{IRIS}
Val regarded for a long mont, as if assessing the weight of my disbelief. Then, his gaze darkened slightly.
"That’s not all," he murmured.
I shivered.
"W-what?" I asked hesitantly, feeling sothing shift in the air between us.
His silver eyes locked onto mine, gleaming like molten rcury.
"You have a wolf."
The words hit like a physical blow.
My lips parted, but no sound ca out.
My thoughts short-circuited.
"I . . . I have a . . . wolf?"
"That’s right."
"I have a wolf?"
"Yes."
"I have a wolf?"
A muscle in Val’s jaw twitched. "If you say it one more ti, I will drink your blood and drain you dry."
My mouth snapped shut so fast I nearly bit my tongue. My hands flew to my head as I tried to process what I had just heard.
This wasn’t real. It couldn’t be real.
"B-but . . . I don’t feel her," I whispered. "She doesn’t appear. I don’t shift, even under a full moon. I don’t . . . I don’t have a heat."
Val let out a slow breath, his fingers tracing the rim of his glass.
"That’s because your wolf is sealed," he explained. "I don’t know who or what sealed it, but the barrier inside you sotis weakens—enough for your wolf to break through during monts of extre distress or heightened emotions."
I stared at him, my pulse hamring.
"When I drank your blood," Val continued, "I saw your wolf tear through the monsters of the night in a short ti. Then, it was sealed again."
I clutched my chest, feeling lightheaded.
"When you drank my blood, you saw it?" I whispered. I wanted to see her too.
"C-can’t you see who sealed it? Or why?"
"Unfortunately," he said, setting his napkin on the table, "I can only see glimpses—a day of the past at most. I can’t look further than that . . . not with my current state."
I swallowed. "What do you an?"
He rose from his chair, signaling that he was finished with his al.
"Anyway," he said, dismissing the topic as though he hadn’t just shattered my entire reality, "congratulations. You have a wolf."
"Wait!" I shot up from my seat, nearly knocking my plate over. "H-how . . . how do I break the seal?" I want to see her! I want to see my wolf!
Val glanced at over his shoulder, his silver eyes holding sothing unreadable.
"Even I don’t know how to. But, I believe that by attending the school, you will learn how to harness your powers . . . and perhaps, find a way to unseal your wolf yourself."
With that, he turned and left, his silhouette disappearing into the darkened halls.
I stood frozen, my hands trembling.
For years, I had believed I was different—less. That I had no wolf. That I was destined to remain an unshifted, weak oga. A servant to my pack until the day I died.
But now . . .
Now, a stranger—a vampire—had told that I did have a wolf. That I was special. That I could use the Arcane.
Overnight, my life had changed.
Overnight, for the first ti in a very, very long ti, I didn’t feel alone.
A choked sob escaped as I wrapped my arms around myself, trembling.
I have my wolf.
She had been there all along—hidden, sealed away—but still there. A part of . A part of my soul.
Tears slipped down my cheeks, warm against my skin.
I’m not alone.
I pressed a hand to my chest, as if I could feel her beneath my ribs, curled within , waiting, waiting for to release her.
She had never left .
She was always there.
====
{IRIS}
My days in the Nightborne mansion were . . . productive.
Not in the way I was used to—not spent scrubbing floors, cleaning toilets, and washing endless piles of laundry like I had in the packhouse.
No, this was different.
For the first ti in my life, I was being taught. And not just by anyone—by Lord Val himself.
At first, the idea of a vampire lord teaching a werewolf how to read and write sounded like sothing out of a twisted fairytale. And if I was being honest, it had been terrifying at first.
Not because he punished when I got things wrong—no, Lord Val wasn’t cruel like that.
It was the way he looked at .
Like I was a tiny, insignificant idiot ant struggling to grasp even the simplest concepts.
I would stumble over words, and his silver eyes would narrow ever so slightly, his lips pressing into a thin line of silent disappointnt.
"Again," he’d say, his voice devoid of any sympathy.
And I’d try again.
And again.
But despite his terrifying glares and the suffocating pressure of having him so close, I had to admit—he was patient.
A surprisingly good teacher.
And within a month, I had learned to read, write, and even do basic math. I was no genius, but I could at least function now like a normal werewolf.
More importantly, I could finally start reading about the Arcane—the mysterious power that supposedly ran through my veins. The power that, if I could tap into it, might help unseal my wolf.
But it wasn’t easy.
I felt nothing. No shift, no spark of power. Just . . . silence.
Val had warned .
"Controlling the Arcane isn’t easy," he had said, watching struggle with indifference. "You cannot tap into sothing you do not understand. You must learn to sense it first."
Great.
I couldn’t sense a damn thing.
Still, my ti in the mansion was unlike anything I had ever experienced.
For the first ti in a long ti, I felt what ho could be like.
It was dark, cold, and eerie—sure—but I was treated with kindness . . . well, as much kindness as a vampire could offer a werewolf.
And with each passing day, my confidence grew.
I could read.
I could write.
And after another month, I would be attending Covens of Midnight—an elite school for Arcane users.
I was excited—this would be my first chance to attend school, sothing I had never experienced during my ti in the packhouse.
Everything was going well.
And then—
The unexpected happened.
The Incident.
Reviews
All reviews (0)