reflection in the shadow

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The night was heavy with silence, broken only by the distant howl of wolves echoing through the valley. I clung to him, my body trembling—not from the cold, though it nipped at my skin—but from the sheer intensity of everything that had happened in the past hour.

He moved with a fluid, predatory grace, stepping over rocks and fallen branches as if he belonged to the night itself. Every movement was deliberate, precise, and my eyes couldn’t stop tracing the outline of his form. Silver eyes glinted in the darkness, scanning every shadow, alert to dangers I couldn’t even sense.

Finally, we arrived at a hidden entrance carved into the mountainside, masked by ivy and darkness. He pressed a hand to a stone, whispered something inaudible, and the door slid open silently. The scent of wood, fire, and faint herbs welcomed us—a stark contrast to the damp, putrid basement I had left behind.

“Where… are we?” I asked, my voice small, uncertain. Every part of me still ached—bruised, filthy, trembling. Yet I felt a strange, inexplicable sense of relief. For the first time, I wasn’t staring up at a hole in a wall, subject to the whims of people who despised me.

“This is…” He paused, eyes scanning the room before landing back on me. “…a place you can be safe. For now.”

Safe. The word rang in my ears like a promise, fragile and fragile, yet grounding. I wanted to believe it. I wanted to let go of the fear that had haunted me for eighteen years. But deep down, a small part of me whispered: nothing comes without a price.

He set me down gently, and I instinctively backed away, wary of him despite the warmth radiating from his presence. My eyes roamed the room, taking in the flickering candlelight, the warmth of a small fire, and the strange feeling that for once, I was not invisible.

“You… why?” I asked, voice barely audible. “Why do you care? Why save me?”

His gaze softened just slightly, the first crack in the wall of power and dominance that surrounded him. “Because someone has to. Because it was time.”

I wanted to ask more, to understand, to peel back the layers of this man who had appeared like a shadow and carried me from death itself. But fear, exhaustion, and hunger swallowed my words. My body was weak, my limbs sore from chains and starvation, and I collapsed onto a blanket he had laid out.

He watched me silently, alert, as though he could feel every twitch, every heartbeat. His presence filled the room, a weight both terrifying and comforting.

For hours, I sat there, too scared to sleep, too overwhelmed to speak. And yet… I noticed him stealing glances, subtle, almost invisible. There was a care in his eyes, a promise unspoken, a bond I didn’t yet understand.

And then, as the fire crackled softly, he spoke again, low, almost a whisper:

“You’re not like them. You never were. And no one—no one—will hurt you again.”

I wanted to believe him, desperately. Yet the shadows behind his silver eyes hinted at something more. Something I couldn’t yet name.

A question lingered in my mind as I drifted between fear and awe:

Who is he… truly? And why does it feel like I’ve been waiting for him my whole life?

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Question for readers :

Will the alpha prince arrive at the ceremony and choose Kyra, or is someone—someone strong and unseen—already changing the fate that the pack thinks is set?

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