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CLAUDIA.<br /> “Attention, calling all maids to the throne room.”<br /> I freeze as the announcement blares through the speakers. I’m in the maid’s quarters, looking for something in my drawers, and I have to admit that this is an interruption.<br /> My friend Maia, another maid, watches me with boredom as the announcement continues to echo in the room. “Give it up, Claudia. Stop trying to prove that you were friends with the Alpha King when you were kids. You’re a maid and what would Alpha Achilles want to do with you?”<br /> I don’t answer her. I just flip over my bottom drawer until all my socks fall out. But along with the socks comes a small folded parchment, containing the words, “To Claudia, from Achilles.”<br /> “Aha!” I shove the paper right into her hands. “Feast on that.”<br /> Maia rolls her eyes, but she just reads it aloud. “Dear Claudia, I hope this note finds you well. I refused to open the door for you because I believe I made things clear. We are no longer friends.” She chucks the paper at me. “How old is this note?”<br /> My face heats up. “Maybe eighteen years?”<br /> “So he sent that to you when he was twelve and you were… six?”<br /> “Yes,” I mutter, pocketing the note. “It’s important to me, okay?”<br /> She laughs at me. “Why? Because you’re hoping you could be close again? He’s the Alpha King now, Claudia. And our duty is to keep this place and the people running. Get over yourself and let’s go before we get thrown out.”<br /> Everything she said was right. It’s a stupid thing to hold onto, but I can’t let it go.<br /> Even when Maia drags me to the throne room, I find myself bursting with hope. All the maids are now gathered for some sort of meeting, and instead of worrying about what it’s for, I’m craning my neck, trying to look at the golden thrones on the dais.<br /> But the only person I find standing there is Beta Carlos, a tanned, dark-haired unit of a man who handles everything minor for Alpha Achilles.<br /> He surveys the room with indifference, as a person of his standing usually does, clearing his throat before speaking. “I gathered you all here because we need one maid to come with us to the Moonlight Grove Pack for the annual winter solstice meeting tonight. Since we are short-staffed, we decided to see if anyone volunteers first.”<br /> I wait for hands to shoot into the air, but there are only whispers rippling among the crowd. The maids are all avoiding Beta Carlos’s eyes as though they would evaporate if they made eye contact with him. <br /> I understand why. Rogue attacks have been notorious lately. Our pack, Sangria Amori, is the biggest and the strongest, which is the reason why we haven’t experienced any breaches yet. But the smaller packs have, and it’s enough for some of our maids to quit to be with their families.<br /> The only ones who are stuck here are the single maids or the ones who are desperate for money. Then you have people like me, loyal servants for generations.<br /> Beta Carlos’s frustration is clear now. He opens his mouth to say something but he stops when the curtains behind him suddenly open.<br /> And out comes the Alpha King himself, Achilles.<br /> The world stops. My heart picks up its pace, beating so fast that I thought I was going to have a heart attack. I stare at him as he stands next to Beta Carlos, towering over him by half a foot. Everyone inside the room sinks into a bow, but I don’t. I can’t. The only thing I can do is stare at him.<br /> It’s like he has his own gravitational pull on me. I’m unable to look away from the shiny waves of his black hair and the coolness of his blue eyes. Despite the raging snow outside, his skin has a touch of gold, complimenting the bloodred coat he’s wearing. His presence is almost divine. Even the chandelier lights from above seem to be drawn to him.<br /> As though it can’t get any better, he meets my eyes.<br /> And just like that, I raise my hand. “I volunteer to come to the solstice meeting.”<br /> “What are you thinking?” Maia hisses at me, trying to tug at my uniform to get me to lower my hand.<br /> But Beta Carlos already saw me. Alpha Achilles did too.<br /> However, his face darkens with disapproval.<br /> I clear my throat and speak louder. “I volunteer! I will serve—”<br /> “Claudia, is it?” Beta Carlos interjects. “Have you forgotten that our Alpha King… can’t hear you?”<br /> The silence that follows is almost loud. Loud enough to make my ears pop. Only then do I realize my mistake.