CHAPTER 3: UNHEARD WHISPERS

Five Years Ago

The clinic smelled of crushed herbs, clean linen, and fear that refused to fade.

I sat on the edge of the narrow bed, my hands folded tightly in my lap as if holding myself together by sheer will. The healer moved quietly around me, checking for wounds she already knew were not there. No blood. No broken skin. Yet I felt as though something inside me had been torn open and left exposed to the night.

“You’re unharmed,” the healer said gently. “Physically.”

I nodded but did not speak.

Selene stood nearby, arms crossed loosely, her posture relaxed in a way that felt almost unnatural given what had happened. She watched me closely, her gaze sharp, assessing, before softening it into concern whenever the healer looked her way.

“She went into shock,” Selene said smoothly. “Anyone would, after something like that.”

The healer glanced at me again. “Shock passes. But some things linger.” Turning to me, she asked, "What really happened?"

I finally lifted my eyes. For a moment, the healer thought she saw something flicker there, something old and dangerous, but it vanished as quickly as it came.

“I’m fine,” I said quietly. My voice was steady, although it didn't feel like my own. I blinked sharply occasionally, as if I was seeing something no one was seeing.

The healer nodded and stepped back. “Rest. The moon has taken enough from you tonight.”

“Thank you,” I said. “I assure you I am perfectly okay, just that…” 

The healer cut in, “Just what Luna?”

“Just that I see flashes of the beast when I close my eyes,” I said, and after a few seconds, “And I am not your Luna, not yet,” wondering why she would call me that in front of everyone.

“It is normal,” replied the healer.

“What is normal, seeing flashes or not being a Luna yet?” I replied.

“Both,” the healer said, spraying some herbs around me. “Rest now, my child.”

I smiled, knowing it was a trick she used to check whether I was perfectly okay. She did not have to do that.

When the door closed behind her, silence filled the room.

Selene moved closer, sitting beside me on the bed. “You were brave,” she said softly. “Braver than anyone could have expected.”

My lips curved into a faint smile that didn’t reach my eyes. “I didn’t think. I just… moved. Something worse could have happened.”

Selene reached out and brushed a strand of hair from my face, her touch lingering. “That’s what makes you dangerous,” she murmured. “You act by instinct and from the heart. You saved my life and probably that of Clay's, too. Thank you.”

I stiffened slightly but said nothing. I was emotionally and physically tired, and I needed the rest the healer requested.

I was no warrior, no, not yet. I made an instinctive move against a beast I do not know. It could have killed me, yet I was glad it saved my friend and maybe my crush, the soon-to-be Alpha.

Outside the clinic, Silvercrest buzzed with unrest. Guards doubled their patrols. Warriors whispered of omens and broken wards. Somewhere in the forest, a beast nursed its wounds, and no one believed it had been a coincidence.

It was a council meeting, and Elder Torin had pleaded that I attend. After being briefed, I was okay but may have been suffering from shock. He dismissed the report of shock as if it were nothing.

I am sure he did not want the other Council members to hear that their soon-to-be Luna, the only surviving royalty and the bringer of hope, was in shock from the battle with a beast.

Words on the streets were that I saved Clay and nearly killed the beast. I wondered who was pushing this narrative. It was bad for him and good for me. 

The council members will not be encouraged by that narration.

Clay stood at the council elders, his shoulder freshly bandaged, his patience wearing thin.

“The wards were intact,” one elder insisted. “There was no breach.”

“And yet the beast stood in the royal chambers,” Clay snapped. “Explain that.”

No one could.

“I heard she saved you,” one of the Elders claimed.

“Are you mocking me or making a statement?” Clay asked, turning his head towards the Elder, who said that.

“She has earned her right to be called Luna. Why have you not wifed her? It was a condition we gave to you before we could name you Alpha,” The Elder replied.

I bowed my head as eyes turned towards my direction.

“I am the only survivor of my clan,” Clay replied.

“And she is the only surviving royalty we have,” the Elder replied again.

The older warrior who had spoken earlier cleared his throat. “There are creatures that slip through magic not meant for them. Old things. Cursed things.”

Clay’s jaw tightened. His thoughts drifted unbidden to me, the way I had stepped forward without fear, the way I had held the knife, steady despite the chaos. He did not want to involve me in his politics.

