Chapter 39 Chapter 39

Chapter 39 Chapter 39
Luceila's POV
Sleep would not come.
I laid on my back, staring up at the ceiling as I relived the events of the day.
Mother's words.
Luciana's slap.
Alpha Dorian defending me.
It all still felt surreal.
No one had ever stood up to my mother before, not even for me.
Everyone saw her as that picture-perfect woman, smiling beautifully for show with sharp claws hidden behind her designer clothes.
With a groan, I rolled onto my side.
The fabric of my nightgown clung to the side of my face where the medicine Alpha Dorian gave me was rubbing.
The dull throb in my cheek was annoying, but the real pain was deep down inside.
"Luceila?"
I blinked at the sound of my name.
My gaze drifted to the door as a hesitant knock rumbled against the wood.
"Who is it?" I called, sitting up.
"Luceila, it's me--"
"Silas."
I paused, hesitating.
It was already past midnight.
Another knock, more insistent this time, made me roll my eyes.
"Come in."
The door creaked open just enough for my best friend to shuffle inside.
Silas wore a black t-shirt and gray sweatpants, his dark brown hair damp.
"You should be asleep," I muttered.
"So should you." A ghost of a smile played across his lips as he closed the door behind him.
"You've been crying."
I instinctively wiped my cheeks, but he merely grinned.
"I haven't."
"You don't have to lie to me."
There was a pause in which we seemed to stare at the floor.
Silas' mouth tightened into a thin line as he glanced at the hallway before turning back to me.
"Can I talk to you?"
I hesitated before nodding.
He guided me to the balcony where the cool night air brushed over my skin.
The moonlight glinted off the trees as shadows danced across the yard.
Silas leaned against the railing.
"I've been doing a lot of thinking."
"About what?"
"You know what about."
I turned my back to him, watching the forest.
"I know it was not easy for you today."
I gave a bitter laugh.
"Easy is not exactly the word I would have used."
"Good."
"I know."
He exhaled shakily.
"I should have done something sooner."
"You weren't even there."
"I heard Luciana yelling!"
His jaw was tight with frustration.
"By the time I got there, it was already over."
"It wasn't your fault."
"No."
He drummed his fingers absently against the railing.
"But I'm sick of it."
My wolf perked up at the sound of his words.
"I'm sick of everyone treating you like this."
I turned to look at him.
For the first time since arriving at the Shadowmere Estate, I didn't see disdain in his golden eyes.
I saw something akin to concern.
"You're not mad at me?"
"I've been wondering that myself," he murmured.
Something in his tone made me wonder what he truly meant, but neither of us said anything more.
Suddenly, a low growl reverberated from deep within the woods.
Silas stiffened.
"Did you hear that?"
I nodded, my heart pounding in my throat.
It wasn't the usual pack howl, nor was it the sound of an attack.
It was something else entirely... almost like a mournful cry.
A longer, deeper howl soon followed, this one sounding closer.
"Stay here."
Before I could protest, Silas was already gone, vanishing down the hallway.
I peered out the window as he raced across the courtyard toward the training grounds.
Inside the manor, lights began to flicker on as guards poked their heads out of doors, confusion etched across their faces.
A few murmured questions as Reis fastened the buckles on his leather jacket while Ruan gathered weapons from a nearby cabinet.
Draven skidded to a stop in the foyer, his chest heaving.
"It came from the eastern border," he said.
"What happened?" Reis asked.
Draven's expression was grave.
"Three of our patrol wolves are missing."
No one said anything for a long moment.
Even the wolves' growls quieted.
"Missing?" Ruan echoed darkly.
"They didn't return."
A chill crawled up my spine.
Alpha Dorian strode forward, his voice like steel as he silenced the murmuring pack.
"How long has it been?"
"Less than half an hour."
"Have you tracked them at all?"
Draven nodded.
"Scents are... bloody."
The words sent a ripple of unease through the pack.
Reis shot a glance at his brothers before giving a curt nod.
