Awaken wolf

MIRA

Two days passed and it had been a living hell. Everyone now looked at me like I was a bad person. I couldn’t eat, couldn’t do anything without feeling their eyes on me, their whispers following me everywhere.

That evening I decided to leave my room. I couldn’t hide forever. Maybe if I faced them, if I showed them I wasn’t guilty of what Isla accused me of, someone would listen.

I stumbled upon four elders in the sitting room. The moment I saw them my heart sank.

“Luna Mira,” the eldest one spoke. “We’re here to inform you about something.” He added and my heart sank. 

“Oh!” I gasped fidgeting with my fingers. “We can sit down and…”

“No need to sit down.” One of them shut me up before I could even finish my statement. 

“We can stand here and say what we are here to say.”

“Since you have refused to attend the meeting, we’ve decided to bring the news to you ourselves.”  

They all exchanged meaningful glances among themself. 

“We are here to tell you to find what to do about your barren situation or else our Alpha will take another Luna.”

My heart broke into pieces and I managed to hold the gasp that wanted to fall out of my lips. 

Another Luna?

“There’s nothing wrong with me,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. “I’ve done medical checkups, and the doctors said I’m physically capable of conceiving.”

“The doctors can say that, but you know you’re a wolf without a wolf. That’s the problem.”

“I didn’t choose this,” my voice cracked. “It wasn’t my fault not to have a wolf.”

“Excuses won’t give the pack an heir,” the third elder said. “Years with no results. If you cannot fulfill your duties then you must step aside for someone who can.”

Someone who can? And that someone is Isla, right? 

I opened my mouth to speak but before I could the door swung open and Finn walked in, his presence filling the room immediately. The elders straightened. 

“What’s going on here?” His voice was calm but carried an edge that made everyone tense.

“Alpha,” the eldest elder bowed slightly. “We were just discussing the pack’s future with Luna Mira.”

Finn’s eyes moved from them to me, then back. “I think that’s enough discussion for today. You can leave.”

“But Alpha…” 

“I said leave.” This time his tone left no room for argument.

They bowed and filed out, but not before exchanging meaningful glances that said everything they couldn’t speak aloud. When the door closed behind them, the silence felt heavy.

I looked at Finn, searching for any trace of the man I married.

“Have you thought about what I told you?” I asked quietly. “I want you to break our bond?”

“No.” His voice was flat, emotionless. “I haven’t thought about anything because I’m not going to break our bond. But I will make you suffer for not giving me an heir.”

Something inside me snapped. All the pain, all the betrayal, all the humiliation of the past few days came rushing out.

“Get it together!” I screamed at him. “I’m sure I’m not the cause of this! Have you ever thought that maybe it’s not me? Maybe you’re the one who can’t…” 

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence.” He moved toward me fast, closing the distance between us. “You’re a wolf without a wolf, Mira. You’re the broken one.”

I slapped him. I didn’t even think about it, my hand just moved. The sound cracked through the air and echoed in the silent room.

Finn’s hand flew to his cheek. He stood there frozen, his face slowly turning red. For a moment he just stared at me and I saw something dangerous flash in his eyes, something that made my blood run cold.

“You dare?” His voice came out low and shaking. “You dare lay your hands on me?”

“Finn, I didn’t mean….” 

“Guards!” The word exploded from him like thunder. “Guards, get in here now!”

The door burst open and two guards rushed in, their eyes darting between us trying to assess the situation.

Finn pointed at me, his hand trembling with rage. “Lock her up. Take her to the dungeon immediately.”

“Finn, please, just listen to me…..”

“I said now!” His voice made me flinch, made the guards move faster.

The guard grabbed my arms roughly, their fingers digging into my skin. I struggled against them but they were too strong.

“Let me go! Finn, please!”

He turned his back to me, his shoulders rigid. The guards dragged me toward the door and I looked back one last time, hoping he would change his mind, hoping he would see reason to let me go. But he didn’t turn around.

They dragged me down the stairs, down into the cold darkness beneath the pack house. The dungeon smelled like mold. They threw me inside and the metal door slammed shut with a finality that made my chest tight.

I was alone in the darkness. The cell was cold and damp and I sank to the floor, pulling my knees to my chest. How did my life become this nightmare? What did I do to deserve any of this?

I cried until my throat was raw, until my eyes burned and no more tears would come. Hours passed, or maybe it was minutes. Time felt meaningless down here.

In the night, I heard footsteps on the stairs. Three maids appeared outside my cell, their faces blank and unreadable. One of them unlocked the door.