<br /> Alpha Achilles is deaf and mute. For some reason, this has also affected his ability to mind-link. These are details that I shouldn’t be forgetting, but then again, he and I have a history, and he didn’t use to be that way. <br /> We played together a lot as kids. He would take me to the forests behind the palace so we could pretend to spar. We were inseparable, until one night. All I can remember was waking up in the infirmary dripping wet and cold. Achilles wasn’t with me, but I was told he was in his room.<br /> I didn’t know what happened, and I still don’t. But the first day I tried to visit him in his room was when I received his note.<br /> Fast forward six years. He was eighteen, I was twelve. He got crowned as the next Alpha King. He could no longer hear or speak.<br /> Some say it was a curse from the Moon Goddess. Some say it was a developing disease in his body that reached its peak. It’s been twelve years since that reveal. He’s thirty now, and I’m twenty-four. No one knows the truth yet.<br /> I want to tell him that I’m sorry through sign language, but I don’t know how. He just turns to Beta Carlos and shakes his head ever so subtly.<br /> He doesn’t want me to come.<br /> Beta Carlos swallows. “Claudia… would you come up here, please? The rest are dismissed.”<br /> As I make my way to the dais, the maids start to file out of the throne room. Maia catches my eyes for a second and shakes her head, but I continue to walk until I’m standing in front of them.<br /> “No one else wants to come,” I point out in a shaky voice. “I… I want to go. I want to help.”<br /> Beta Carlos looks at Alpha Achilles pointedly. I don’t know what kind of communication is happening between them, but it seems that Beta Carlos is urging him to give it a chance, probably because they have no other choice. Alpha Achilles doesn’t seem to want to, but in the end, he relents and stands close to me. <br /> So close that I can catch his scent. So close that I can see the flecks of green in his eyes.<br /> So close that he can kiss me if he wants to.<br /> My breath hitches in my throat. Longing fills my heart. How many times have I wished this to happen? I want to say so much to him. I feel like so much time has been stolen from us. Our friendship was so amazing….<br /> “I will do well,” I whisper. “I won’t let you down.”<br /> Alpha Achilles stares at me for a couple more seconds, then he just turns around and walks away.<br /> Beta Carlos sighs and starts to follow him, turning to me at the last second as though I’m an afterthought. “Follow me.”<br /> I run after him through the tunnel behind the throne room, but his long legs are carrying him so far and I have to jog to keep up. Finally, we arrive at the back lawn of the palace. The cold hits me like a punch in the gut, but Beta Carlos tosses me a fur coat. I wriggle into it as a carriage pulls up in front of us, with a sleek red and gold body, pulled by two palomino horses.<br /> “Get in,” he says blandly, and I climb into the carriage with him behind me.<br /> Alpha Achilles is already inside, staring through the window, completely ignoring my presence.<br /> I try to communicate with him, but Beta Carlos gets in and pushes me into the corner as the carriage starts to move.<br /> The seats are cushioned and the walls are upholstered with red velvet, but I still get hurt as the carriage basically leaps and crashes on the cold snowy ground. The horses are running at full speed, which I understand, because we are about two hours until dusk, and Moonlight Grove Pack is one hour away.<br /> The coachman whips the horses, rallying them into a frenzied sprint faster than before. I gasp as I fly off my seat. I thought things would settle after a while, but something seemed to be off.<br /> The horses are whinnying. The silent path is now riddled with a mix of thuds and heavy breaths. A strange smell permeates the air. A putrid stench, a mix of rot and blood and savagery.<br /> The scent of Rogues.<br /> <br /> $Chapter<br /> Chapter 2<br /> CLAUDIA.<br /> Fear grips my throat like a vice. I look over at Alpha Achilles and Beta Carlos, and it seems that they noticed the stench too. <br /> “We’re being followed,” Beta Carlos tells me. “When I tell you to hide, you hide, alright? We will outrun them and kill them at the same time.”