"We should go."
"That's an order," Dorian said.
"We will depart with two squads."
"No." Draven frowned. "There isn't enough time."
The Alpha gave a slow, considering look before nodding.
"Very well."
He turned to the pack.
"Secure the estate."
With little protest, the wolves scattered, racing off into the night. As the last of the fighters vanished through the front gates, Silas turned to me.
"Stay inside."
His tone brooked no argument.
All I did was silently nod.
One by one, the Shadowmere warriors disappeared into the darkness, their shouts fading as the heavy doors shut behind them.
My pack was gone.
Again.
I hugged myself as my wolf writhed hungrily inside my ribcage.
"Wolf?" My mother's voice was like a lullaby from my childhood. "What troubles you, my pet?"
The forest around me seemed to pulse with energy.
"Wolves are circling the trees." My wolf peered around my shoulder at the moon. "The wind carries a metallic tang."
A sharp yowl tore through the air, making the shadows around me shudder.
"Wolf?" Mother's hands smoothed over my wings. "What is it? What have you seen?"
"The scent of blood is strong." My heart thundered in my ears as I struggled against the tightness in my chest. "The pack is in danger."
"Wolves don't sense danger," she murmured soothingly. "They sense opportunity."
My wolf howled in protest.
"Wolf?" Mother's hands tightened on my shoulders. "Are you sensing something?"
"The forest is silent." My pack's instincts screamed at me, but I knew better than to share them with my mother. "Something unnatural has happened."
There was a pause as if she was considering telling me something, but she only let out a soft sigh.
"Get some rest, darling." She leaned back, smoothing the hair from my face. "You seem to need it."
I gave a small, distracted nod before retreating back into the manor.
The long hallway stretched before me, lit by sconces that cast flickering shadows along the stone walls.
Alpha Dorian was waiting near the top of the stairs when I turned the corner.
"You should return to your quarters," he said.
"I can't sleep yet." I shrugged. "Is something wrong?"
The Alpha studied me carefully.
"You're worried."
"I thought the pack was in danger."
"We'll find them."
His calm certainty did little to reassure me.
"I've never felt my wolf like this before."
Dorian frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"She wants to know something."
The Alpha's expression darkened.
"Wolves don't sense what they want to know."
My pulse quickened.
"What if they're walking into a trap?"
Before he could respond, a deep, guttural growl reverberated from the woods, shaking the glass panes overhead.
Every wolf in the manor stiffened.
The sound was joined by an unearthly shriek that seemed to pierce right through my bones.
"Did you hear that?" I asked the room at large, but none of the wolves answered.
A second wail tore through the trees, growing louder with each passing second.
Suddenly, the air itself seemed to pulse-- like some great force was surging through the estate, rattling the chandeliers and sending the windows vibrating in their frames.
My heart pounded so loudly in my ears that I could hardly hear myself think.
"Luceila!" Alpha Dorian caught me before I collapsed, but I barely registered his touch.
My wolf was wailing--no, screaming--inside my skull. Shadows danced before my eyes, morphing into images of blood-red moons hanging over broken temples, wolves circling a dark-robed figure encased in an ancient sigil.
And at the center of it all, I saw my mother's face--her lips pressed into a tight line as she gazed out at the pack warriors surrounding her.
"No..." I whispered.
"They found her."
Dorian frowned.
"Found who?"
I stared at him, my heartbeat hammering wildly in my throat.
"Risana."
The words had barely left my lips when another pulse of energy surged through the manor, rocking the very foundations.
Even from where I stood, I could hear the pack's cries of anguish.
Far away in the woods, something screamed--a sound like no creature I had ever heard.
And then the shrieking stopped. A long moment of silence stretched across the manor, taut as a bowstring, before the distant howls of the pack began to echo through the trees.
Alpha Dorian was gone now, lost to the night with the rest of Shadowmere's warriors.
All that remained was the endless expanse of darkness... and the cold, unfeeling silence that seemed to swallow everything whole.