Chapter 18: Words That Cut Deeper Than Silence

Alaina

Adrian’s voice rang with conviction, filling the hall like a storm rolling through a dry plain.

“Still,” he said, sweeping his gaze across the sea of faces before him, “there are things that concern me deeply. Things that can no longer be ignored.”

The pack stood still, alert and waiting.

“There’s a pressing matter that requires our full attention,” he added.

He hadn’t shared his plans with me, but the fact that I stood among the crowd, acknowledged, not shunned gave me a fragile thread of hope. Maybe he meant what he said. Maybe I wasn’t just a pawn.

“For the Pack Games to mean anything,” Adrian continued, “we need more than strength. We need unity.”

His words seemed to crack the air. I watched him speak, calm, confident, sharp as a blade honed by hardship. My heart beat just a little faster.

“This is our moment,” he said. “This is when we show them what the Blackwood Pack stands for. From the youngest cub to the oldest trainer, from our fiercest warriors to our quietest minds, everyone plays a part in our victory.”

The room buzzed with murmurs of agreement.

“If they strike one of us, we strike back with the strength of all.”

Cheers erupted. Adrian’s words had lit a fire in them, pride, determination, belonging.

And then, a voice cut through the crowd like ice.

“But how do we know we’re safe with her around?”

I didn’t need to follow the gaze to know who they meant.

The warrior’s tone was sharp, suspicious. I hoped Adrian would shut it down. I wanted him to say I was one of them. That I mattered. That I belonged.

But he didn’t.

Instead, his lips curled into a smug little smile, and he turned back to the crowd.

“If they kill one of us,” he said darkly, “we kill them all.”

The crowd roared.

Cheers. Raised fists. Laughter that echoed and spilled into every crevice of the hall.

My breath caught in my throat.

Was that a threat?

A warning?

Was he talking about outsiders… or about me?

“What are we!?” Adrian shouted, his voice a war cry now.

“Blackwood Pack! Blackwood Pack! Blackwood Pack!”

The chant thundered, and as the frenzy grew, bodies pressed around me, jostling, bumping, ignoring me. As if I were furniture. As if I didn’t exist.

I stood in that storm of loyalty and found nothing tethering me to it.

No one looked my way. No one reached for me.

And Adrian?

He didn’t even glance back.

I shouldn’t have been surprised. He once offered to make me his plaything. I had known exactly who he was. Still, I’d let the tiniest spark of hope burn in my chest.

Foolish.

The hope that maybe, just maybe we could have built something real… now felt like ash.

I slipped away from the crowd, the sound of their celebration fading behind me. A chill clung to my skin as I stepped outside, the air cool and indifferent.

This pack, like so many others, was bound together by pride and blood but it had no room for hearts like mine.

No wonder some wolves broke away.

No wonder they stopped caring.

I wandered until I found myself at the Moonlit Grove, a quiet clearing shadowed by ancient trees and silver grass that shimmered in the moon’s light. I sat on a wooden bench, my arms wrapped around myself as I watched warriors train in the distance.

Their movements were fluid, fierce, synchronized.

They moved like a unit.

And I was the broken piece they didn’t know what to do with.

The thought of running into Cole and Freya during the games made my stomach twist. I had no claim over them, no right to hurt, but pain never asked permission.

What hurt more was knowing that even here, I was still the outsider.

Footsteps approached, crunching softly over fallen leaves.

Adrian.

His presence settled next to mine like a shadow.

“Found yourself some quiet?” he asked, his voice low and calm.

I didn’t look at him. “Trying to come to terms with something.”

“What’s that?”

“That you’re only working with me because you have to,” I said without flinching. “It’s not trust. It’s convenience.”

He blinked, as if surprised, then let out a small breath, almost a laugh. “Is that what you think?”

“You didn’t even defend me,” I said, turning to face him now. “When they questioned my place, you smiled. You could have shut them down, but you chose not to.”

“I told them why you were here,” he said, his voice calm but with an edge.

“And you think that’s enough?” I asked. “Do you even realize what it felt like? Standing there while everyone celebrated around me like I didn’t exist?”

A silence fell between us. Then he looked at me, really looked at me.

“Maybe I underestimated you,” he said. “You’re more aware than I gave you credit for.”

I didn’t respond. I didn’t need flattery. I needed honesty.

“I meant what I said, Alaina. About working together. I just…” He sighed. “I don’t always know the right way to show it.”

I stared at him, searching his eyes for any sign of truth.

“I don’t get you,” he muttered, stepping closer, his expression softening. “But I meant what I said earlier. L

“Forget all that,” he said. “Be ready for the Pack Game.”