Chapter 14 – The Silver Wolf

“Put that book back.”

I nearly dropped it. I turned so quickly that the edge of the shelf dug into my shoulder. Isara stood behind me with her arms crossed. Her expression was unreadable.

“I wasn’t stealing it.”

One of her eyebrows lifted.

“You were holding it behind a bookshelf.”

“I found it behind a bookshelf.”

“That is not the same thing?”

“It feels very different from my side.”

Her gaze dropped to the book in my hands. Then to the amulet resting against my chest. For the first time since I had met her, Isara looked genuinely unsettled. Only for a second. Then the expression vanished.

“Give it to me.”

I hesitated.

“Why?”

“Violet.”

That was enough. I handed it over. Isara held the silver book carefully, almost reverently.

“Some books are hidden for a reason.”

“Then whoever hid this one did a terrible job.”

She gave me a long look. I pointed toward the cover.

“It has the same symbol as my amulet.”

“I can see that.”

“So what does it mean?”

Silence. Of course. I was beginning to think silence was an official language at Wolf Academy.

“Does Luca know about this?”

Isara’s fingers tightened around the book.

“That is not the question you should be asking.”

“Then what is?”

She studied me for so long that I started to feel uncomfortable. Finally, she held the book out. I stared at it.

“You’re giving it back?”

“You may read it.”

“Seriously?”

“Here.”

I took it slowly.

“That sounds less exciting.”

“It was not intended to be exciting.”

A small smile escaped me.

“Can I take it to my room?”

“No.”

Naturally.

“The book does not leave this library.”

“Why?”

“Because I said so.”

“That’s not a reason.”

“It is in my library.”

Fair enough. Isara turned to leave.

“Wait.”

She stopped.

“What exactly is this?”

Her eyes returned to the silver cover.

“A chronicle.”

“Of what?”

“The academy.”

That surprised me.

“This place has its own history book?”

“This place has many.”

“Why hide this one?”

She didn’t answer. Instead, she said quietly,

“Read carefully.”

Then she walked away. That was somehow more disturbing than a warning. I carried the book to one of the reading tables in the oldest section of the library. The silver cover felt warm beneath my fingers. Not hot. Just slightly warmer than it should have been. I sat down and opened it. The first pages were covered in handwriting so old and elaborate that I could barely read it. Dates. Names. Clan territories. Old treaties. Wars. Most of it sounded like history I had already heard in class. Golden Clan. Shadow Clan. Moon Clan. Names of families I didn’t recognize. I turned another page and another. Nothing about the symbol. Nothing about the amulet. Nothing about me.

“Great.”

I rested my chin on my hand.

“So much for mysterious forbidden knowledge.”

A few pages later, I noticed something strange. Several sheets had been torn out. Not damaged. Removed. Carefully. The remaining edges were clean. Someone had done it on purpose. I frowned.

“Why would anyone tear pages out of a chronicle?”

No answer. Obviously. I kept reading. Then I turned another page and froze. An illustration covered nearly half the paper. A wolf stood beneath a full moon. Huge. Powerful. Its fur had been painted in shades of silver and white. My fingers went cold.

“No.”

I leaned closer. The shape of its body. The curve of its shoulders. The impossible size. It looked exactly like the creature from my dream. My heartbeat quickened. I touched the edge of the illustration. The silver ink shimmered faintly beneath my fingertips. For a second, I could almost hear the forest again. The silence. The heartbeat. That voice.

Run.

I pulled my hand away.

“This is ridiculous.”

It was just a drawing. A wolf was a wolf. They probably all looked similar. Especially when they were enormous, silver, and standing in impossible white forests. That thought did not help. I forced myself to read the text beneath the image. The handwriting was difficult, but one line was clearer than the rest.

The Silver Wolf belonged to no clan.

I read it again. Then the next sentence.

No Alpha could command it.

My breathing slowed. The courtyard flashed through my mind. Rafael. Matteo. The pressure everyone else had felt. Students dropping to their knees. Wolves flattening their ears and me standing there wondering why everyone was acting strangely. I swallowed and continued.

No Alpha aura could force it to kneel.

I stopped. For several seconds, I stared at the words.

“No.”

My voice sounded too loud in the empty corner of the library.

“That means nothing.”

The book remained open in front of me. I read the sentence again anyway.

No Alpha aura could force it to kneel.

A chill moved slowly down my spine. I remembered Nik.

She walked straight through both of your auras.

Don.

She didn’t even notice them.

My hand instinctively closed around the amulet. It was warm again.

“No.”

That was impossible. I am human. I had always been human. A strange dream and an old book did not change that. I forced myself to keep reading. Most of the next paragraph had faded with age. Only fragments remained.

...the oldest blood...

...wolves bowed...

...the silver line...

Then one sentence appeared clearly near the bottom.

Where the Silver Wolf walked, wolves lowered their tails.

My stomach dropped. I saw the courtyard again. The wolf lying in the sun. Its ears flattening. Its tail pulled beneath its body. I pushed the book away.

“No. Absolutely not.”

I stood. The chair scraped loudly across the floor. A student somewhere in the distance whispered for me to be quiet. I ignored them. I needed air. Logic. Anything that did not involve magical trees, talking wolves, strange amulets, or ancient books apparently describing my week. I looked back down. The next page was partially torn. Only one sentence remained.

The last Silver Wolf disappeared—

The rest was gone. I turned the page. Blank. Another was blank too.

“What happened to it?”

I knew no one would answer. Still, the question escaped. I was about to close the book when I noticed something near the bottom of the empty page. Writing. Not printed. Handwritten. Very faint. I bent closer. Four words had been written in faded silver ink. My breath caught.

It will return again.

Heat exploded against my chest. I gasped and grabbed the amulet. This time it wasn’t gently warm. It was burning and somewhere between the shelves behind me something growled.