The Healer's Secret

The yard emptied slowly.

Boots scraped against dirt. Voices dropped low. No one laughed this time.

I stood where they left me.

For a moment, I didn't move. I couldn't.

Then it hit.

The adrenaline drained out of me like water through cracked stone. My knees softened. My shoulder flared, sharp and angry. My ribs ached with every breath.

I sucked in air through my teeth.

It should have been worse.

I knew it should have been worse.

Grey hadn't held back. Not at the end. And I'd hit the ground – twice. Hard.

But the pain… it lingered instead of swallowing me whole. Dull where it should have been blinding.

I lifted my wrist.

The scar stared back. Thin. Silver. Quiet.

Like nothing had happened.

But I remembered the heat. The way it had burned under my skin. Gold, not silver. Alive, not dead.

My fingers hovered over it, then pressed lightly.

Nothing.

Still… I could feel it. Not on the surface. Deeper. Like something waiting just beneath the skin.

My wolf stirred.

Not loud this time. Not angry.

Just… there.

Watching. Waiting.

I dropped my hand and forced my feet to move.

One step. Then another.

The walk back to the pack house felt longer than before.

Wolves passed me on the path. Shoulders brushing close. Eyes flicking toward me, then away.

No insults.

No laughter.

Just stares.

That somehow felt worse.

Something had shifted. I didn't know what – but I felt it in the way the air moved around me.

I reached the door leading down to the basement. My hand curled around the handle.

"Selene."

I froze.

Slowly, I turned.

Mara stood a few steps away, half-shadowed by the wall. Her arms were wrapped around herself, fingers gripping tight like she was holding something in.

"Come with me," she said.

I frowned. "My room—"

"Not your room."

Her voice cut through mine. Quiet. Firm.

"Somewhere else."

I hesitated.

Just for a second.

Then I followed.

Mara didn't wait for me. She turned and walked, quick and silent, down a narrow corridor I'd never been allowed near before.

The deeper we went, the stronger the scent became.

Herbs. Dried leaves. Something bitter underneath.

She pushed open a door and stepped inside. I lingered at the threshold before slipping in after her.

The room was small. Smaller than I expected.

Shelves lined the walls, cluttered with jars and bundles of dried plants hanging upside down. Books were stacked in uneven piles, their pages worn and yellowed.

A single candle flickered on a low table, casting shadows that moved when I did.

Mara shut the door behind us. The click sounded louder than it should have.

"Sit."

She pointed to a stool.

I obeyed. Slowly. Carefully. My body protested the movement, but I ignored it.

She turned her back to me and poured water into a cup. Her hands were steady – but only just.

She passed it to me.

"You shouldn't have been able to do what you did out there."

Her voice was different – not sharp, not cold.

Curious.

I wrapped my fingers around the cup. It was warm. Grounding.

"Grey has trained for years," she continued. "You've never thrown a punch."

I stared into the water.

Didn't answer.

Didn't know how to.

Mara moved closer. Then closer still.

She knelt in front of me.

That alone made my chest tighten. She had never – never – put herself lower than me before.

Her hand reached out.

Gentle.

She took my wrist.

Turned it over.

Her thumb brushed lightly over the scar.

Silver.

Her brows drew together.

"The curse is changing," she murmured. "I've watched it for years. It never dimmed."

Her eyes flicked up to mine.

"Until now."

Something in her gaze sharpened.

"What did you do?"

Her grip tightened slightly – not enough to hurt, but enough to hold me there.

"What happened at the shrine?"

My first instinct was to pull away.

To shut down. Say nothing.

That was safer. It always had been.

But Mara's hand didn't feel like a threat.

Not this time.

And her eyes…

They weren't looking at me like I was broken. Or cursed.

They were looking at me like I was something she couldn't figure out.

I swallowed.

My throat felt dry, even after the water.

"I…"

The words stuck.

I forced them out anyway.

"I spoke to her."

Mara's fingers stilled on my wrist.

"To who?" she asked, though I could hear it in her voice – she already knew.

"The Moon Goddess."

The room went very still.

Mara's breath caught. Sharp.

"At the old shrine," I continued, quieter now. "I didn't know what I was doing. I just… I needed answers."

Images flickered through my mind. Silver light. Endless ground.

"I asked her why," I said. "Why I was still paying for something I didn't do. Why it never stopped."

Mara didn't interrupt.

Didn't move.

So I kept going.

"She showed me something," I whispered. "A place. It wasn't real – but it felt real. A field. Everything was silver."

My fingers tightened around the cup.

"And there was… a heart."

The word sounded strange out loud.

"Not like ours. Bigger. Brighter. Like it was alive in a different way."

Mara's grip tightened just slightly.

"The Heart of the First Wolf," she breathed.

I nodded.

