CHAPTER TEN: KIERAN NOTICES

I couldn't sleep that night.

Every time I closed my eyes, I thought about the roses coming back to life under my hands.

It felt like magic, but that was impossible. I was just a broken half-human.

I couldn't have real magic powers.Could I?

The next morning, I was tired and cranky when I went down for breakfast.

I sat at my usual spot next to Sophie, but I wasn't really listening to her cheerful chatter about pack activities.

"Laila, are you okay?" Sophie asked.

"You look like you didn't sleep well."

"I'm fine," I said quietly, pushing eggs around on my plate but I wasn't fine.

I kept thinking about what Mrs. Chen said - that maybe I wasn't meant to be a normal werewolf.

What did that even mean?

After breakfast, I went for a walk in the forest behind the pack house.

I needed quiet time to think about everything that happened yesterday.

The forest was beautiful and peaceful.

Tall trees reached up toward the sky, and soft sunlight filtered through the leaves.

I found a fallen log to sit on and just listened to the birds singing.

As I sat there, I noticed that the plants around me looked a little droopy.

The ferns weren't as green as they should be and some of the wildflowers looked sad.

Without really thinking about it, I reached out and touched a small fern that was turning brown at the edges.

Immediately, it perked up and became bright green again.

I gasped and pulled my hand back.

It had happened again.

"Interesting."

I spun around and saw Kieran standing behind me, watching with those sharp silver eyes of his.

"How long have you been there?" I asked, feeling embarrassed.

"Not long," he said, walking closer.

"Mind if I sit with you?" I scooted over on the log to make room for him.

Even sitting down, Kieran was much bigger than me.

His presence made me feel small but also... protected.

"You've been thinking about what happened in Mrs. Chen's garden," Kieran said. It wasn't a question.

"How did you know?"

"Because you look the same way I did when I first discovered I had Alpha powers," Kieran said.

"Confused, scared, and wondering if you're going crazy." I looked at him with surprise.

"Really?"

"Yes. I was about your age when my father died and I had to take over as Alpha."

"Suddenly I could feel the emotions of every pack member, sense their loyalty or disloyalty and command them with my voice. It was overwhelming."

"Were you scared?" I asked.

"Terrified," Kieran smiled.

"Having power you don't understand is frightening but you know what I learned?"

"What?"

"Power isn't scary when you understand it and use it for good purposes."

Kieran looked at the fern I had healed.

"What you did yesterday wasn't frightening, Laila. It was beautiful."

I felt warm inside when he said that.

"But what if other people don't think it's beautiful? What if they think I'm a freak?"

"Then they're idiots," Kieran said firmly.

"Laila, do you know how many pack members come to me with problems I can't solve? Sick plants, gardens that won't grow, herbs that die before the healers can use them. But you... you could help with all of that."

"You really think so?"

"I know so." Kieran turned to face me completely.

"Laila, I want you to try something for me."

"What?""See that patch of dying grass over there?"

Kieran pointed to a brown spot under a big tree.

"Try to heal it." I looked at the dead grass nervously.

"What if I can't do it? What if yesterday was just a fluke?"

"Then nothing happens and we go back to the house," Kieran said simply.

"But I don't think it was a fluke."

I took a deep breath and walked over to the dead grass.

I knelt down and placed my hands on the brown, crunchy stems.

At first, nothing happened.

I started to feel disappointed - maybe Kieran was wrong.

Maybe I really was just imaginary everything.

I closed my eyes and imgined the patch green, fresh and healthy.

Then, slowly, I felt something warm flowing from my hands into the earth.

The grass under my palms started to turn green.

The warmth spread outward, and soon the entire patch of dead grass was healthy and bright.

"Incredible," Kieran breathed.

I looked up at him with wonder.

"I did that. I really did that."

"Yes, you did." Kieran knelt down beside me.

"Luna, this isn't just plant magic. This is healing magic. Do you understand how rare and precious that is?"

"No," I said honestly. "I don't understand any of this."

"Healing magic hasn't been seen in the werewolf world for over a hundred years," Kieran explained.

