Chapter 33 Wolves And Legends
Maddie Pov
The fire crackled in the fireplace and sent shadows dancing across the living room walls. It was three days after Silverfalland the house still smelled like pine and cinnamon. I was curled up on the couch with a blanket wrapped around me. Elara sat next to me eating leftover cookies from the tin her mom kept refilling.
Linda and Robert sat in the armchairs across from us. Mason and Lily had gone to bed an hour ago. The house was quiet except for the sound of the fire and the wind outside.
"I love this time of night," Linda said and smiled. "When the little ones are asleep and we can just relax."
"Me too," Robert agreed. He had his arm around the back of Linda's chair. "It's peaceful."
"Mom tell Maddie some of your old stories," Elara said suddenly. "The ones about wolves and legends."
"Oh I don't know if Maddie wants to hear my rambling," Linda said but she looked pleased.
"I'd love to hear them," I said honestly. "I like stories."
"Well if you insist," Linda said and settled deeper into her chair. "Let me think of a good one."
She was quiet for a moment while the fire popped. Then she started talking.
"There's an old legend about white wolves," Linda said and her voice took on that storytelling tone. "They're the rarest kind. So rare that most wolves never see one in their entire lives."
My heart stopped. I went completely still under my blanket. Gory perked up in my head alert and worried.
"White wolves are special," Linda continued. She didn't notice my reaction. "They're tied to the Moon Goddess herself. Born under full moons. Blessed with abilities other wolves don't have."
"What kind of abilities?" Elara asked. She was interested but not worried. She didn't know. Didn't understand.
"Enhanced strength," Linda said. "Speed beyond normal wolves. Some say they can heal others with just a touch. They glow under the moon like they're made of light itself."
"That sounds beautiful," Robert said.
"It is beautiful," Linda agreed. "But it's also dangerous. White wolves have always been hunted. Feared. Coveted."
"Why would anyone hunt something so rare?" I asked. My voice came out quieter than I meant it to.
"Because people fear what they don't understand," Linda said sadly. "And because some wolves want that power for themselves. They think if they kill a white wolf they can take its strength. Of course that's not how it works but that doesn't stop them from trying."
My hands were shaking under the blanket. This was too close. Too close to the truth. Too close to what I was hiding.
"Are there any white wolves left?" Elara asked.
"Nobody knows," Linda said. "The last confirmed sighting was decades ago. Most people think they're extinct. Hunted to death or bred out of existence."
"That's sad," Elara said. "Something that special shouldn't disappear."
"No it shouldn't," Linda agreed. "But that's the way of the world sometimes. The special things. The rare things. They're the first to be destroyed."
I needed to leave. Needed to get out of this room before they saw my face. Before they noticed how pale I'd gone. Before they realized something was wrong.
"I'm sorry," I said and stood up. "I'm not feeling well. I think I need to lie down."
"Oh no," Linda said with concern. "Are you okay? Do you need anything?"
"No I'm fine," I said quickly. "Just tired. Long day."
"Of course," Linda said. "Go rest sweet girl. Feel better."
I walked out of the living room as calmly as I could. Down the hallway to the guest room. Closed the door behind me. Locked it. Leaned against it.
My heart was racing. My hands were still shaking. Gory was agitated in my head pacing back and forth.
"That was too close," Gory said urgently. "She knows too much. What if she suspects? What if she figures it out?"
"She doesn't suspect anything," I said quietly. "She was just telling stories. Old legends. That's all."
"But what if someone else hears those stories?" Gory asked. "What if someone starts putting pieces together? What if they realize what you are?"
"Nobody knows," I said firmly. "Nobody suspects. I've been careful. I've hidden it perfectly."
"Have you?" Gory challenged. "Rowan noticed your scent. Calix knows the truth. How many others have noticed things that don't add up?"
"Rowan doesn't know for sure," I said. "He just thinks something is off. And Calix won't tell anyone. He's trying to protect me."
"Is he?" Gory asked. "Or is he trying to protect himself? You don't know what he's thinking. You don't know what he'll do."
"I need to hide deeper," I said and sat down on the bed. "I need to be more careful. I need to make absolutely sure nobody finds out what I really am."
"How?" Gory asked. "How do you hide deeper than you already are? You're pretending to be wolfless. You can't hide more than that."
"I can avoid people," I said. "I can keep to myself more. I can stop training where others might see. I can be more careful about everything."
"That's not living," Gory said. "That's just surviving. That's just existing."
"Surviving is enough," I said. "It has to be enough. Because if anyone finds out the truth they'll kill me like they killed my parents. They'll hunt me down and destroy me."
"We don't know that for sure," Gory said. "We don't know who killed our parents or why."
"It doesn't matter who or why," I said. "What matters is that white wolves get killed. Linda just confirmed it. We're hunted. We're feared. We're destroyed."
"So what do we do?" Gory asked.
"We hide," I said firmly. "We hide so well that nobody ever suspects. We stay wolfless. We stay weak. We stay invisible."
"And Calix?" Gory asked. "What about our mate?"
"We stay away from him too," I said even though it hurt to say. "We can't trust him. We can't trust anyone. The only person we can rely on is ourselves."
"That's lonely," Gory said quietly.
"I know," I said. "But it's safe. And safe is more important than anything else right now."
I lay back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. The house was quiet. Everyone else was probably still sitting by the fire. Still talking. Still being a normal family.
But I wasn't part of that. I would never be part of that. I was separate. Different. Dangerous.