CHAPTER 46
Maya's POV
My dreams had become more frequent, with each whisper sending a chilling shiver down my spine. Their echoes followed me like ghosts, even when I was awake. I was constantly pulled by the weight of the invisible.
Once again, Evelyn and I sat in the clearing as the moonlight filtered like silver shards through the trees.
“Close your eyes.” Evelyn instructed, in a soothing yet authoritative tone. “Maya, we have no time to second-guess. Your wolf is trying to contact you. You must take her by the reins.”
I hesitated, my body tense with doubt. “What if she doesn’t want me back?”
“She does,” Evelyn asserted. “Didn’t she talk to you before?”
“She did,” I admitted, my voice breaking. “She said I abandoned her.”
With a steady gaze that held me in place, Evelyn drew closer. “Just because you made mistakes doesn’t imply you can’t be saved. Stop being a prisoner of fear. Stand up for her.”
Her words awakened something deep inside me, a brittle but determined resolve. I closed my eyes and took a long breath as the forest sounds disappeared.
My bond with my wolf felt like a smoldering ember, brittle but not entirely gone. With my heart racing in my chest, I made a mental grasp.
“Maya...”
The voice was there again, faint but distinct.
“I’m here,” I whispered aloud, my breath catching. “I’m sorry for everything—for shutting you out, for being weak.”
“You were afraid,” she murmured, her voice a little quieter and more melancholy. “But fear doesn’t excuse abandonment.”
I had trouble finding the right words, and tears streamed down my face. “I know. I’m trying to change, to be stronger for both of us. But I need you.”
There was a pause, heavy with meaning. Then, her voice came again, resolute but cautious.
“Prove it.”
I opened my eyes to find Evelyn staring at me.
My voice shook as I said, “She spoke to me again.”
“What did she say?” Evelyn asked, her tone measured.
“She wants me to prove myself,” I replied. “But I don’t know how.”
Evelyn smiled at me encouragingly. “You’ll figure it out. The fact that she’s talking to you means there’s still hope.”
I nodded, though doubts gnawed at the edges of my resolve. “What if I fail?”
“You won’t,” she answered plainly, her confidence in me unflinching.
Before I could answer, Caleb stepped out of the shadows, the firelight shimmering on his little figure. His startled eyes darted between Evelyn and me as he paused at the edge of the clearing.
“Caleb?” I said, gesturing for him to approach. “What’s the matter?”
With an anxious wriggling of his hands, he shuffled forward. His voice was hardly audible above a whisper then he said, “I have something to tell you.”
I looked at Evelyn and then motioned for him to sit beside me. “Go on,” I said gently.
Caleb hesitated, staring at the floor. His voice trembled as he added, “It’s about the Phantom Pack.”
I gasped. “What about them?”
“They’re also looking for me,” he admitted, his shoulders trembling.
Beside me, Evelyn tensed up, her eyes narrowing. “Why would they be looking for you?”
With his tiny fists gripping the material of his shirt, Caleb swallowed forcefully. “Because... My parents were part of the Phantom Pack. They left when I was born, but they told me... they told me I was special.”
“Special? How?” My voice was hardly steady as I asked.
Unshed tears sparkled in Caleb’s eyes. “I don’t know. They never explained it, but before they died, they told me the Phantom Pack would never stop haunting me. They said I had to stay hidden.”
I was stunned by what he said. His confession was all the more serious because of the innocence in his eyes.
“Why didn’t you tell us this sooner?” With a strong, urgent tone, Evelyn asked.
“I was scared,” Caleb admitted, tears spilling over. “I thought if I stayed quiet, they wouldn’t find me. But now... now I think the whispers Maya has been hearing—they’re connected to me.”
A shiver went down my back. “How do you know that?”
Caleb paused, looking down at his hands. “Because I’ve also been hearing whispers too.”
The three of us sat startled quietly while the fire crackled softly. The air was heavy with the weight of Caleb’s confession.
“We need to tell Darius,” Evelyn said finally, her voice firm.
“No!” With a look of panic on his face, Caleb yelled. “You can’t! He’ll think I’m a threat.”
“Darius wouldn’t harm you,” I stated in a firm tone. “He would want to keep you safe.”
“You don’t understand.”Caleb said, shaking his head. “The Phantom Pack will ruin everything to get to me if they know I'm here. Maya, they won’t stop. Until they have me.”
Something deep inside me, a powerful, protective instinct, was roused by his words. I looked him in the eye and put a hand on his shoulder. “Then we’ll fight them. Together.”
Caleb’s face was a mixture of hope and dread as he glanced up at me. “Will you keep your word?”
“I swear,” I said in a firm voice.
Evelyn gave a nod of consent. Caleb, “You’re not alone in this, Caleb. We’ll figure it out.”
Caleb’s words returned to me as I sat by the fire alone later that evening. The Phantom Pack’s unrelenting pursuit and the whispers seemed like parts of a puzzle I could not fully piece together.
As imposing as ever, Darius stepped out of the darkness. He sat beside me, staring at the fire without saying anything.
After a minute, he said in a steady, low voice, “You’re brooding again.”
I gave him a weary look. “If you were me, wouldn’t you be?”
His eyes never left the fire, and he reacted momentarily. “What are you thinking about?”
“Everything,” I admitted, the word carrying the weight of my thoughts. “The whispers, Caleb’s confession, my wolf... it’s all too much.”
Darius’s fingertips touched mine as he extended his hand. He grounded me in a way I wasn’t aware I needed with his firm touch. With a tone full of quiet resolve, he declared, “We’ll get through this.”
I glanced at him, the firelight partially illuminating his features.“Do you really believe that?”
“Yes,” he replied plainly. “Because I know you, Maya. You’re stronger than you think.”
A glimmer of optimism appeared in my eyes for the first time in days. But, I knew that the path ahead would be complex.
The whispers came back, louder and more urgent, as the fire grew smaller. They were warning me this time instead of calling. Something was approaching, and it was closer than before.