"My great-grandmother used to tell stories about healers who could cure any sickness, bring dying things back to life, and even ease emotional pain but those bloodlines were thought to be extinct."

"Bloodlines?" I repeated.

"Magic like this is inherited, Laila. It passes down through families."

Kieran's eyes got very serious.

"Which means one of your parents must have been a very powerful magical being."

That confused me.

"But Uncle Theodore said my father was human and my mother was just a regular werewolf."

"Your uncle might not know the whole truth," Kieran said carefully.

"Or he might have reasons for not telling you the truth." That made me uncomfortable.

Why would Uncle Theodore lie to me about my own parents?

"Kieran," I said quietly, "what if people find out about this and they get scared of me? What if they want me to leave?"

Kieran's face got very serious. "Laila, look at me."

I looked up into his silver eyes.

"I promise you this," he said firmly.

"As long as I am Alpha of this pack, you will always have a place here. No matter what powers you have or don't have. No matter what anyone else says. This is your home now, and no one will take that away from you."

The way he said it made my heart beat faster.

He sounded so sure, so protective. Like he really meant it.

"But why?" I asked.

"Why do you care so much about what happens to me?"

Kieran was quiet for a long moment. He looked like he was struggling with something inside himself.

"Because," he said finally,

"you don't deserve to be hurt or thrown away. You deserve to be somewhere safe where you can discover who you're really meant to be."

"And you think I'm meant to be some kind of magical healer?"

"I think," Kieran said softly, "you're meant to be much more important than you realize."

We sat in comfortable silence for a while, looking at the patch of grass I had healed.

It was strange to think that I had done something so beautiful and powerful.

"Kieran," I said eventually, "can I ask you something?"

"Of course.""Why didn't you ever find another mate after Seraphina died?" Kieran's face turned cold.

"Because I don't deserve another mate. Seraphina died because I wasn't there to protect her. I failed her."

"Keiran, I'm sorry," I said quietly.

Kieran looked at me with an expression I couldn't quite read. "But lately... lately I've been thinking that maybe being alone isn't the answer."

Something in his voice made my stomach get fluttery again.

The way he was looking at me made me think he might be talking about more than just general loneliness but that was crazy, right?

Someone like Kieran - powerful, handsome, important - wouldn't be interested in someone like me.

I was just a charity case he felt sorry for.Wasn't I?

"We should head back," Kieran said, standing up.

"Lunch will be ready soon."

As we walked back to the pack house together, I couldn't stop thinking about everything he had said.

About my powers being rare and precious.

About me being meant for something important.

About him thinking I deserved to be somewhere safe.

And most confusing of all - about him saying he'd been thinking that maybe being alone wasn't the answer.

What did that mean?

And why did the thought of it make my heart race and my palms sweaty?

I was so lost in my thoughts that I almost bumped into Marcus when we reached the house.

"There you two are," Marcus said with a grin. "I've been looking everywhere for you, Laila. Mom wants to talk to you about something."

"Mom?" I asked, confused.

"Sorry, I meant Emma. We all call her Mom because she takes care of everyone." Marcus's grin got wider.

"She wants to know if you'd like to help in the kitchen today. Apparently, Tom told her about the problems with the vegetable gardens, and she's hoping... well, she's hoping you might be able to help."

I looked at Kieran in surprise.

Had he already told people about my abilities?

"I only told Emma and Marcus," Kieran said quietly. "They're family. They can be trusted."

"And we're all very excited," Marcus added. "Laila, if you can really help plants grow, you could solve a lot of problems for our pack."

The idea that I could actually be useful, that I could help solve problems instead of cause them, made me feel warm and hopeful inside.

"I'd like to try," I whispered.

"Excellent!" Marcus said. "This is going to be amazing."

As we walked toward the kitchen, I caught Kieran watching me with that same unreadable expression from the forest.

When our eyes met, he smiled slightly, and I felt those butterflies in my stomach again.

Maybe, just maybe, I was starting to understand what it felt like to belong somewhere.

And maybe, just maybe, I was starting to understand why Kieran Blackthorne made me feel so confused and fluttery inside.

But I was still too scared to think about it too much.