CHAPTER 2

The ceremony went on for what felt like forever, the voices and howling echoes filled through the space, but Lydia didn’t stay any longer to see it all. Gradually the last chants faded into the night, she quietly slipped into the shadow of the trees unnoticed by anyone as always.

There was more quietness in the forest than the space the pack had gathered, the quietness enveloping around her like a secret. She took a deep breath allowing the freshness that emanated from the scent of pine and the moderately wet earth to fill her breath, bringing her back to herself.

For a brief moment, she had herself entirely out of the stares and the whispers, and the prophecy that followed her around like a heavy clothing she didn’t ask to wear.

Nearly.

Then she heard voices. They were a little low and tense, cutting through the quietness. Lydia stood still, leaning against the bark of a tree. Just away from where the clearing ended, two elders stood with their heads very close to each other with serious facial expressions in the light.

“She’s becoming stronger,” One murmured

“Very strong,” the other answered. “ The council would not have to wait any longer. For the sake of the pack she needs to be brought under control. Or sent away.”

Her stomach felt displaced like a pressure inside of her. The words felt more louder and so weighty to her ears than all the sounds she had heard earlier.

“And what if Jarius says no.”

There was an uncomfortable quietness in the air, broken only by the noises from owls from a distance. Finally someone gave a reply, “He’s an Alpha, true. But just by one vote. It is up to the council to take the required steps.”

Lydia pressed her finger in a fierce manner into the bark of the tree where she stood, until she hurt deep into her skin. Betrayal is near, not later, right now.

She cautiously took some steps backward, trying to remain very quiet, but the branch of a tree suddenly broke off, making a cracking sound under her feet. 

The elders’ head shot around, their eyes straightened as they monitored to see the source of the shadow. With her heart beating fast, Lydia submerged herself deeper into the wood, breathing faster.

“Lydia.”

For a moment, she almost transformed into her wolf, claws already emerging, her wolf wanting to break free, but then she realized the voice she heard wasn’t that of the elders.

Kyle came out from the tree, with his golden eyes glowing in the moonlight. He looked like he was just carved out of the forest having a very steady and strong look. His eyes were locked to her eye, not with any fear or doubt, but something more weightier.

“You shouldn’t be out here all by yourself.”

Something formed in Lydia’s throat that she had to swallow hard causing a little crack in her voice “Being alone is safer than having to confront whatever is going on in there.” With a rapid but almost worrisome motion, she moved her head towards the shadowy space hidden between the trees.

Kyle closely observed her, lines of concern obvious on his forehead. “What exactly did you hear?” he asked with a voice of urgency as if he could sense something revolving around them.

She pressed her lips tightly to each other as if she was trying to cover up unsettling thoughts. Deep within her she wished she could just cook up a lie that would diffuse the tension around the air. But the haunting words – contained, banished, would not leave her mind. “They are planning something against me.”

Kyle’s jaw tightened. For a moment, he remained silent, he shifted his gaze from her, as he was trying to pierce through the walls of the tree to perceive the whispers that weave inside of them. When he finally broke the silence, his voice was soft. “I know.”

Lydia felt unbalanced under her feet as if the hard earth was giving her away to her fears. “You knew all along?” she asked, her heart beating fast.

“I’ve heard rumors.. Nothing so certain, but enough to make me worry.” 

His hands shaking at his sides, as if trying to betray a desire to reach out, to console her, yet there was this quiet understanding that held him back. “That’s exactly why you shouldn’t be wandering out here all alone, Lydia. They’ll form anything to prove that you are a threat, to justify their actions.”

A sharp and bitter laugh escaped her lips, cutting through the heavy atmosphere. “I don’t need to hand a proof over to them at all. They’ve already made up their mind about who and what I am.”

“Then fight against it,” he said passionately now, filled with a force that made her heart beat faster. “Don’t let them dictate your worth or what your fate should be. Stand strong.”

The conviction in his words was so firm, urging her to consider his advice –a call to arm herself for a battle she almost felt too weary to fight.

Being close to him felt overwhelming, she felt a heavy warmth surrounding her, his scent filled the air, causing a stir to arise within her that she would not want awakened. She took a step backward. “You really talk like you know me, Kyle. But you don’t, you have no idea what I have within.”

She said those words with the intention to create a distance between them, yet he remained unfrightened. His eyes were locked onto hers, firm and burning. “Maybe that’s true. But I see the real you. You’re not a curse, Lydia. You’re–”

A sudden wail rushed into the night, sounding urgent and sharp. They both turned their attention to the sound. It was not a sound of melody like what they heard earlier; It was different, a sound of warning, a danger.

Kyle spoke under his breath. “Rogues.”

Before Lydia could say a word, he transformed, his body changing and swelling into a huge wolf with fur like flames in the moonlight. He moved towards the source of the sound, strong and determined.

Lydia stood still, her heart racing. She had been searching for proof that the betrayal truly existed, and now she found it. But the cry from the Rogue sent an unsettled message into her being – this night’s danger was just the start.

And when she started having the feeling of her own wolf wanting to stir, uneasy and unrestrained, she realized the dark image of the prophecy was firm.