.....The Silence Within.....
The rogue's claws raked across the stone as it burst through the shattered window.
Elena staggered back, her fingers clawing uselessly at the air, her body trembling so violently she could barely stay upright. Her breath hitched, trapped in her throat, as if the world had squeezed tight around her neck.
It was massive, fur matted with dirt and blood, eyes nothing but endless black pits, foam dripping from its bared jaws. Each step it took toward her sent a violent shock through her chest, through her bones, through the deepest part of her soul.
Run.
Scream.
Fight.
But she couldn't.
She hadn't been able to… not since that night.
Her knees buckled beneath her weight, and as she fell back against the cold stone.
She was no longer in the castle.
She was twelve again.
....
"The Past"
The village was burning.
Fire tore through the night sky, devouring the home she had always known. Smoke clawed into her lungs, thick and choking. The scent of ash and blood twisted the air, mixing with the screams of neighbors… packmates… people she loved.
She could hear them.
Crying,Begging,Dying.
"Elena! Run!" her father's voice had roared above the chaos.
But she couldn't move.
She stood frozen, eyes wide as she watched her mother collapse to the ground. Crimson spread across her dress, blooming like a terrible flower.
A wolf stood over her.
Its eyes were ashen, empty. Wrong.
It lowered its head slowly… and then it looked straight at Elena.
And in that moment, she knew she had been chosen.
Her father had lunged, screaming her name as he threw himself at the beast. There was the sickening sound of bones snapping, a choking cry cut off too soon....
Then silence.
The wolf turned back to her, dripping blood from its jaws.
It lunged.
Its claws tore through her shoulder as she tried to crawl away. Pain exploded through her body and she screamed, she screamed with everything she had.
Until something inside her snapped.
The sound died in her throat, and it never came back.
Her world burned.
Her parents were gone.
And she was left behind, voiceless in a world that still screamed.
....
"The Present"
Elena gasped as the memory shattered, dragging her violently back to the now.
The rogue was inches away.
Its hot, fetid breath washed across her face, its claws lifting to strike. Her wolf howled inside her chest, slamming against the walls of her silence, desperate to escape, desperate to survive.
Move… please move…
But her body betrayed her, just as it always had.
Tears poured down her cheeks as she pressed her back to the wall, her hands shaking uncontrollably, her lips parting in a silent, broken plea the world couldn't hear.
And then...
Gold
A blur of black and gold exploded into the room with earth-shaking force.
Lorenzo's wolf collided with the rogue, the impact slamming them into the far wall. The castle groaned under the weight of it. Teeth met flesh. Claws tore into fur. Blood sprayed, hot and metallic in the air.
Lorenzo was pure fury.
A living storm.
Every strike he made was a promise.
Every growl was a vow.
Every bite said you do not touch what is mine.
He pinned the rogue with brutal strength, his massive form towering over it. The beast thrashed, snapping, but Lorenzo was stronger. His jaws latched around its throat—
And with one savage, bone-crushing motion…
He ended it.
The body dropped to the floor in a heavy, lifeless heap.
Silence filled the room again… thick… trembling…silence
Only the sound of his ragged breathing remained.
Then he shifted back, his human form emerging, bare skin smeared with blood and sweat, chest rising and falling as he forced the beast inside him down.
"Elena…"
His voice had lost all its fire now. It was raw. Breaking.
He rushed to her side, dropping to his knees in front of where she sat against the wall. His hands trembled as they came to her face, gentle now—so gentle it almost hurt.
"Elena… look at me," he whispered.
Her eyes found his. Still wide. Still drowning in ghosts.
"You're safe," he said softly. "You're mine. Nothing—nothing will ever hurt you like that again. Not while I breathe."
Her lips quivered. She tried to speak. Tried to tell him everything. Her parents. The fire. The wolf that stole her voice.
But the words remained trapped in the prison of her trauma.
So instead, she did the only thing she could.
She collapsed into him.
Her forehead pressed against his blood-stained chest as silent sobs tore through her, her small body shaking as he wrapped his arms around her, holding her like he'd been made just to protect her.
He held her tighter, shielding her from the world, from the memories, from the pain.
And for the very first time since that night long ago…
Elena allowed herself to break in someone's arms.
And somehow…
She felt whole.
...