“She didn’t hesitate,” he said quietly, almost to himself.

One of the elders frowned. “You speak of Zanny?”

“Yes,” Clay replied. “She stood where no one else did.”

“And Selene?” another asked carefully.

Clay’s gaze flicked at him, sharp. “What of her?”

“She was the target,” the elder said. “Or so it seemed.”

Silence followed that observation.

Clay requested that he take his leave, claiming exhaustion, though sleep did not come when he finally returned to his chambers. His wolf paced restlessly beneath his skin, unsettled, agitated by something it could not name.

I went straight to the Clinic not wanting to speak to Elder Torin about the matter. I was not as composed as he would think.

Before dawn, he found himself standing outside the clinic.

He did not go in.

Inside, I lay awake, staring at the ceiling, the image of glowing eyes and snapping jaws replaying behind my lids. Every time I closed her eyes, I felt it again, that sudden surge, that sharp clarity, as if something inside her had awakened when the beast leapt.

I pressed a hand to her chest. It was still there, beating faster than regular, but it was still intact.

Selene left my side, claiming she needed a rest. I watched her go, a strange unease settling in my stomach. Selene had been too calm. Too composed.

When the door shut, I finally allowed myself to breathe. I hoped that Selene did not see Clay outside the clinic or try to look for him. She was my friend, but I have heard rumours of her being with some elders and warriors.

I swung my legs off the bed and stood. The room seemed to tilt for a moment, then steadied. I walked to the small basin and stared at her reflection.

My eyes looked darker. Not tired. Not afraid but different.

A knock sounded softly.

I turned. “Come in.”

Clay stepped inside.

For a moment, neither of us spoke. The weight of everything unsaid pressed between them.

“You should be resting,” he said at last.

“So should you,” I replied, my gaze drifting briefly to his injured shoulder.

He nodded. “You saved Selene.”

“I did what anyone would have done.”

“No,” Clay said quietly. “You didn’t.”

Our eyes met, and something old stirred between them. Something unresolved.

“I never thanked you,” he continued. “For stepping in front of that beast.”

I held his gaze. “I didn’t do it for thanks.”

“I know,” Clay lowered his head. "But what you did saved us. It allowed me to strike back."

The silence stretched between us. I was wondering why he could not come out straight to say I saved him. He looked too stiff and like someone who had not been around a female wolf.

I took time to look at the warrior before me. Clay was huge for an Alpha. I could not help but notice his neatly shaped curves. His chest muscles seem to pull out of his robe. I could see almost every structure of his carved muscles hidden under his robe.

“Clay,” I said finally, my voice softer now, “that thing… it wasn’t just a beast.”

His expression sharpened. “You felt it too.”

I nodded. “It knew us. It chose. It felt like it was controlled. It felt like magic all over.”

Clay exhaled slowly. “Then this isn’t over.”

“No,” I agreed. “I think there is something more to this.”

From the corridor beyond the door, Selene watched, hidden in shadow. Her expression was unreadable. Selene had wanted to go to Clay when she excused herself from my presence. It was on her way that she noticed Clay was coming towards the clinic, so she hid herself, watching us from a distance.

I smiled within me.

After Clay left, I returned to my chambers alone. Sleep still refused me, but exhaustion dragged my limbs.

I was crossing the room when I felt it.

That same pull.

My breath caught. Slowly, I turned toward the balcony doors.

They were open.

Moonlight spilt across the floor, bright and beckoning.

And standing just beyond the threshold, half in shadow, half in silver light, was a figure I did not expect to see.

I knew it was a seer. 

His eyes glowed faintly, fixed on me, his presence heavy with urgency.

“Zanny,” he said low. “You’re not safe here.”

My heart thundered. “What are you talking about?”

He stepped closer. “The beast was sent.”

“By who?”

Before he could answer, a sudden wave of power surged through the air, sharp and cold. The moonlight flickered. I gasped as a burning sensation tore through my chest, dropping me to my knees.

The seer swore under his breath. “It’s started.”

“What has?” I whispered, clutching at myself as something inside me roared awake.

But the Seer was taken by a cold wind whispering gibberish as I tried to pay attention to what the wind was saying.