Chapter 29 The First Morning 2

Chapter 29: Chapter 29 The First Morning 2

Talia’s POV

I turned away from the window and walked to the door. I opened it and stepped into the hallway.

The torches flickered, and the shadows danced across the stone floors. Wolves passed me as I walked. Some bowed, some nodded, and some just stared.

I kept my head high and my eyes straight ahead.

The whispers followed me, as they always did.

"That is her," one voice said.

"She looks scared," another added.

"She will not last," a male voice said.

But I did not look back, and I did not slow down. I just kept walking.

I went left, then right, then down a flight of stairs.

I did not know where I was going, even though some part of the pack house was a bit familiar to me now. I just knew that I needed to keep moving.

I found myself in the garden.

It was a small courtyard, surrounded by stone walls. Flowers grew in neat rows, with their colors bright against the gray stone. A fountain bubbled in the center, and the water sparkled in the morning light.

I had not known this place existed.

I walked to the fountain and sat on the edge. The water was cold against my fingers, and I watched it ripple and swirl as I tried to clear my mind.

I thought about the trials, the pack, Serena, and Kaelen.

There were too many thoughts, and too many fears.

I closed my eyes and listened to the water.

"You are up early," a voice said.

I opened my eyes and saw a woman, who stood at the entrance to the garden. She was older, with gray hair and a kind face. She was not wearing a servant’s uniform, and her clothes were simple but fine.

"I could not sleep," I said.

The woman nodded, as if she understood. "The weight of a new place can do that to a person. Especially when that place comes with expectations and trials." She paused. "Especially when the pack is watching your every move."

She walked toward me and sat on the bench across from the fountain.

"I could not sleep either," she said. "The older you get, the harder sleep becomes."

I did not know what to say, so I said nothing.

She studied me for a moment. Her eyes were soft, but they looked like they saw too much.

I did not like being seen. Not really. Because in Cresswood, being seen meant being hurt. The woman’s eyes were not cruel, but they still made me want to hide, to shrink, and to disappear. But I stayed anyway, because I was tired of disappearing.

"You are the Alpha’s mate," she said. "The one from Cresswood."

"Yes, ma’am," I answered.

"They say you are weak," she said.

My chest tightened. "I know."

"They say you will not last," she continued.

"I have heard that too," I replied.

She tilted her head. "What do you say?"

I looked at her. "I say they do not know me."

She smiled. It was a small smile, and it reached her eyes.

She studied me for a long moment. "Words are easy," she said. "Anyone can say they are strong, and anyone can say they will prove others wrong." She leaned back. "But walking through fire? That is different. That shows who a person truly is."

"That’s also good," she continued. "Because the pack needs a strong Luna. Not just a strong wolf, but a strong woman."

She stood up and walked to the entrance.

"What is your name?" I asked.

She turned back. "Elena. I am the pack’s healer."

Then she was gone.

I watched her hands. They were steady, and not shaking like mine. Of course, healers had steady hands. They had to. Because one wrong move and someone could die.

I wondered if she had ever lost anyone, if she had ever failed, or if she had ever sat by the fountain and felt small, like I did.

I sat there, staring at the place where she had been. I did not know why she had sought me out, and I did not know if she was testing me or trying to help me.

Maybe Elena was testing me. Maybe she wanted to see if I would break, or maybe she was just lonely. Like the way old and lonely people would look for someone to talk to.

I did not know which was true, or maybe it was both. People were very complicated, and I was learning that more every day.

But her words stayed with me.

’Walking through fire shows who a person truly is.’

I had already walked through fire. I had survived Vivienne and Celeste and fifteen years of cruelty. So this pack’s judgment could surely not be worse than that.

I sat by the fountain for a long time after she left.

’The pack needs a strong Luna. Not just a strong wolf, but a strong woman.’

I did not know if I was strong, and I did not know if I could be what they needed.

But I had survived fifteen years in Cresswood.

So I would survive this too.

I stood up and walked back to my room.

The hallway was empty when I left the garden. There were no whispers, and no stares, just me and my footsteps on the stone.

I counted them, one to ten, then ten to twenty, then twenty to thirty. I continued counting because numbers did not judge, or get tired of you.

So I held onto them like a rope, and I kept walking.