Chapter 11 #2
He pointed to the mirror at the end of my bed.
I leaped off the bed like it was nothing, paws landing silently on the floorboards, and padded over to the mirror.
An ink-black wolf stared back at me, with white-dipped paws, and a tail like it was dusted in snow.
My reflection moved when I did, head tilting. I felt powerful, heavy with strength.
The door flew open then, and I snapped my head in that direction to see Elia. Her eyes were red-rimmed like she’d been crying all night. She fell to her knees, weeping at the sight of me.
A whine rose low in my throat, and I trotted over to her, resting my wolfish head in the crook of her neck as she held on to me. Her arms trembled around my fur.
“I thought you were dead,” she said. Her voice broke on the last word.
‘Can I talk to her?’ I asked Kaelric.
I could feel my wolf wanting to press closer, to comfort her with warmth and presence.
‘No, but I can,’ he told me without moving his lips.
‘Tell her thank you and that I’m going to save her mother now.’
Kaelric raised one eyebrow as if he wanted to talk about that first, but he repeated my words to her.
“Brynnie?” Sable’s voice came from the hallway, and I froze. My wolf went utterly still. Elia wiped her eyes, and I stepped off her lap as she stood and turned around, shielding my wolf with her body.
“Honey, Brynn is doing better, but she needs to change before she comes out to see you,” Elia told my little sister.
I had no idea what my family had been told, but clearly, my becoming a wolf had not been relayed to the littles.
My mom slipped into sight then, and I backed deeper into the room as Elia stepped outside to pick up Sable.
When my mom came into the room, she shut the door behind her and looked from me to the bed, to Kaelric. She, too, had red-rimmed eyes and messy hair, like she hadn’t slept since I left.
“Is that my daughter?” Her voice was like sandpaper, scraped raw.
Kaelric cleared his throat. “Yes, ma’am.”
My mom kneeled and held out her hand as if to call me, and Kaelric stepped in front of me. “Human smell can be enticing to new wolves who have not yet had their first hunt. I’ll take her to catch some rabbits and train her wolf first before—”
“Nonsense!” my mother scolded the alpha with the confidence of someone who had raised twelve children and feared nothing. “My daughter would never hurt me.”
I sidestepped Kaelric and nuzzled my nose into her palm as she stroked my back like you would pet a dog. Her touch grounded me, a familiar warmth.
‘Tell her I love her, and she is right. I would never hurt her.
He did. But he was also right, because as I was smelling her hand, a deep hunger bloomed inside my stomach. It hit fast and sharp, like something primal waking for the first time.
‘I’m hungry,’ I told him.
The words came out more like a growl in my mind, my new instincts clawing forward.
He reached out and took my mother’s hands in his, guiding her to the door. “I’m going to take Brynn for a run. Then we’ll come back, shift into her human form, and we can all hang out, okay?”
His voice was calm, but I could sense the fear beneath the edges, a quiet trembling he was trying to hide.
Was he afraid I would attack her?
I would never. I would die before I hurt my family.
But even though I believed that… believed it fiercely… the hunger in my gut felt wild and unfamiliar, like a beast pacing under my ribs. My mouth began to water. The smell of her skin, warm and human, made something coil in my stomach.
“Oh, alright.” My mother squeezed his hands and left the room.
Kaelric walked over to my window and opened it wide. A cool breeze rushed into the room, carrying pine and bark and the distant scent of animals. My wolf surged in my chest, eager and restless.
Suddenly, I wondered why humans spent so much time inside.
The walls felt too tight, too thin, too… wrong.
Outside was where I was meant to be: trees, warm soil, running water, the night sky. I longed for it with an ache that filled every inch of me.
Kaelric shifted until he was standing beside me. He eyed the open window.
‘First one to get a rabbit wins.’
His tone was playful and challenging.
Before I could answer, he launched out the window, body shifting midair into an effortless, beautiful beast.
Instinct took over. I tore off after him, paws hitting the grass, the earth cool and perfect beneath me. The world snapped into sharp clarity. Kaelric was already halfway across the yard, but a thrill lit through my body. I pushed myself faster and found I could catch him with startling ease.
