Chapter 14 Bloom

Darkness wrapped around my mind like fog. And once again, I found myself standing in that endless nighttime forest beneath towering ancient trees. I felt everything. The cold damp earth beneath my paws. The sharp scent of pine and moss filling my lungs. The weightless freedom of standing on four strong legs instead of carrying the fragile exhaustion of my human body. I turned my head slightly and looked over my shoulder.

My fur was black. Not brown. Not gray. Black as the night itself. But near the tips, the darkness faded into white, as though moonlight had spilled across my coat and refused to leave.

The contrast made me look unlike any ordinary wolf. Almost mythical. Unlike the frightened, clumsy steps I'd taken in my first dream, this time I moved with confidence. I lifted my ears. The whisper of wind through distant leaves reached me clearly. So did the beating wings of an owl miles away.

"Welcome back, my little one." That voice. Soft as velvet. Ancient. Powerful. It rose from the deepest, dimmest corner of my mind and blended with the murmur of the forest.

This time, I didn't flinch.

The moment I heard it, the cold emptiness that had lived inside me for months disappeared.

I answered with a growl. The deep, predatory sound rolling from my throat didn't surprise me. I dug my paws into the earth and launched forward. My black fur melted into the night while the white tips flashed through the wind like sparks.

"You're carrying too much, Bloom," the voice said. "The storm inside your mind is louder than every wild thing in this forest. Tell me."

I didn't slow down. I leaped over a thick tree root with ease. As I allowed my thoughts to reach the voice, the heavy emotions inside me seemed to pour strength into my legs.

"I'm so lonely," I whispered silently, knowing it would hear me anyway.

"I'm tired of feeling like a piece of me disappeared with my parents." The trees began to thin. Moonlight spilled across the ground like a silver river.

"I finally built a life. I convinced myself I was safe alone." My paws struck the soft earth harder. "Then everything changed."

I reached the edge of a wide river. The water gleamed beneath the moon. I slowed to a stop and stepped into the current. Its coldness curled around my paws as I lowered my head and drank deeply.

The water was clean. Sweet. Ice-cold. When I looked down, my reflection stared back at me. Green eyes glowed like emeralds within black fur tipped in white.

"Cassian is making everything so confusing," I continued. I lifted my head and stared into the darkness across the river.

"One moment, he looks at me like I'm the most precious thing in his world."

"He acts like he owns the right to protect me."

"Like he'd tear apart anything that came too close." I remembered the cafe. John's hand on my arm. That deep, monstrous growl.

"I heard the beast inside him when John touched me." My chest tightened.

"But then, in the next breath, he's standing beside Fiona like a wall of ice."

"He turns away from me as though I mean nothing."

I stepped out of the river and lowered myself onto a bed of soft moss. My tail curled over my paws. "That constant change hurts."

I closed my eyes. "His scent starts a fire inside me I don't understand."

"Blueberries and juniper..."

"And still, he keeps running from me."

The forest remained silent around me. After a moment, I sighed. "And Ivy..."

My claws sank slightly into the moss. "I know she won't hurt me."

"Something wild inside me trusts her completely."

"She understands my pain."

"She understands my grief."

I opened my eyes. "But she's hiding something huge from me."

"Kai is too."

"Their history with Cassian..."

"The pack hierarchy..."

"It feels like they're all performing in some play around me, and I'm the only one who doesn't know the script."

The voice fell silent for a long time. Only the river and the rustling leaves filled the space between us. Then it spoke. "My beautiful hybrid."

The words sent a shiver through me.

"My fierce little one."

"You are never alone."

The voice wrapped around me like warmth. "Every step you take in this world..."

"Every night you walk across those empty roads..."

"The strength you feel behind you, beside you, and inside you exists to protect you."

"I will shield you from this darkness for as long as I can."

"As much as my strength allows."

"Never forget that."

The river continued to flow.

"Time," the voice whispered, almost like a melody carried away by the current.

"Every secret has its season, Bloom."

"Ivy's silence isn't betrayal."

"She stays quiet because she wants to protect you."

"And Cassian's walls of ice..."

The voice softened. "He built them because he's afraid the storm inside him will burn you."

I lowered my head.

"Stop hurting yourself over things you cannot yet understand."

"Let them unfold."

"You won't have to chase the truth forever."

"When the time comes, it will crash down in front of you like an avalanche."

The silver mist around the river began to thicken.

"Trust the voice inside you."

"Trust the strength inside you."

"You are far more than you believe."

The river suddenly rose. Silver fog swallowed the trees. The voice drifted farther away. But what it left behind remained. Peace. Clear and fresh, like the water I'd just tasted. The fear was gone. In its place was something deeper. Acceptance.

My eyes flew open. I was back in my bed.

Morning light streamed through the window, slowly brightening the cabin. My skin was damp with sweat, but my chest didn't feel tight the way it had the night before. Instead, the warmth from the dream still seemed to glow inside me.

Like a shield wrapped around my heart. I drew in a deep breath. Then I pushed the blanket aside and climbed out of bed. A small, determined smile touched my lips. Maybe I didn't have a real wolf.

But seeing myself as one in my dreams still brought me comfort. Maybe my subconscious had created that form because I needed it. Maybe the voice was simply another part of me trying to help.

Which meant...

In some strange way...

I was helping myself. My time would come. And until then...

I would stop fighting the current. I would let things unfold.