Chapter 78 CHAPTER 78
The streets of Silverpine were unusually quiet that morning.
Sarah walked down the main road at a brisk pace, irritation simmering just beneath her skin. Her fingers tingled with faint sparks of magic, and every few steps she paused, annoyed that she couldn’t feel the power she was used to. For the past month she had felt invincible - feeding off young males, draining them until their strength was a quiet pulse in her veins.
But today?
Her magic flickered like a dying candle.
Her steps faltered, and she pressed a hand against her chest. Why am I still this weak? By now she should have been overflowing with power. She had drained six boys in the wolf realm. She had siphoned strength from Sebastian and his fellow warriors for weeks. She had taken more than enough energy to feel unstoppable.
Yet now… she felt brittle. Hollow. Like something was blocking her power from reaching its peak.
She hated it.
She hated the uncertainty crawling beneath her skin.
She was still glaring at her trembling fingers when a familiar voice called out.
“Sarah!”
She turned and forced a smile as Hilda Hale waved and hurried toward her, ever nosy and loud as usual.
“Mrs. Hale,” Sarah greeted, adjusting her expression into one of friendly politeness.
“You look tired,” Hilda said immediately. “Is everything alright? How’s Sebastian? Are you two still going strong?”
Sarah plastered a gentle smile on her lips. “We’re doing fine,” she said lightly. “I’ve just been busy with my parents.”
Hilda sighed dramatically. “I swear, you two will be our next Alpha and Luna. How does it feel knowing the whole pack is expecting that?”
Sarah’s smile stiffened. She hated the mention of Luna - she cared nothing for this pack’s politics. But she tilted her head and replied sweetly, “Oh, it’s not a big deal. Being with Sebastian is what matters.”
Hilda beamed as if Sarah had said the most romantic thing in the world.
Sarah forced out a laugh.
She leaned closer casually. “By the way… did you ever find out where Cindy went?”
Hilda scoffed loudly. “That girl? She disappeared without a trace. Good riddance. People like her never survive long out there.”
Sarah’s eye twitched. She already knew where Cindy was – Mooncrest - but she needed to confirm how much the pack suspected.
“Imagine,” Sarah said, voice dripping with false innocence, “if she came back one day… different. Rich. Powerful. What would you do then?” her voice carried the pretense of a playful ignorant kid.
Hilda stopped walking. Then burst out laughing. “Rich? Cindy? Please. She’s probably sleeping under some tree, filthy and hungry. Maybe she’ll crawl back begging for forgiveness after she’s done eating scraps and living like a stray.”
Sarah smirked but didn’t answer.
Hilda waved goodbye, still laughing to herself as she headed toward the town square.
Sarah walked in the opposite direction, annoyance crawling deeper under her skin. The weakness, the flickering power, Hilda’s stupidity - everything grated on her nerves. She needed to see Sebastian, to draw out more strength, to remind herself she was still in control.
But when she reached Sebastian’s house and stepped inside, she froze.
Sebastian was sitting upright at the dining table, eating soup and laughing softly with his mother.
Laughing.
Sarah’s eyes widened. She expected him to be collapsing by now. Barely breathing. Barely conscious.
Instead… he looked better.
Color had returned to his cheeks. His hands no longer trembled. Even the dark circles around his eyes had faded.
“Sarah!” he said warmly when he saw her. “You’re here.”
But Sarah didn’t smile. Her shock was too strong. “Y-you look… better.”
“I do,” he said, sounding almost proud. “I woke up feeling stronger today.”
Impossible.
The spell should have weakened him further. Her siphoning should have drained him to near death. Instead he was recovering.
Lydia approached, smiling politely. “Sarah, dear, it has been days. We thought you’d visit earlier. Sebastian needed company.”
Sarah stiffened. “My aunt and uncle were ill,” she said quickly. “I was taking care of them.”
“I’m so sorry to hear about your guardians. We haven’t received news of their sickness – but it’s probably because we had our hands full taking care of Sebastian. But he is getting better now, don’t you think?” Lydia didn’t Sarah a chance to respond. “Sit, join us for the meal.” She said as she put down an extra plate at the table.
Richard didn’t speak. He simply watched her with narrowed eyes - the same skeptical look he always gave her, as if he sensed something wrong but couldn’t name it.
They returned to eating, and Sarah sat with them, pretending calm while panic crawled up her spine.
Something was wrong.
Something was interfering with her magic.
Something was protecting Sebastian.
And she needed to find out who.
After the meal, she politely asked to be excused so she could go check on her parents. Lydia packed a bowl of soup and handed her to deliver to her parents as she wished them quick recovery.
When she reached home, Sarah shoved the door wide and hurled the silver bowl to the floor. It struck the wooden floor with a loud thud, rolling in a furious circle as the soup splashed across the ground in a messy, trembling pool. Her fake guardians - Leonard and Mara - flinched as she marched in.
She didn’t bother to greet them.
“What is going on?” she hissed, rounding on them. “Why is my power weakening? Why is Sebastian getting better?”
Leonard stuttered, “We…. we don’t know what you mean.”
Sarah grabbed him by the collar, magic sparking weakly at her fingertips. “Have you told anyone about me? Have you breathed a word to anyone outside this house?”
Mara fell to her knees in terror. “No! No, Sarah, we swear. We haven’t told anyone anything!”
“Maybe you’re tired,” Leonard choked. “Maybe the spells drained you…”
Sarah threw him back so hard he hit the wall. “I am not tired. I am not weak. I come from the bloodline of our leaders! I do not get drained from feeding on a few boys - on the contrary I get stronger. Don't you get the concept? Feeding? Getting stronger? What a fool!.”
Her eyes glowed faintly with fury. “If I find out you’ve spoken to anyone… I will kill you both.”
Leonard trembled violently. Mara sobbed into her hands.
Sarah glanced at them with cold disgust. “Be scared,” she said quietly. “You haven’t even seen a fraction of what I can do.”
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Meanwhile, at Sebastian’s house…
Sebastian sat on his bed, legs dangling over the side, staring at the floor with worry tightening his expression. He felt better - much better -but something was wrong.
He couldn’t reach Kael.
No matter how hard he called, how deep he meditated, how many times he tried to shift… there was nothing.
Just silence.
A hollow, painful silence where Kael’s voice should be.
His mother knocked softly. “Sebastian? Are you alright?”
He forced a smile. “I feel better, Mom. Just… tired.”
Richard stood behind her, arms crossed, concern etched into every line on his face. “We should take him to the priestess,” he said grimly. “A wolf doesn’t go silent unless something is very wrong.”
Sebastian swallowed hard. “Dad… do you think Kael is… is gone?”
“No,” Lydia said quickly. “No, honey, don’t say that.”
Richard didn’t answer immediately. The silence said enough.
Sebastian stared at his hands, fear twisting his stomach.
Kael had never been this quiet - not once in all the years they’d shared a body. Even when sick, even when exhausted, Kael always hummed at the back of his mind. A presence. A heartbeat. A pulse.
But now? There was a void where Kael existed.
Richard and Lydia agreed to take him to the priestess the next morning.
Sebastian nodded, but inside, terror spread like wildfire.
Kael… please come back.
Where are you?
The only answer was silence.