"She said suffering can break or forge," I went on. "She said a war is coming. That the wolf nation needs a heart."

Silence stretched between us.

Heavy.

Mara stood suddenly, pacing the small room like she couldn't stay still anymore.

"The war…" she muttered. "I've heard whispers. Nothing clear. Just rumors."

She dragged a hand through her hair.

"The rival pack – they're not just gathering strength. They're searching."

She stopped. Turned to me.

"For the Heart."

My stomach tightened.

Mara stepped closer again, faster this time, urgency bleeding into her movements.

"The curse…" she said slowly. "It wasn't just punishment."

Her hands gripped my shoulders now. Firm.

"It was a lock."

I blinked.

"A… lock?"

She nodded.

"The artifact drains you because it recognizes your bloodline. The ones who tried to take it."

My chest tightened.

"But if the Goddess is speaking to you…"

Her eyes searched mine, sharp and almost afraid.

"Listen to me," she said, voice dropping. "Don't tell anyone."

Her grip tightened.

"Not Kael. Not anyone."

I stared at her.

"If the pack finds out the curse is breaking…"

Her voice faltered for just a second.

"They won't help you. They'll fear you."

"Or worse…"

Her fingers dug in slightly.

"They'll use you."

Mara let go of me abruptly and turned to one of the shelves.

Her fingers moved quickly, pushing aside jars and bundles until she found what she was looking for.

A book.

Old.

The leather cover was cracked, edges worn like it had been handled too many times.

She brought it over and set it on the table.

Dust lifted when she opened it.

The pages were yellowed, fragile. Covered in ink that had faded but not disappeared.

Drawings filled the margins.

I leaned forward despite myself.

There it was.

The heart.

Not exactly like what I'd seen – but close enough that my chest tightened. Lines of light drawn around it. Symbols I didn't understand.

"The artifact wasn't just stolen by your parents," Mara said quietly. "It's been fought over for centuries."

Her finger traced a line of text.

"They say it holds the first wolf's soul."

A chill slid down my spine.

She read aloud, her voice low.

"Whoever the Heart chooses will wield the power of the first wolf… but it tests the unworthy by draining them."

The words settled heavy in my chest.

I swallowed.

"You're saying…" My voice felt smaller now. "The curse…"

I couldn't finish it.

Mara looked at me.

"I'm saying your parents failed," she said. Not unkindly. Just truth.

"But the Goddess…" she continued, softer now, "may be giving you a second chance."

My gaze dropped to my wrist.

"The draining," she added. "Every full moon. It might not be punishment."

A pause.

"It might be the Heart deciding if you're worthy."

Images flashed – nights of pain. Of barely breathing. Of wishing it would just end.

"I've almost died," I whispered. "More than once."

My fingers curled slightly.

"If that's a test…"

My throat closed.

"I've been failing."

Mara shook her head immediately.

"No."

Her voice was firm. Certain.

"You survived."

She held my gaze.

"Every time."

"That's not failure."

Something in her expression softened. Just a little.

"That's proof."

A knock sounded at the door.

Sharp. Sudden.

We both froze.

Mara's head snapped toward it.

Her voice dropped to a hiss.

"Hide. Now."

My body moved before my mind caught up.

I slipped off the stool and darted behind a thin curtain near the back wall. It smelled faintly of herbs and dust.

I pressed myself flat against the wall.

Didn't breathe.

The door creaked open.

"Healer."

Kael's voice.

Low. Controlled.

My heart slammed against my ribs.

"I need herbs for the warriors," he said.

Mara stepped in his way – I could hear it in the shift of her voice, closer to the door.

"I'll bring them to you."

A pause.

"Is there something else, Alpha?"

Silence stretched.

I could feel it.

Heavy. Searching.

My pulse pounded so loud I was sure he could hear it.

Footsteps. Slow.

Closer.

My fingers curled into the fabric of the curtain.

Don't move. Don't breathe.

"The omega," Kael said finally. "She trained today."

Mara didn't answer right away.

Then, "I saw."

Another pause.

Longer this time.

"Something is wrong with her," he said.

My chest tightened.

"Or right," he added.

His voice dropped slightly.

"I can't tell."

The words sent a chill through me.

Fabric shifted – he was moving again.

Toward the door.

Footsteps retreated.

Then silence.

The door closed.

Mara leaned against it. I heard the soft thud of her back hitting the wood.

A breath left her. Slow. Shaky.

I stepped out from behind the curtain.

My hands were trembling.

My whole body felt too tight. Too aware.

Mara didn't look at me right away.

When she did, her eyes were darker than before.

"He's watching," she said quietly.

I nodded.

Because I already knew.

Not the way he used to.

Not with disgust.

Worse.

I wrapped my arms around myself.

He wasn't trying to break me anymore.

He was trying to understand me.

And that –

That might be more dangerous.