As we sprinted across the park and into the dense woods, every leaf and twig seemed impossibly loud. I could hear the flutter of wings overhead, the scuttle of something small near a tree trunk, the whisper of wind threading through branches.
My wolf noticed scents and sounds I never would have before. The forest was alive, speaking to me in ways it never had.
I thought hunting a rabbit would be horrifying, but it was exhilarating.
The chase. The blur of trees. The soft heartbeat I could hear beneath the soil.
When I lunged, catching the rabbit between my teeth, I felt a jolt of pure instinctive satisfaction. It wasn’t cruelty. It was survival. Nature. Balance.
As always, Kaelric let me eat first.
There was reverence in the way he watched me, ancient and vulnerable.
After two hours of running through the woods together, weaving between the trees, we made our way back to my house and jumped through the open window.
Kaelric coaxed me through shifting back to my form, his voice steady as he talked me through each breath. It hurt, but it was less painful this time, like my bones remembered the way.
I took a quick shower, scrubbing away dirt and fur, brushing my teeth, and trying to smooth my wild hair before seeing my family. My reflection looked the same, yet everything beneath my skin felt different.
My mom had dinner ready, and I was surprised to find that I was still hungry. Ravenous, actually. The table was covered in warm dishes and candlelight, and the familiar smell of pumpkin made my chest tighten with nostalgia.
Just as we were sitting down to eat, there was a knock at the door.
My mom glanced at Kaelric and me holding hands, and her face fell a little. “Oh, Cassian normally comes for dinner on this night, but—”
“Cassian is welcome,” Kaelric said, smoothly and sincere.
My heart melted a little. I knew the two men were friends, but there was a sore spot where I was concerned. Tonight, Kaelric didn’t flinch from it. He leaned in.
“I’ll get him,” I said. I set my fork down and walked over to open the door.
Cassian was standing there with…
“Fiona!”
I rushed forward to hug the heavily pregnant woman, her belly pressing warm against me.
“Got room for one more?” she asked.
“Always.”
I stepped aside as she slipped past me and headed to the dining room.
Cassian waited in the doorway, watching me with a look of relief that softened his whole face.
“Elia said you were okay, but it’s a relief to see it in person,” he said.
I pulled him in for a hug. “Thank you for everything. You’re a good friend.”
When we pulled back, he was smiling, though there was a shadow beneath it.
“I am. So does that mean I’m invited to the wedding?”
He pointed to the Aerlyn band on my finger.
I blushed. We hadn’t talked about it.
“No wedding.”
What was the point of a fancy dinner and dancing? Kaelric was mine, and I was his. That was enough.
“I’m happy for you,” he said.
Damn, he was the nicest man I’d ever met.
“Thank you, Cassian.”
He slipped inside and followed me back to the table, where my mom had pulled out two more chairs. They sat down, and we began to eat and tell stories. Candlelight flickered over the walls, and the room filled with laughter.
We ate pumpkin bread and pumpkin soup because they were in season and plentiful, and everyone took seconds, especially Fiona, who ate with unapologetic joy. My heart was full.
Having people over for dinner used to be a stress. We never did because we never had enough food to go around. Now my mother was joyously pushing more food at Fiona, telling her she was eating for two, her cheeks glowing.
I glanced at Kaelric. ‘Hildreth is a special place.’
He nodded. ‘My mother thought so as well.’
His mother. Valkaryn.
She was stuck in the well while I sat around laughing and enjoying my newly healed body.
And Elia’s mom was a… a captive of that monster, Harrow.
Dinner sat heavy on my tongue.
I wiped my mouth, placing my napkin down on the table and facing Kaelric.
‘This time with my family has been nice, but I’m ready to give you your crown back now.’
His lips curled.
‘That’s the sexiest thing a woman has ever said to me.’
‘Let’s go get Val, free Elia’s mom, and end this war,’ I declared.
The room around us continued to buzz with chatter, but in that moment, everything crystallized.
I was ready.