Blood and Memory

Third Person POV: Sable

---

The moonlight cut through the broken windows of the bell tower, illuminating Stellan Crowe's pale face. Sable stood frozen at the top of the stairs, her heart hammering against her ribs.

"You," she breathed. "It was you."

Stellan tilted his head, that strange smile playing at his lips. "Disappointed?"

"Confused." She took a step back, her hand finding the cold stone wall behind her. "You sent the note?"

"I needed to talk to you alone. Without Garrick breathing down your neck. Without Merrick calculating every word." He paused. "Without Odette listening."

Sable's blood ran cold. "What do you know about Odette?"

"I know she's been planning something. Something bad." Stellan walked toward her, his footsteps silent on the worn wooden floor. "But that's not why I asked you here."

"Then why?"

"Because I've been having visions since I was a child. Dreams of a woman with silver eyes. Dreams of a child hidden in darkness, surrounded by fire." He stopped a few feet away, his pale grey eyes boring into hers. "I've been searching for that child for years. And tonight, I finally found her."

Sable's throat tightened. "You think I'm that child."

"I know you are."

"You don't know anything about me."

"I know more than you think." Stellan reached into his pocket and pulled out a small leather journal, worn and faded. "This belonged to my mother. She was obsessed with the Moon-Touched before she died. She believed they weren't extinct. She believed they were hiding, waiting for the right moment to return."

"The Moon-Touched." Sable's voice was barely a whisper.

"A rare bloodline of wolves blessed by the moon goddess herself. More powerful than normal wolves. Silver eyes instead of gold. Abilities that defied explanation." Stellan opened the journal, flipping through yellowed pages. "They were hunted to extinction centuries ago by packs who feared their power. But my mother believed some survived. She believed they went into hiding, intermingling with normal packs, waiting."

"And you think I'm one of them."

"I don't think. I know." He closed the journal and looked at her. "The woman in my dreams. She has silver eyes. She's been trying to tell me something. And when I saw you shift tonight, I realized she wasn't trying to tell me anything. She was showing me you."

Sable shook her head. "This is insane. I'm nobody. I'm an orphan. I'm the girl everyone forgets."

"You're the girl everyone underestimates." Stellan's voice was soft but firm. "There's a difference."

Before Sable could respond, footsteps echoed from below. Heavy. Angry.

Garrick appeared at the top of the stairs, his eyes blazing. Merrick was right behind him, calm and calculating as always.

"You," Garrick snarled, pointing at Stellan. "You knew. You knew what she was this whole time."

"I suspected," Stellan corrected. "Now I know."

"And you didn't think to tell us?"

"I didn't think it was your business."

Garrick lunged forward, but Merrick caught his arm. "Enough. Fighting each other won't help anyone."

"Stay out of this, Merrick."

"I am in this." Merrick's voice was cold. "We're all in this. Whether we like it or not."

Sable pressed herself against the wall, her mind racing. "What do you want from me?"

Merrick turned to her, his dark eyes unreadable. "The Alpha Trials start in two weeks. You've never fought. You've never trained. You don't know the first thing about surviving."

"I've survived this long."

"By being invisible." He stepped closer. "That won't work anymore. Not after tonight. People are already talking about the rogue wolf in the woods. It's only a matter of time before someone connects the dots."

"So what? You want to protect me?"

"We want to train you." Merrick glanced at Garrick, then at Stellan. "All of us. Together."

"Why?"

"Because you're powerful." He didn't sugarcoat it. "More powerful than any wolf I've ever seen. And power like that is either an asset or a threat. We'd rather it be an asset."

Sable laughed bitterly. "You want to use me."

"I want to help you survive." Merrick's expression didn't change. "In exchange, you help us. The Trials aren't just about individual survival. They're about alliances. About proving who's strongest. With you on our side, we'd be unstoppable."

"And if I refuse?"

"Then you face the Trials alone." He paused. "And you die."

The words hung in the air like a death sentence.

Garrick stepped forward, his anger fading into something else. Something almost like concern. "Look. I don't like this. I don't like you. But Merrick's right. You're too powerful to waste. And I'd rather have you fighting with us than against us."

Sable looked at each of them. Garrick, brutal and honest. Merrick, calculating and cold. Stellan, strange and knowing.

She didn't trust any of them.

But she trusted her chances alone even less.

"Fine," she said. "I'll work with you. But I'm not yours. I'm not anyone's. The moment you try to control me, the deal's off."

Merrick nodded. "Fair."

Garrick grunted. "Whatever."

Stellan just smiled. "I knew you'd see reason."

---

The walk back to the academy was tense.

Sable walked in the middle, the three Alphas forming a loose triangle around her. Garrick was on her left, his hands shoved in his pockets. Merrick was on her right, his eyes scanning the darkness. Stellan walked behind them, humming softly.

"This is weird," Sable muttered.

"Get used to it," Garrick replied. "You're one of us now."

"I'm not one of you."

"You're close enough."

Sable opened her mouth to argue, but a sudden wave of heat crashed through her body. Her vision blurred. Her skin burned.

She stumbled.

"Sable?" Merrick's voice was sharp. "What's wrong?"

"I don't..." She gasped. "Something's..."

The wolf surged.

One moment she was human. The next, she was something else entirely. Massive. Black as midnight. Eyes glowing silver.

And she was attacking Stellan.

She didn't mean to. She couldn't stop it. Her wolf had taken over, and she was snarling, pinning Stellan to the ground, her claws digging into his chest.

Stellan didn't fight back.

He just looked up at her, blood seeping through his shirt, and said, "It's okay. I know you're scared. I'm not going to hurt you."

The wolf hesitated.

"Your wolf doesn't trust me yet," Stellan continued, his voice calm. "But she will."

Something in his words reached her. The wolf retreated, and Sable shifted back to human, gasping, horrified.

Stellan was bleeding. Because of her.

"Oh god." She scrambled back. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to..."

"It's okay." Stellan sat up, wincing. "Wolves have instincts for a reason. Yours is just... stronger than most."

"I could have killed you."

"But you didn't." He stood, pressing a hand to his chest. "That's what matters."

Garrick was staring at her with wide eyes. "What the hell was that?"

"I don't know." Sable's hands were shaking. "I couldn't control it. She just... took over."

Merrick's expression was grim. "The full moon."

They all looked up. The moon was almost full. Just a sliver missing from its perfect circle.

"The Trials begin in two days," Merrick said quietly. "And for Moon-Touched..."

"The full moon is when your wolf is strongest," Stellan finished. "And most uncontrollable."

He turned to Sable, fear in his pale eyes.

"If you can't learn to control it by then, you might not just lose control." He paused. "You might lose yourself."