Chapter four

Chapter Four

Whispers Beneath the Surface

Five days.

That was all that remained.

The number followed Ivy like a shadow.

Five days until her eighteenth birthday.

Five days until the questions that had haunted her entire life would finally have answers.

Or leave her with even more.

⸻

The silver sparks had vanished by morning.

If she hadn’t remembered the warmth that had lingered in her fingertips, Ivy would have convinced herself it had all been a dream.

The voice.

The glowing wolf.

The words.

“You have never been broken.”

She had repeated them over and over in her mind until sleep finally claimed her again.

Yet even now, they refused to leave.

⸻

“Ivy?”

Martha waved a hand in front of her face.

“You’ve stirred the porridge for nearly ten minutes.”

Ivy blinked.

“Oh.”

“You’ve been somewhere else all morning.”

“I just… didn’t sleep very well.”

Martha studied her carefully.

The old woman had raised enough abandoned pups to know when something was wrong.

But Ivy looked different.

Not ill.

Brighter.

There was a strange glow to her skin, as though moonlight clung to her long after dawn.

Martha smiled to herself.

Your mother looked like that…

The thought came so suddenly that it stole her breath.

She had only seen Ivy’s mother once.

Eighteen years ago.

A beautiful woman wrapped in a travelling cloak, her silver eyes filled with both heartbreak and determination.

Martha had sworn never to speak of that night.

Not until the time was right.

She closed her eyes.

“Soon,” she whispered silently.

⸻

Alpha Kael’s patience was wearing thin.

Another patrol.

Another set of enormous tracks.

Another warrior reporting strange noises from the northern forest.

His Gamma knelt beside the prints.

“They’re fresh.”

Kael crouched beside him.

The claw marks sank deeper into the earth than any wolf’s should.

Too large.

Too powerful.

“What kind of creature leaves tracks like these?” another warrior asked.

Kael didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, he reached down and pressed his fingers into one of the prints.

It was warm.

As if whatever had made it had passed only moments before.

His wolf stirred.

Not enemy.

Kael frowned.

“What do you mean, not enemy?”

His wolf remained silent.

That unsettled him more than anything.

⸻

That afternoon, the village prepared for the annual Moon Festival.

It marked the final week before the summer solstice, when every pack gathered to celebrate the Moon Goddess.

Colourful banners stretched between buildings.

Children laughed as they hung lanterns from trees.

Musicians tuned their instruments in the village square.

For everyone else, it was a celebration.

For Ivy…

It was another reminder.

Every year, wolves her age danced beneath the moon with their newly awakened wolves.

Every year she stood at the edge of the crowd, pretending not to mind.

She wondered if this year would be any different.

⸻

“Ivy!”

She turned to find Rowan jogging toward her.

Unlike Kael, the Beta always wore an easy smile.

“I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

“Is everything alright?”

“The Alpha wants to see you.”

Her stomach dropped.

“The Alpha?”

Rowan chuckled.

“You haven’t committed a crime.”

“I don’t think.”

She followed him toward the Alpha House.

It was the first time she had ever crossed its enormous front gates.

The building was breathtaking.

Tall stone walls climbed toward the sky, wrapped in ivy older than the pack itself.

Massive windows overlooked the valley below.

She suddenly became very aware of her patched boots.

“You can stop looking so nervous.”

“I am not nervous.”

“You just tried to smooth your jumper three times.”

“I did?”

“You did.”

She sighed.

“I’ve never been here before.”

“Most people haven’t.”

⸻

Kael stood in his office overlooking the forest.

Maps covered one wall.

Shelves lined with ancient books covered another.

When Ivy stepped inside, he looked up immediately.

“Thank you for coming.”

“You asked to see me?”

“I did.”

He gestured toward the chair opposite his desk.

She remained standing.

“I’d rather stand.”

A flicker of amusement crossed his face.

“As you wish.”

For a moment, neither spoke.

Finally, Kael broke the silence.

“My patrol found something yesterday.”

Her heart skipped.

“What?”

“You spend a great deal of time in the forest.”

“I like the quiet.”

“Have you seen anything unusual?”

The dream flashed through her mind.

The glowing wolf.

The animals gathering around her.

The silver light.

“No.”

The lie tasted bitter.

Kael watched her carefully.

He knew she wasn’t telling him everything.

But fear—not deceit—filled her eyes.

“I’m not accusing you of anything,” he said gently.

“I know.”

“I only want to keep everyone safe.”

“I understand.”

Their eyes met.

For a heartbeat, the room seemed strangely still.

Then Kael smiled.

A real smile this time.

It transformed his entire face.

“You know,” he said, “you’re a terrible liar.”

Heat rushed into Ivy’s cheeks.

“I’ve never had much practice.”

He laughed softly.

The sound surprised them both.

“I’ll remember that.”

For the first time since entering the Alpha House…

Ivy smiled without forcing it.

⸻

As she left the office, Rowan leaned casually against the hallway wall.

“So?”

“So… what?”

“Was it terrifying?”

“He wasn’t terrifying.”

“No?”

“No.”

She thought for a moment.

“He’s kinder than people realise.”

Rowan grinned.

“I’ve been trying to tell people that for years.”

⸻

That evening, Kael stood alone on his balcony.

He couldn’t stop thinking about Ivy.

Not because he believed she had anything to do with the strange happenings.

Quite the opposite.

Something told him she was at the centre of whatever was coming.

Not by choice.

His wolf paced restlessly.

Soon.

“I know.”

She’ll need us.

Kael froze.

Us.

His wolf had never referred to another person that way before.

Before he could question it further, a howl echoed from the northern mountains.

It wasn’t a wolf’s howl.

It was deeper.

Older.

Power rolled through the valley, causing every werewolf in Blackridge to instinctively look toward the horizon.

The elders went pale.

Warriors reached for their weapons.

Even the children fell silent.

Kael’s expression hardened.

“Something is coming.”

⸻

Far beyond the mountains, in the hidden Lycan Kingdom, the Royal Oracle stood before the throne.

Her silver eyes were clouded with visions.

She bowed deeply before the King and Queen.

“The stars have shifted.”

The Queen gripped the arm of her throne.

“Our daughter?”

“The White Lycan awakens faster than we foresaw.”

The King’s heart pounded.

“When?”

The Oracle lifted her gaze.

“The moment she embraces who she truly is.”

“And if she doesn’t?”

The Oracle’s smile faded.

“Then others will decide her fate before she has the chance.”

Silence filled the throne room.

The King rose to his feet.

“Prepare the Royal Guard.”

The Queen looked at him.

“You would risk exposing our kingdom?”

“I would risk everything.”

He stared toward the distant mountains where his daughter unknowingly lived among wolves.

“No child of mine will ever stand alone again.”

As the moon climbed higher into the night sky, an invisible thread of silver light stretched across the kingdoms.

One end wrapped gently around Ivy’s sleeping heart.

The other led all the way home.