“What are you doing?” I pressed myself against the wall. “Where are you taking me?”

They didn’t answer. They came in and grabbed my arms, hauling me to my feet even as I tried to pull away. I was too weak to fight properly, too exhausted from crying and not eating.

They dragged me up the stairs and out of the pack house. The night air hit my face, cold and sharp. We walked away from the main buildings, toward the quiet back of the pack where no one ever went, where the trees grew thick and the darkness was complete.

My heart started pounding. Every instinct I had screamed that something terrible was about to happen.

“Please,” I tried again. “Whatever you’re going to do, please don’t. I haven’t done anything wrong.”

Still no response. We reached a small clearing and they stopped, forcing me to stand in the center. I looked around frantically, searching for an escape route, but they had positioned themselves to block every direction.

Then I heard footsteps and Isla emerged from the shadows like she had been waiting there all along.

“Hello, sister,” she said, her voice dripping with false sweetness. “You look terrible.”

“Isla, what is this? What are you doing?”

She walked closer, circling me slowly. “I’m helping you, actually. Instead of you suffering like this day after day, humiliated and hated, I can help you. I can cut your life short and end all your pain. Wouldn’t that be better?”

I stared at her, my mind struggling to process what she was saying. “Where is this coming from? I didn’t do anything that deserves this. I’ve only ever tried to protect you, to give you everything.”

“Everything?” She laughed, the sound harsh and bitter. “You gave me scraps while you took the prize. You married the Alpha, you became Luna, you had everything while I watched from the shadows.”

“I didn’t take anything from you! Finn chose me, I didn’t…”

“Enough talking.” She snapped her fingers. “Hold her.”

Two maids moved fast, grabbing my hands and twisting them behind my back. The third approached with a small bottle, dark liquid sloshing inside.

“No!” I struggled hard, throwing my weight around trying to break free. “No, please don’t do this!”

The maid with the bottle grabbed my jaw, her fingers digging into my cheeks. I clenched my teeth as tight as I could, turning my head away as she tried to force the bottle to my lips.

“Hold her still!” Isla commanded, stepping closer to watch.

They grabbed my face harder, one hand on my forehead, another on my chin, trying to pry my mouth open. The bitter liquid touched my lips and the smell alone told me it was poison. I thrashed and kicked, fighting with everything I had even though I was exhausted.

“Who is that?”

A man’s voice cut through the clearing, strong and commanding. Everyone froze.

Isla’s head snapped toward the sound, her eyes going wide. Without a word she turned and ran, disappearing into the shadows like smoke.

The maids’ grips loosened just enough. I twisted hard and broke free, stumbling backward before turning and running. I heard one of them shout behind me but I didn’t look back.

I crashed into the forest, branches whipping my face and tearing at my clothes. My bare feet hit rocks and thorns but I didn’t stop, couldn’t stop. Behind me I heard them giving chase, their footsteps pounding the ground.

I spotted a large tree and ducked behind it, pressing my back against the rough bark. My chest heaved as I tried to quiet my breathing, tried to hear them over the sound of my own heartbeat thundering in my ears.

“Where did she go?”

“Find her! She couldn’t have gotten far!”

Their voices were close, too close. I held my breath as shadows moved past my hiding spot. But they couldn’t find me. I didn’t have any scent to trace, my dormant wolf making me practically invisible to their heightened senses.

After what felt like forever, their voices grew distant and finally faded completely. They had given up.

I waited a bit longer to be sure, then forced my trembling legs to move. I had to get further away, had to put more distance between them. I stumbled deeper into the forest with no plan, no destination, just the desperate need to survive.

Branches tore at my skin and my feet left bloody prints on the ground but I kept going. After some time my body finally gave up. My legs buckled and I collapsed onto the forest floor, too exhausted to even lift my head. I lay there gasping, every muscle screaming in protest.

Then I heard footsteps again.

No. Not again. I couldn’t run anymore, couldn’t fight. My body had absolutely nothing left.

“Are you alright?”

The voice wasn’t one I recognized. It was deep and rich and carried something I hadn’t heard in so long, genuine concern.

I forced my eyes open and looked up. Instead of Finn’s guards, I saw a man I’d never seen before. He was tall and broad-shouldered, his face partially shadowed but his eyes caught the moonlight and seemed to glow.

That moment something stirred inside me. Deep in my chest where everything had been silent and dead for years, something flickered to life. My wolf. After all this time, she was waking up.