Chapter 115 - The Place Beneath the Stone
Athena didn't speak again after saying it's calling me.
She stepped into the center of the circular space and slowly lowered herself to her knees.
The stone was cool beneath her palms.
Rough.
Cracked.
Ordinary.
And yet-
Her wolf went completely quiet inside her.
Not tense.
Not alert.
Listening.
Athena closed her eyes and pressed both hands flat against the ground.
She didn't try to think.
She didn't try to search.
She simply felt.
A faint warmth stirred beneath the stone.
So subtle she almost missed it.
Like a heartbeat buried deep underground.
Her breath caught.
Silas watched her carefully from a few feet away, feeling the air shift around them. The mate bond hummed low and steady in his chest, and he realized this moment wasn't about instinct.
It was about memory older than instinct.
Athena's fingers trembled slightly.
"There's something here," she whispered.
She leaned forward, pressing her forehead closer to the ground as if the proximity helped her hear it better.
Her wolf stirred gently.
Recognizing.
Not surprised.
Like it had always known this was here.
Athena swallowed.
"It's not loud," she said. "It's... waiting."
Silas stepped closer.
"For what?"
Her eyes opened slowly.
And she looked up at him with quiet certainty.
"For me."
She looked back down at the stone beneath her hands.
And this time, she didn't doubt the feeling at all.
"It's under us."