로그인Silver realized she was no longer free when she tried to open the door.
It was subtle at first.
She reached for the handle, fingers brushing cool metal, expecting it to turn. It did not. There was no dramatic clank, no audible lock sliding into place, just resistance.
She frowned and tried again, slower this time, still nothi
Silver used to feel her wolf like a second spine, not like a voice or a presence with words, just a steady awareness, a low hum beneath muscle and bone that told her when space shifted, when danger crept close, when someone’s intent sharpened.But now, there was nothing, not quiet or sleepingShe noticed it in the early morning when the mist still clung to the ground and the pack compound smelled of wet stone and old pine. The wolves moving through the courtyard made the air ripple with dominance cues: subtle shoulder angling, deliberate steps, controlled breathing that signalled rank.Silver felt none of it.She should have.Her body responded late to everything now, like her instincts were buffering.
The corridors of the Alpha quarters had grown smaller, everywhere she went, she felt the weight of eyes on her, watching, cataloguing, judging. Even the stone walls seemed to hum with scrutiny, as though they remembered every step and whispered thought.Silver moved from her room to the training hall, and back to the common quarters, like a ghost tracing the same path, invisible yet impossibly observed. At first, she tried to ignore it, focused on drills and grounding herself, but the feeling persisted, a low hum behind her skull, never fading or kind.Guards followed her, no longer at a distance or discreetly, close enough that she could feel the brush of their presence, and every time she turned, there they were, stone-faced, silent, their eyes measuring her reactions, memorizing her pace.Arthur had tighten
Arthur did not ask her if she wanted to train, he told her.It started at dawn.Silver was halfway through dressing when the knock came, sharp. It wasn’t a request but a summon. She opened the door to find a guard waiting, eyes respectful but unyielding.“The Alpha requests your presence in the lower ring,” he said.Lower ring meant combat, not sparring or conditioning.Combat.She swallowed. “Now?”“Yes, Lady Silver.”She followed.The pack was already awake. Warriors were stretching. The clink of metal
Silver realized she was no longer free when she tried to open the door.It was subtle at first.She reached for the handle, fingers brushing cool metal, expecting it to turn. It did not. There was no dramatic clank, no audible lock sliding into place, just resistance.She frowned and tried again, slower this time, still nothing.A soft voice came from the other side. “Lady Silver?”She stepped back. “Why is the door locked?”A pause.“It’s not locked,” the guard said.She tilted her head. “Then open it.”
Silver woke up twice.The first time, she opened her eyes and saw the familiar stone ceiling of the Alpha quarters. The second time, she realized she did not feel like she was inside her body.She lay still, staring upward, watching the shadows of torchlight ripple across the carved beams. The room smelled the same, cedar, ash, faint iron from the weapons hung on the walls, everything looked right.She felt nothing.No fear, warmth or sense of time passing. Her heart beat, but it felt like a sound she was hearing from far away.Someone was holding her hand, and she turned her head slowly.Arthur sat beside her bed, unmoving, his forearms braced on his knees, his head bowed. His fi
Silver did not fall, she slipped.One moment, Arthur’s hands were on her shoulders, grounding. The next, the world tilted inward, folding like wet paper. Sound drained first, then colour, and then weight. Her body still stood in the Alpha’s quarters, still breathing, still trembling, but her mind was being pulled somewhere else.Somewhere deeper, she tried to scream, but nothing came out.The room blurred, stretching like a reflection on water. Arthur’s voice became distant, distorted, as if it were being shouted through a tunnel.“Silver!”







