Chapter 41 - He Knows
Silas heard the first howl from the courtyard.
He stopped mid-step.
The sound rolled through the mountain like thunder - deep, unified, ancient. The pack calling to one another across the forest in the way they had for centuries.
But he wasn't thinking about them.
He was thinking about her.
His chest tightened instantly.
He turned toward the east wing without hesitation.
By the time the second and third howls echoed through the stone, he was already moving down the corridor with long, purposeful strides. Servants passed him and stepped aside without a word. He barely saw them.
All he could feel was the faint, steady pull in his chest growing stronger.
She hears it.
He didn't knock when he reached her door.
He pushed it open quietly.
Athena was on the floor beneath the window.
Curled slightly against the wall.
One hand pressed to her chest like she was trying to hold something in place.
Tears streaked silently down her cheeks.
She didn't look up when he entered.
She didn't seem surprised he was there.
Like she had known he would come.
Silas crossed the room slowly and knelt beside her.
He didn't speak right away.
He just watched.
The way her breathing was uneven.
The way her eyes were distant, like she was listening to something he couldn't hear anymore.
"Why does it hurt?" she whispered.
Her voice was small.
Confused.
His chest tightened painfully.
"Because something inside you recognizes what you heard."
She swallowed hard, her fingers pressing harder into her sternum.
"I feel like I'm missing something," she said.
Silas lowered himself to sit beside her, his back against the stone wall. Close enough that their shoulders almost touched.
He didn't reach for her.
He knew this wasn't a moment that needed comfort.
It needed understanding.
"You are not missing anything," he said quietly.
She shook her head slightly.
"It felt like..." she struggled for the words. "Like someone was calling me. And I didn't know how to answer."
His eyes softened.
"That is because your body answered for you."
Her brow furrowed.
She finally turned to look at him.
"Why does it feel familiar?" she asked. "Like I've heard it before. Like I should know what it means."
Silas held her gaze.
"Because you have."
Tears welled again in her eyes.
"But I don't remember."
"I know."
Silence fell between them, heavy but not uncomfortable.
Athena leaned her head back against the wall and closed her eyes.
Her breathing slowly began to steady.
"I don't want to be less here," she whispered.
The vulnerability in her voice hit him harder than anything else she had said.
Silas finally moved.
He reached over and gently covered the hand she still held to her chest with his own.
Her fingers stilled beneath his touch.
"You are not wolfless, Athena," he said softly.
She didn't argue.
Didn't deny it.
She just stared out into the darkness beyond the window again.
Tears slipping quietly down her cheeks.
And for the first time...
She believed him.