Fractured Silence
1472 Words
☽ Nyra ☾
Lucan had been acting like he carried a secret under his ribs. He ate, trained, and guarded our door like always, but something in him stayed locked. Every time I pressed, he gave me the same answer:
“I’m just worried,”
But this morning, as we sat across from each other at the small table with the smell of warm bread, dried herbs, and freshly brewed coffee, I planned to get the truth out of him. Lucan barely touched his plate, and I carefully set down my cup as I watched him closely.
“What are you hiding from me?” I asked softly. Lucan’s gaze lifted, his expression blank.
“Nothing,”
“Don’t lie to me!” I snapped. He sighed loudly, as if he was annoyed with me.
“Nyra,” he warned, but I quickly shook my head.
“I’m not going to stop asking,” I said firmly. “I know you are hiding something from me, Lucan. You know something…but you refuse to tell me, why? What is it?” he held my gaze for a moment before he abruptly stood. His chair scraped on the kitchen floor, and for a heartbeat, I thought he would lose control. I thought his anger would explode, but instead, he took a deep, controlled breath and glared down at me.
“You want the truth?” he asked, and I immediately nodded.
“Yes, tell me,”
“I’m hiding my fear,” he stated. “That’s it,” I stared up at him, and I just knew that it was more than that. I knew he was hiding something.
“That’s not the truth,” I said.
“It’s the only truth you are getting,” he answered. Heat rose in my chest as I continued to watch him closely.
“Why are you doing this to me?”
“Because you don’t understand what you are asking,” he replied as his eyes flashed. “You think you can carry every burden just because you survived,”
“I survived because I fought,” I shot back. “Because I planned. Because I refused to bend,”
“And I survived because I was the one who kept you alive,” he said, and something about what he said made me frown. His jaw tightened like he regretted what he had just said. “I’m going out, stay here,” he then stormed past me, grabbed his coat, and slammed the door so hard that the cabin walls trembled. I slowly got to my feet as my temper continued to rise. I hated secrets. I hated the feeling of being trapped in someone else’s decision. The pack already treated me like an outcast. The truth was that I couldn’t handle it from him, too. I forced myself to clean up the dishes. I wiped the table and ended up sweeping and mopping the floors. When I was done, I wrapped my shawl around my shoulders and stepped outside. The forest air cooled my face, and I breathed easier. In the clearing, wolves avoided my eyes as I walked past them. If Lucan wouldn’t give me answers, I would find them elsewhere. Iseya’s lodge smelled of herbs and clean water. She looked up from grinding leaves when I entered.
“Nyra,” she said gently. “Are you hurt?”
“No,” I answered. “I just have questions,” she set her tools aside.
“Sit,” she gestured to the bench. I sat down and took a deep breath.
“Do you know anything about White Wolves?” I asked, and Iseya’s brows lifted.
“The old stories?”
“Yes,” I confirmed. Iseya hesitated, and I frowned as I watched her.
“I know what the pack repeats. A pale wolf marked by the moon. A line that could sense lies and break bonds. A wolf rulers feared,”
“And you believe it’s real?” I asked.
“Honestly?” she said. “No. I always thought it was a myth. A warning dressed up as legend,” disappointment tightened in my chest, but I didn’t show it.
“Do healer records mention them?” I asked.
“Not here,” she said. “Healers keep remedies, not histories,” I nodded as another burst of disappointment washed over me. Iseya came over and squeezed my shoulder. “Whatever you are facing, don’t face it alone. If Lucan is silent, it’s because he is afraid for you, not because he wants to hurt you,”
“Hiding secrets hurt me,” I pointed out, and her eyes softened.
“Then let him calm down. And find someone who can speak without fear,” she said, and I knew there was only one person in Moonreach who would talk to me without fear.
Elder Kaedra.
I thanked Iseya for her time and left the lodge. I walked to the council chambers on the other side of the pack. Some watched me. Others ignored me as if I didn’t exist. I pushed open the door and stepped inside. The council chamber felt like a place of judgment. I shook off the feeling and turned to my left. Just then, Elder Kaedra stepped out of a room. Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw me. For a moment, we stared at each other, and then she smiled.
“You are looking for answers,” she said, and I slowly nodded.
“Yes,” I replied. “And you are the only elder I can stand near without wanting to spit,” her lips twitched slightly.
“Come,” she said. I followed her down a short hallway into a small sitting room. The large windows let in the natural sunlight, and the furniture looked as old as Kaedra did. “Well, speak,”
“I want to know the truth about White Wolves…and not a bedtime story,” I said. Kaedra studied me until my nerves tightened. Then she spoke, quiet and certain.
“White Wolf power is clarity,” she said. “Not domination. It doesn’t bend others to your will. It makes you see what is real,” my breath caught. “It cannot resurrect the dead,” Kaedra continued. “It cannot control free will. It cannot heal corruption without sacrifice. Every major use costs something…blood, strength, time. Pieces of your life,” the rules landed heavy, but they also sounded like boundaries. Like a power that demanded restraint.
“How do you know?” I asked.
“I remember,” she said. “And I read what the others refuse to touch,”
“Why tell me?” I demanded.
“You asked,” Kaedra replied. “And because fear makes people stupid…because Vespera is moving in the dark. And because if you are what you suspect, what I suspect, then your first test will be simple: do not let rage guide you,” I huff softly as I slowly shake my head.
“Rage is all I have left,”
“Then learn to hold it. The moon will test you soon. Choose clarity, or you will become exactly what they accuse you of being,” her gaze lingered on my face, like she was weighing more than my questions. “There is a place deeper in Blackpine Villa,” she said. “A cave the elders pretend is only rock. Moonlight touches it. The old line called it a sanctuary,”
“Where?”
“I won’t draw you a map,” she said. “Not yet. Sanctuary doesn’t mean safety if you arrive with a storm inside you,” her eyes narrowed. “But if you start seeing silver in your vision, if your skin burns when someone lies, you go there before you do something you can’t take back,” I swallowed. Hard.
“You think I’m already changing,”
“I think you have been changing since the moment you turned eighteen,” she answered. “And I think Lucan knows more than he is saying,” my chest tightened at the mention of his name. Kaedra then glanced at the open door. “Your Alpha will circle you soon,” she added. “Regret makes men reckless. Don’t let him corner you alone,” as if the forest heard her, a faint pull tightened in my ribs, the same unwanted thread I had felt on my birthday. It tugged west, then snapped toward the eastern border like a warning. A sharp howl rose from the eastern border. Another answered, closer. The air shifted, carrying smoke and old blood. Kaedra’s gaze shifted to the large window.
“What?” I asked, curiously.
“They are coming again,” she said.
☽☾
- Writer
