CHAPTER 7

The pack house is filled with silence, but with a loud anxiety - not like it was expressed in words, But at every look Lydia gets from the pack members, every time she enters the room. She felt like an uninvited guest, this feeling always bringing to her memory that there is a threat that was lurking around her.

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Lydia’s training with Kyle is becoming intense as they progress. His voice was commanding sharply, without forbearance, and can be heard echoing through the field.

“Repeat!” His voice echoes.

Her heart beats very fast as she also tries to take in air. The training again ended with her on the floor, and Kyle forcing his knee against her shoulder as she breathed fast to take in air.

“If you lose it this time, that would be all, do you get me?” He spoke with a commanding tone, at the same time as though he was pleading, but he hid the feeling from her.

She pushed him away forcefully with her growl, her wolf visible in her eyes, “I am not under your control, Kyle.” She blurted.

For a very short moment, he felt hurt that reflected on his countenance. “But you're not free, and if I don't press hard on you, someone else would, and they would go far beyond leaving bruises.”

She felt the weight of his word on her heart, far more than the weight of the training.

That same night, the pack council gathered at the Alpha’s meeting room. Lydia was not formally invited for the meeting, but that didn't matter to her - she was aware of what transpired as whispers flew around afterwards. Luna intensified pressure on the pack about her stance on Lydia.

“She is a danger to us all. There is anxiety in the pack, and if we do nothing, they might turn out against us.” Her voice clearly heard out in the room.

“Regardless of whatever connection we have with her, Alpha, the law was put in place to safeguard the pack, and just one pack member shouldn't be a threat to others.” The Beta added.

Yet the Alpha remained firm, he refused. Tradition held him down, and for Everytime he denied the pack their desire, it threatened his authority over them.

After the council meeting, Lydia who has been around the hallway spotted Dinah along the corridor, her best friend, who once vowed they would always stand together no matter what may.

Dinah's laughter was quiet and was not meant to be heard out. She was conversing with Luna, her head bowed as a sign of respect, her tone submissive. 

Lydia couldn't make out the words from their conversation. She just noticed how Luna placed her hand on Dinah's shoulder, the little smile on her lips before she sent Dinah on her way.

Just as Dinah turned around to leave, she saw Lydia who lingered quietly along the shadows. And just briefly, Dinah's eyes widened in surprise and dreadfulness. And in a fleeting moment, Dinah's countenance was filled with guilt - but that was significantly enough to leave a mark, Lydia didn't need to see anything more to understand what all that meant.

Lydia, however chose not to utter a single word, she didn't ask any question, she didn't need any answer. She simply walked past Dinah without saying a word, with her heart beating forcefully against her chest. 

That night, the dream she had had returned.

This time, the forest was different - it was no longer the coverings of oppressing shadows, but this time it was a bathing of silver light. The moon was high in the sky casting light that formed an image on top of the trees creating a scene that felt unnatural. 

And there he was - the figure that was covered by the darkness, his presence can be felt. His voice was smooth and windy, locked around her like the coiling of smoke.

“ You can never be trusted, they would always see you as an endangered person, a dangerous force locked within the confine of their consciousness. No matter how you try to conform, their cage is your fate. But with me, no chains, no law would bind you, but only the reality of the untamed that was taken unfairly away from you.”

Lydia reached out towards him, with her fingers trembling with expectation. And for the first time, she experienced an unfamiliar warmth against her fingertips - vibrant and alive. It was as if she felt hopeful within her.

Suddenly, she jumped out of her sleep, her heart beating very fast. Her breath became very rapid, her wolf within her swelling restlessly as though already on its way to break forth. 

In a moment of despair, for the first time since the council’s decree, she began to wonder - could it be possible that the whispers she had heard were not just merely whispers of fear, but rather, a call to embrace the truth of her wild nature?

she just didn't fit in here.