe that something is happening.”
“That’s not the same thing.”
“No.”
Nia took a breath.
“My grandmother used to tell me stories.”
“About wolves?”
Nia nodded.
“She said there were people who weren’t human. Families that could change into wolves.”
Elara stared at her.
“And you never thought to tell me?”
“I thought my grandmother was crazy.”
A low growl came from somewhere outside.
Both girls froze.
Nia looked toward the window.
“What was that?”
Elara stood.
She walked toward the glass.
Nothing.
Then she heard it.
A whisper.
Run.
She turned.
Nia was still standing behind her.
“You heard that?”
“Heard what?”
Elara’s blood ran cold.
The voice wasn’t external.
It was inside her.
⸻
Riven found Elara that afternoon.
She was sitting alone beneath the same oak tree where they’d first spoken.
He approached slowly.
She didn’t look up.
“I know what you are.”
Riven stopped.
Her heart was beating quickly.
“You don’t.”
“Then tell me.”
Silence.
“Why did you reject me?”
“Because I had to.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“It’s the only one you’re getting.”
She stood.
“Then why do you keep appearing everywhere I go?”
Riven stared at her.
Because the bond pulled him toward her.
Because his wolf could sense her from miles away.
Because he had spent seventeen years believing she was dead.
“I don’t know.”
She stepped closer.
“You’re lying.”
Riven’s eyes flashed gold.
Elara saw it.
This time she didn’t look away.
“Your eyes.”
Riven went still.
“What about them?”
“They changed.”
He stepped back.
Elara’s voice dropped.
“What are you?”
Riven stared at her.
Then something moved behind him.
A shadow.
Riven immediately turned.
His expression changed.
“Get behind me.”
“What?”
“Now.”
Elara heard a growl.
Not Riven’s.
Something was in the trees.
Riven’s eyes turned completely gold.
His hands curled into fists.
Elara backed away.
A pair of glowing eyes appeared between the trees.
Then another.
And another.
Riven stepped in front of her.
“Whatever happens…”
He looked over his shoulder.
“Do not run.”
Elara swallowed.
“Why?”
His voice became almost a whisper.
“Because they aren’t here for me.”
The wolves stepped out of the darkness.
Riven looked at Elara.
“They’re here for you.”
END OF CHAPTER FIVE
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