Chapter 5: The Silent Wolf
Liana grabbed the knife blade with her bare hand, ignoring the sharp pain as it cut into her palm. Blood dripped onto the floor, but she held tight.
"Who are you?" she asked, pulling hard on the knife.
The door swung open to show Talia, her eyes wide with shock.
"Liana! What are you doing? Let go!"
Liana dropped the knife, looking at her friend in confusion. "Talia? I thought—I thought someone was attacking me."
Talia ran in, closing the door behind her. "I was bringing you this," she whispered, holding up a small key. "It's to the kitchen pantry. I thought you might get hungry."
"Why didn't you just knock?" Liana asked, covering her bleeding hand in the edge of her blanket.
"Guards are watching your door. I had to be careful." Talia looked at the bloody blanket with worry. "Let me see your hand."
As Talia cleaned and wrapped her cut with a strip of cloth, Liana felt stupid. Her fears were making her jump at shadows.
"You're scared," Talia said softly. "That's okay. Anyone would be."
"My wolf is hiding again," Liana revealed. "She spoke to me yesterday about danger, but now she's silent. I keep calling to her, but nothing."
Talia squeezed her shoulder. "Maybe she's gathering strength. This is all new for both of you."
After Talia left, Liana tried again to reach her dog.
"Please talk to me," she whispered in her mind. "I need you."
Silence.
"We're in the Alpha's house now. The triplets keep visiting me. Which one is our mate? Are they all our mates? Is that even possible?"
Nothing.
With a disappointed sigh, Liana lay back on the bed. The cut on her palm throbbed. Outside, the moon was rising higher. Soon it would be dinner time, and she would have to face everyone.
"Fine," she whispered to her silent wolf. "I'll figure this out on my own."
The eating room was huge, with a long table that could seat thirty people. Tonight, only ten seats were filled: Alpha Henderson at the head, Luna Vivian beside him, the triplets, Celeste and her father, Elder Mira, and an empty chair that must be for her.
All talking stopped when Liana entered. She stood uncomfortably in the doorway, unsure where to sit.
"Ah, our guest has arrived," Alpha Henderson said, his voice kind but formal. "Please join us, Liana."
The only empty chair was far from the triplets, between Elder Mira and Luna Vivian. Of course. They were keeping them apart on purpose.
As Liana walked to her place, she felt everyone watching. Celeste whispered something to her father, who frowned in answer.
"Thank you for joining us," Elder Mira said warmly as Liana sat down.
Dinner was served by beta wolves who moved quietly around the table. The food was more than Liana usually ate in three days: roasted meat, fresh bread, veggies she didn't even recognize.
"So, Liana," Luna Vivian said loudly, drawing everyone's attention. "Tell us about your parents. I don't believe I ever met them."
Liana swallowed hard. "My mother died when I was ten. I never knew my father."
"How... unfortunate," Luna Vivian said, her voice dripping with fake pity. "And no pack rank to speak of?"
"My mother was an omega," Liana said. "Like me."
"Hmm," Luna Vivian sipped her wine. "Quite unusual for an omega to be in this... situation."
Across the table, Kael was watching Liana carefully, his gray eyes focused. When their eyes met, he didn't look away. His steady gaze made her heart beat faster.
"I hear omegas in your old quarters do the washing for the pack," Celeste joined in, smiling sweetly. "Do you miss it?"
"The work? No," Liana replied honestly. "The people? Yes."
Jace chuckled at this, getting a glare from his father. When Liana glanced his way, he winked at her. Heat rushed to her cheeks.
"Elder Mira," the Alpha said, clearly trying to change the subject. "How goes your research on the prophecy?"
"Slowly," the old woman admitted. "Some texts are missing from our library. I've sent for copies from the Eastern Pack."
Celeste's fork clinked loudly against her plate. "Surely we're not taking this 'prophecy' seriously? It's probably just an old story twisted over time."
"The stones don't lie," Elder Mira answered calmly. "What we witnessed was unprecedented."
"Stones can be tricked," Celeste's father said. "Magic can be bought."
Liana's hands tightened in her lap. They thought she had cheated somehow.
"That's enough," Alpha Henderson said strongly. "We will wait for the research before making judgments."
Silence fell over the table. Liana poked at her food, no longer hungry. She could feel Celeste looking daggers at her.
When she looked up, she noticed Rowan watching her with worry. He looked down at her barely touched plate, then at a servant passing by. With a slight nod, he indicated something. Moments later, the servant put a small plate of sweet pastries near Liana, pretending to adjust something on the table.
The simple kindness almost made her cry.
"Actually," Celeste said suddenly, standing up, "I'd like to propose a toast." She lifted her glass of red berry juice. "To Liana, for bringing such... unexpected excitement to our pack."
Everyone hesitantly raised their glasses. Celeste moved around the table, smiling widely. As she passed behind Liana, her hand "slipped."
Cold juice poured down Liana's back and soaked through her dress. She gasped at the sudden chill.
"Oh!" Celeste put a hand to her mouth in fake shock. "How clumsy of me! And on that lovely gray dress too."
The juice was already staining the cloth a deep red. Liana sat frozen, shame burning through her.
"Celeste," Alpha Henderson's voice was sharp. "Apologize at once."
"It was an accident," Celeste insisted, not sounding sorry at all. "Besides, it's just a servant's dress. Hardly worth fussing over."
"I'm fine," Liana said quietly, though she wasn't. "May I be excused to change?"
The Alpha nodded, his face grim. As Liana stood, she caught Jace's face. He looked angry.
Kael's face was a cold mask, but his eyes followed her all the way to the door.
Back in her tiny room, Liana peeled off the wet dress. Her hands shook with anger and embarrassment. She tried again to reach her wolf.
"Where are you when I need you? They're all laughing at me. I don't belong here."
Nothing. Not even a sound.
A soft knock made her jump. She quickly pulled on one of the other gray dresses.
"Come in," she called, expecting a helper with towels.
Instead, all three triplets stood in her doorway.
"We wanted to check on you," Rowan said gently.
"I'm fine," Liana lied for what felt like the hundredth time.
"No, you're not," Kael said simply. "What Celeste did was unacceptable."
"Don't worry," Jace added with a scary smile. "She'll regret it."
"Please don't make things worse," Liana begged. "I just want to be left alone."
"That's not going to happen," Kael said. "Not until we understand this... bond."
"Do you feel it?" Rowan asked suddenly. "The pull toward us?"
Liana paused. The truth was, she did feel something—different with each of them. With Kael, a steady, strong tug. With Jace, a wild, exciting spark. With Rowan, a warm, inviting glow.
But her wolf stayed silent on which was real.
"I don't know what I feel anymore," she revealed.
The three brothers traded looks.
"Tomorrow," Kael decided, "we'll each spend time with you. Separately. Perhaps that will help clear things up."
Before Liana could reply, a guard appeared in the hallway.
"Your father is looking for you," she told the triplets. "All of you."
With hesitant nods, they left Liana alone again.
Too tired to think anymore, she crawled into bed, begging for sleep without dreams. Her wolf stayed stubbornly quiet.
She was falling off when a strange feeling jolted her awake. Cold fingers seemed to brush across her mind, looking for something.
Liana sat up, heart racing. The touch came again, this time with words that didn't sound like her wolf at all:
"Found you."
The candle on her bedside table flickered and died. In the sudden darkness, Liana saw a pair of bright red eyes watching her from the corner of the room.
"Who's there?" she whispered.
The eyes blinked once, and a raspy voice answered:
"Your true destiny."