Chapter 56

Chapter 56
Authoress's POV Cont'd
Natalia watched as the Shaman put together different ingredients into a pot, making something for her, something that would make Orion hers. She stirred the contents of the pot and then turned to Natalia.
“You need a vessel to contain the potion.” She told her.
“Can't you just put it in any vessel?” Natalia frowned.
“Uh uhn.. this is not just any potion. It requires a personal item of yours.” She said.
Natalia paused for a while in thought. Then, she removed her necklace. “Is this good enough?” She asked and the Shaman collected the necklace.
“Hmmm. Strange.” She said.
“What is wrong?”
“There's a strange energy pulsing around this necklace of yours..” The Shaman said. “Where did you get it?”
Natalia frowned again. “It's not your business how I got it, just tell me if it can do the job!”
“Yes, of course it can. It is more than suitable.” The Shaman said and began transferring the contents of the pot into the necklace by humming an ancient song, after which she handed the necklace back to Natalia.
“Now remember child, do not wear the necklace until you're ready. He must be the first face you see when you wear it and it is only activated on the stroke of midnight.” She warned.
“Certainly.” Natalia said and threw the pouch of gold coins on the floor in front of the Shaman. “You've done a fine job.”

Twila's POV
The pull came again.
At first, I thought it was the same familiar tug I had grown used to, the Moonstone’s quiet reminder that something, somewhere, needed me. But this time, it felt different. Heavier. It throbbed through my chest like a second heartbeat, sharp and insistent, laced with an energy that was not mine.
I sat up in bed, pressing a hand to my sternum.
“What now?” I whispered.
The pull answered by tightening.
With a sigh, I slipped out of bed, wrapping a shawl around my shoulders as I followed the invisible thread winding through the corridors of the castle. The halls were silent, torches dimmed, the world caught between sleep and dawn. Each step I took made the throbbing stronger, almost impatient, like it was urging me to hurry.

My feet carried me somewhere familiar.
The training grounds.
I slowed as I stepped into the open space, memories rising unbidden. Orion’s laughter as he disarmed me for the third time in a row. His voice low and teasing as he corrected my stance. The way he always watched me there, not like a warrior measuring another, but like someone guarding something precious.
But tonight, he wasn’t there.
The grounds were empty… almost.
A figure stood at the far end, back turned to me. A woman. Her posture was straight, confident, her presence sharp enough that I felt it even before I saw her clearly. The strange energy pulsed harder now, buzzing under my skin.
“Hello?” I called softly.
She didn’t turn.
Unease crawled up my spine as I took a few cautious steps forward. Something about her felt wrong. Not dark, not exactly, but twisted. Like a melody played slightly off-key.
Then movement caught my eye.
Orion.
He appeared from the opposite end of the training grounds, walking toward the woman with purposeful strides. My breath caught in my throat.
“Orion?” I called out, louder this time.
He didn’t hear me.
I froze, heart pounding as realization dawned on me with sickening clarity. This was not happening in the waking world. This was something else. A pull into a moment I was not meant to witness, or perhaps one I was meant to understand.
The woman turned to face him.
Natalia.

My fingers curled into fists at my sides as the throbbing in my chest flared hot. Of course it was her. Her presence snapped everything into focus, the strange energy, the urgency, the discomfort clawing at me since I woke.
She smiled at Orion, slow and deliberate, the kind of smile meant to draw someone in. I watched her lift a hand, the moonlight catching on the necklace resting against her collarbone. It shimmered faintly, almost imperceptibly, but I felt it like a knife pressed to my ribs.
That was the source.
The pull wasn’t calling me somewhere. It was reacting.
“Orion…” I whispered again, though my voice felt trapped inside me.
He stopped a few steps away from her, his expression unreadable from where I stood. Natalia said something I couldn’t hear, her lips moving in a soft, intimate way that made my stomach twist. She reached for him.
The Moonstone within me flared in warning.
I took an involuntary step forward, light stirring beneath my skin, instinct screaming that whatever was happening here was not natural. That something was trying to bend what should never be bent.
“Don’t,” I breathed.
The air around me trembled, and for the briefest moment, Orion’s head snapped in my direction. Our eyes met.
Shock flickered across his face.
And then the training grounds dissolved into blinding light.
I found myself back in my bed.
My breath came in shallow bursts as I stared at the canopy above me, my heart racing like I had been running. The room was quiet, too quiet, the kind that made everything feel unreal.
“Was that a dream?” I asked myself, my voice barely above a whisper. “It felt so real.”
I swung my legs over the side of the bed and stood, my knees a little weak. The pull was gone now, but the echo of it still lingered in my chest, like a bruise you only feel when you press it.
I rushed to the door and stepped outside.
Morning had already claimed the sky. Soft gold light spilled over the castle walls, birds chirping as if nothing strange had happened at all. No storm. No darkness. No sign that the night had held anything more than sleep.
Confusion settled heavily on me.
If it was a dream, why did my chest still ache? Why could I still see Natalia’s smile so clearly? And that necklace… the way it shimmered.
I was still lost in thought when hurried footsteps approached.
“Twila.”
I turned to see Miri standing there, her hands folded neatly in front of her, her expression polite but curious. She looked at me like she wanted to ask a hundred questions but knew better than to voice them.
“The Alpha would like you to join him for breakfast,” she said.
My heart skipped.
“Okay,” I replied, a little too quickly.
Miri led the way through the halls, chatting lightly about nothing in particular, but I barely heard her. My mind replayed the vision over and over again, each detail refusing to fade. By the time we reached the dining hall, my nerves were stretched thin.
Orion was already seated when I walked in.
He looked… normal. Calm. His hair was slightly damp, like he had just finished training, and his expression softened the moment he saw me.
“Good morning,” he said, standing briefly.