Ember's of the Silent Wolf

"Come on, Selene!" Lyra's voice broke through the air, bright and carefree, her wolf eyes glowing under moonlight. "You're missing it!"

Selene forced a smile that didn't touch her eyes. "You go ahead," she said quietly.

Lyra tilted her head, then bounded back toward her. Her copper-colored hair fell around her shoulders in waves as she shifted back effortlessly, skin replacing fur like it was second nature. It was for them, all of them. But not for Selene.

"Again?" Lyra frowned, brushing a fallen leaf from her arm. "Selene, you can't keep sitting this out."

"I'm not sitting it out," Selene murmured, eyes on the dancing shadows of the others. "I'm... just not ready."

Lyra sighed and plopped down beside her on the rock, unbothered by the cold. "Your wolf's just being stubborn. It'll come when it's time."

"It's been years," Selene replied, her voice brittle. "Maybe I wasn't meant to shift. Maybe I wasn't meant to belong."

"Don't say that." Lyra's voice softened, her fingers wrapping around Selene's wrist. "You belong. Wolf or not, you're one of us."

Selene wanted to believe her. But belief was a fragile thing, and hers had cracked a long time ago.

They said the wolf came with puberty. Then with strong emotion. Then with love. Then maybe the next moon. Always the next time. Always eventually.

But the moons came and went, and Selene remained painfully, unnaturally human.

The others tried to be kind, but kindness could bruise. The way they looked at her with pity, like she was a child left out of a secret game, stung more than cruelty ever could.

The Alpha never said it aloud, but she knew. She wasn't whole.

"I've tried everything," Selene whispered. "Meditation. Anger. Tears. I even spent a night alone in the forest hoping the moon would take pity on me."

"And maybe tonight's the night it listens," Lyra said, trying to be hopeful.

But Selene pulled her arm back gently. "I can't keep hoping, Lyra. It's starting to feel like madness."

A silence settled between them. The howls of the others echoed, joyous, wild, free. Selene flinched at the sound.

"Do you want to come back with me?" Lyra offered.

Selene shook her head. "No. I need to be alone."

Lyra didn't push. She never did. "Be careful."

When her friend shifted again and bounded off into the trees, Selene exhaled. The ache in her chest deepened as she turned her back on the sounds of her pack and walked into the woods, heart thudding against ribs that held too many unshed screams.

She walked for hours, deeper than she'd ever gone before. Past the familiar scent trails. Past the stone circle. Past the broken fence where rogues used to test their borders.

Here, the trees were taller, older. The air colder.

The silence wrapped around her like a second skin. Not even the stars dared whisper.

"Why?" she asked aloud. Her voice echoed through the trees.

"Why won't you come?"

She clenched her fists, nails biting into her palms. "What did I do wrong? What is wrong with me?"

No answer came. Not from the sky. Not from her body. Not from the wolf inside her that should have risen years ago.

She sank to her knees on the forest floor, leaves crunching beneath her weight, tears threatening to spill. She didn't cry, she wouldn't, but the pressure behind her eyes begged for release.

And then, movement.

A crack. A shift in the air. A scent she didn't recognize.

Selene's head snapped up.

Her heart thundered as instinct kicked in. She might not have a wolf, but her reflexes were sharp from years of training and surviving a life on the outskirts.

She rose slowly, eyes scanning the darkness.

And then he stepped into the moonlight.

Tall. Commanding. Dangerous.

Amber eyes glowed like twin lanterns in the night. His black hair hung to his shoulders, slightly disheveled. His frame was carved from war, broad shoulders, lean muscles, a presence that made the trees themselves seem to bow in his wake.

Selene's breath caught.

Lucian.

She recognized him instantly. The rogue Alpha who arrived two days ago. The one whispered about in hushed tones. The one her Alpha had greeted with tense respect.

No one knew why he was here.

Until now.

He took a step closer. The leaves didn't dare crunch beneath him.

"Selene," he said, and her name in his mouth sounded different. Raw. Final. "I've been looking for you."

Her stomach twisted. "Why?"

He didn't answer right away. Just looked at her.

Studied her.

Like she was the answer to a riddle he'd spent years chasing.

"You were alone," he said instead. "And I felt it."

"What does that mean?"

"It means your wolf may be silent, but she isn't gone."

Selene took a step back. "You don't know anything about me."

"I know you feel broken."

She stiffened.

"I know you think you're missing something," he continued, voice low. "But what if what you're missing isn't a wolf? What if it's the wrong bond?"

"What?"

Lucian moved closer.

The air grew heavier. Her skin prickled. Something in her shifted, not physically, but internally. Like a thread tightening. Like recognition blooming in a place she'd sealed shut.

He was too close now. Close enough that she could see the flecks of gold in his irises. Close enough that her body reacted without permission.

And that's when it happened.

A tremble beneath her skin. A pulse of heat down her spine. A whisper.

Something stirred.

Something ancient.

Something hers.

She gasped, stumbling back. Her fingers flew to her chest. "What did you, "

"I did nothing," Lucian said. "She heard me. That's all."

Selene clutched a tree for support. Her knees buckled. She'd waited her entire life for the wolf to rise. And now, in the presence of a stranger, a rogue Alpha, something inside her had responded.

"No," she muttered. "This isn't real. It's just adrenaline, just fear."

Lucian's voice was calm. "You're not afraid of me."

She glared at him. "You don't know what I am."

"I know exactly what you are," he said. "And so does your wolf. She's not dead, Selene. She was dormant. Because she was never meant to answer to this pack."

His words struck something deep.

"You're insane," she whispered.

Lucian smiled, just slightly. "Maybe. Or maybe I'm just the first person who sees you for what you really are."

"And what's that?" she snapped, voice cracking.

He took one final step forward, until there was nothing but breath between them.

"The future Alpha Queen."

A silence dropped between them, heavy as thunder.

Selene stared at him, heart racing, the wolf inside her pressing now. Not full. Not free. But awake.

Lucian turned without another word and disappeared into the darkness, the leaves parting for him like shadows obeying their master.

Selene stood frozen.

Her hands trembled.

The night whispered around her, but this time, she wasn't alone.

Her wolf had stirred.

And nothing would ever be the same again.