Chapter Five – Wolves and Whispers

I didn’t sleep.

The room Dorian gave me was warm, but it felt cold, colder than the forest floor. Every creak of the packhouse echoed like a whisper of judgment, every muffled laugh downstairs twisted in my chest. My wolf paced inside me, restless, wounded. She wanted comfort, belonging. But all I could think of were their stares, the whispers something’s wrong with her.

When dawn broke, pale light spilling across the floorboards, a knock came at the door. Sharp, clipped. Not Dorian’s.

I pulled the blanket tighter around me. “What?”

The door opened without waiting for my answer. A woman stepped in, tall, elegant, her dark hair braided tight, her eyes sharp as steel. I knew her Maris, the Beta’s mate, head of the council of Lunas. She had always looked at me like I was something to be swept aside, even before the rejection.

Now her gaze was colder than ever.

“Get up,” she said. “The council wants to see you.”

My stomach sank. “Why?”

She arched a brow. “Because half the pack watched you tear open the earth with your bare hands. That’s why.”

Heat crawled up my neck. I wanted to protest, to say I hadn’t meant to, that I didn’t even know how it had happened. But the words stuck in my throat.

I rose slowly, brushing my hair from my face, and followed her down the hall. The murmurs began the moment we entered the main hall. Wolves leaned close to each other, their eyes cutting toward me, their words too low to catch but loud enough to wound.

Maris led me to the council chamber, a long wooden room lined with elders and ranked wolves. The Luna council sat at the far end, their faces stern. Dorian was there too, standing tall, his expression unreadable.

The moment I stepped inside, silence fell.

“Selene Ward,” one of the elders said, his voice deep. “You stand before us accused of wielding powers not given by the Moon Goddess.”

My chest tightened. “I didn’t”

“Silence,” Maris snapped. Her eyes glittered. “We all saw it. Roots bursting from the ground, wrapping a rogue like chains. No wolf commands the earth. Not unless…” Her lips curled. “Not unless something unnatural taints her blood.”

A murmur rippled through the room. The words stung like claws, but I lifted my chin. “I didn’t ask for this. It just happened.”

“Magic does not just happen,” another Luna said coldly. “It is born of bargains, of corruption.”

“That’s not true.” My voice cracked, desperate. “I don’t even know what it is. All I know is I didn’t want to die. I didn’t want him to kill me. The earth— it just answered.”

The elders exchanged glances, their faces tight.

Dorian finally spoke, his voice firm. “She saved her own life. And mine. If she hadn’t used her power, we’d be burying wolves right now.”

The words startled me. Defending me. In front of them all.

But Maris sneered. “You defend her because she is was your mate. But she is no longer bound to you. You rejected her, Alpha. And now this curse has been revealed. If she stays among us, she endangers us all.”

The chamber filled with murmurs again. My hands shook at my sides. My wolf whimpered low inside me.

“Enough,” Dorian snapped, his Alpha power rolling heavy through the room. The murmurs died instantly. “She is under my protection. Whatever power she has, it is tied to the Moon Goddess. I will not hear talk of curses without proof.”

Maris’s jaw tightened. “Then prove it. Or exile her.”

The word hit like a blade. Exile. To be cast out, rogue, hunted by all sides. My breath came fast, panic rising.

Dorian’s eyes flicked to me, his gaze steady. “We will not rush judgment. She will remain here until we understand what she is.”

Maris looked like she wanted to argue, but the Alpha’s command was final. She bowed her head stiffly. “As you say.”

The council dispersed slowly, whispers trailing behind them like smoke.

When the chamber emptied, only Dorian and I remained. He turned to me, his face softer now, though his eyes still burned with questions.

“You shouldn’t have spoken,” he said quietly.

I glared at him, my throat raw. “What was I supposed to do? Just stand there while they called me cursed?”

“You don’t know how dangerous those words are,” he muttered. “Fear spreads faster than fire. And once they believe you’re cursed, nothing I say will change their minds.”

I clenched my fists. “Then why defend me?”

His jaw tightened. He looked away, as if the answer cost too much. “Because you’re mine. Rejection or not, that bond doesn’t vanish in a night.”

My chest ached, confusion and anger tearing me in two. “You can’t have it both ways, Dorian. You can’t throw me away and still claim me when it suits you.”

His eyes snapped back to mine, storm-dark. “You think I wanted to reject you? You think I did it for me?” His voice broke, raw and jagged. “I did it because if I hadn’t, you would already be dead.”

The words froze me. My mouth went dry. “What are you talking about?”

He didn’t answer. Not fully. His hand flexed at his side, his expression tormented. “There are things moving in the shadows, Selene. Things older than our kind. You don’t know what you’ve stepped into.”

I shivered, his words striking some hidden chord in me, like they brushed against the truth I wasn’t ready to face.

Before I could push him further, a messenger burst into the room, bowing low. “Alpha. Rogues on the northern border. Dozens.”

Dorian stiffened, his Alpha mask slamming back into place. “Ready the warriors. Hold the line until I arrive.”

The messenger fled.

Dorian turned back to me, his eyes hard now, all softness gone. “Stay here. Do not leave this room. Do you understand?”

I opened my mouth to argue, but his gaze cut sharp, and my wolf cowered instinctively. My throat closed. I nodded once.

He lingered for a breath longer, his hand twitching like he wanted to reach for me, before he turned and strode out.

Silence swallowed the chamber.

I stood there trembling, my heart racing, the words still echoing in my mind. If I hadn’t rejected you, you’d already be dead.

Outside, the howls of wolves rose, sharp and fierce, shaking the walls.

And I knew the war at the border was only the beginning.

To be continued…