Chapter 15 – Before the Storm
Rhianna’s POV
The house was silent after Sebastian slammed the door, but my mind was loud — too loud.
I couldn’t sit there, not with my chest feeling like it was splitting open.
I grabbed my coat and walked out into the night, my feet carrying me to the edge of the pack house, toward the old gates.
The rain had started falling softly, a drizzle that soaked into my hair.
And just like that, the memories came rushing back — uninvited, unstoppable.
Flashback
I was small. Maybe five. Maybe six. I couldn’t even tell.
I remember sitting outside a big iron gate, my tiny arms wrapped around my knees. My dress was soaked, my face wet with tears.
“Mama?” I had whispered to the dark. “Papa?”
No one answered.
I didn’t even know where I was. I didn’t know my name. The storm had washed everything from my mind, leaving nothing but the ache of being alone.
That’s when I saw him.
A little boy, maybe a year or two older than me, with dark hair plastered to his forehead from the rain, holding a red umbrella.
He stopped in front of me, tilting his head.
“Why are you crying?” he asked, his voice curious but kind.
“I… I don’t know,” I hiccupped. “I… I don’t know where my mama is.”
His face softened. He crouched, holding the umbrella over my head, shielding me from the rain.
“Then you can stay with me,” he said simply, offering his small hand. “I’m Hardin. I always wanted a little sister.”
I stared at him for a long moment before I put my hand in his.
He led me through the gate and into a warm house that smelled like woodsmoke and fresh bread.
“Mom!” he called, dragging me to the kitchen. “Mom, look! I found her outside! Can we keep her? Please? Please, please, please?”
Their mother — Luna Evelyn — turned, wiping her hands on her apron. Her eyes softened when she saw me shivering, clutching Hardin’s hand.
“Sweetheart, what’s your name?” she asked gently.
I shook my head. “I don’t… I don’t remember.”
Her face grew serious. She crouched in front of me, tucking a wet strand of hair behind my ear. “It’s okay, darling. You’re safe here. We’ll find out who you are.”
“No!” Hardin threw his arms around me. “She can stay. She can be my sister. You said I could have a sister one day!”
Luna Evelyn gave a small laugh, though her eyes were full of something else — something softer, sadder.
“We’ll see, my love,” she said.
A few days later…
I had been staying in the pack house, in the room across from Hardin’s. I remembered how he would sneak in every morning, just to check I was still there.
The elders had searched the woods, asked around the nearby villages. No one claimed me. No one came looking.
On the third day, Luna Evelyn called me into the kitchen.
“You need a name,” she said gently, kneeling in front of me.
Hardin was there, practically bouncing with excitement. “Call her Rhianna! I like that name!”
Luna Evelyn smiled, brushing a hand through my hair. “Rhianna it is, then.”
My chest had swelled that day.
For the first time since the storm, I belonged somewhere.
Later that week
Sebastian had come home from training. He was a little younger than Hardin, quieter, more serious.
He had stood at the door, eyeing me with curiosity. “Who’s that?”
“My sister!” Hardin had said proudly, tugging me forward. “Her name’s Rhianna now. Mom said so.”
Sebastian had frowned, his brows furrowed. “She doesn’t look like us.”
“She’s mine,” Hardin said fiercely, gripping my hand. “And you have to be nice to her, Seb.”
Sebastian’s frown had slowly softened as he looked at me. “Fine. But if she’s going to stay, she has to learn how to be strong. This is a pack, not a playground.”
I remembered nodding eagerly.
From that day forward, Hardin taught me to climb trees, and Sebastian taught me to run faster. Hardin showed me how to laugh again. Sebastian showed me discipline, how to stand tall.
Back then, it was peaceful.
Back then, it was perfect.
Back to Present
The memory dissolved as quickly as it had come, leaving me standing in front of the gates once more.
I hugged myself as the tears started again.
“Why did it have to change?” I whispered into the rain.
Why did we have to grow up?
Why did they both have to look at me the way they do now — like I was something they had to fight over instead of someone they had once just loved?