<br /> I just nod, paralyzed in the corner as growls and howls start to fill the air. <br /> This isn’t my first time to encounter Rogues. I ran into a small pack of them once when I was one of the maids assigned to do the shopping for the palace. This was two years ago, but I still remember it so vividly. Our carriage, much older and less stable than this one, passed by their hideout, and I managed to catch a glimpse of five Rogues tearing apart a dead guard in uniform. <br /> The first thing that hit me was the smell. The distinct combination of decay and fresh death. It was in the air like a bad perfume. Strangely enough, it was so fitting with the scene laid out in front of me. As they broke into the meat of the guard, the smell seemed to get stronger.<br /> I wasn’t able to eat meat for months. Even now, it still repulses me sometimes.<br /> Since then, armed deliveries have been made to the palace.<br /> But I will never forget.<br /> In fact, the whole scene is flashing in my mind now as Alpha Achilles opens a chest at the side of the seats. He pulls out a silver crossbow with a quiver of arrows. Beta Carlos opens the windows, and Alpha Achilles sticks his entire upper body out, firing the bow with unimaginable strength as the carriage moves faster.<br /> I didn’t want to look, but I turned around and stared through the back window.<br /> There are about a dozen Rogues running after us, snarling and biting and wandering just too close to the carriage. But one by one, the big black Rogues start to falter. The closest ones are hit directly in the eye, the silver arrow piercing right through their skulls and instantly killing them. <br /> Alpha Achilles continues to shoot them all down. As more of them topple, more Rogues start to back off. Eventually, the path behind us is clear.<br /> But the smell lingers in the air.<br /> “There’s more of them around,” I whisper, and Beta Carlos looks at me.<br /> “You’re right.”<br /> Alpha Achilles slides back into the carriage, slamming the window shut. He looks enraged. I can almost feel it emanating from him as he throws the bow and arrows back into the chest and kicks it back into place. He slides a map toward the coachman, who slows down for a few miles and then completely swerves in a different direction.<br /> I want to ask what’s wrong, but when even Beta Carlos looks wary, it’s best to be quiet.<br /> We sit in that awful silence for a couple more moments. The coachman is really pushing it, whipping the horses more and more frequently. But since we changed routes, we arrive at the meeting after three hours.<br /> The big iron gates open for us, and I see the gigantic wall surrounding the pack. The pack mansion looms into view. Men in black uniforms are carrying silver weapons, staring at our carriage as it pulls up.<br /> We jump out of the carriage and run into the mansion, and standing in the foyer are the other Alphas.<br /> Alpha Tristan of the hosting pack, a brutish monster of a man with copper-colored hair and gray eyes, steps forward.<br /> “You’re late,” he spits out at Alpha Achilles. “We were expecting you more than an hour ago. Do you simply not respect anyone else’s time?”<br /> Alpha Achilles turns to Beta Carlos to sign his response and have him relay it. I’m about to step aside when I suddenly hear a voice in my mind, loud and clear: &#039;Tell him we had to find another route because of the Rogues around his pack.&#039;<br /> My heart drops. I turn back around, and I realize that the exact thing I heard is what Beta Carlos is relaying to the group now. “Alpha Achilles wishes to inform everyone that we had to find another route, seeing as there were Rogues around the property.” <br /> I freeze. Did I just hear Alpha Achilles mind-link his words to me? I blink hard to shake off the possibility of hallucination, but nothing happens. I know I heard him. I know that was him.<br /> Alpha Tristan scoffs. “There are no Rogues here. We drove them all back. We killed all of them. One can even say that my pack is now safer than yours, Alpha Achilles.”<br /> Needless to say, Alpha Achilles does not take that well. He squares up against Alpha Tristan, his lips pulled back in a snarl. He motions something to Beta Carlos, who goes pale. He shakes his head, telling him that he can’t understand.<br /> But I can. I hear the voice in my head again. ‘You’re a liar. You didn’t kill a single Rogue. Your pack is in danger, and you’re too high up in your ass to admit it.’<br /> I can understand Alpha Achilles.<br /> I can hear his voice when no one else can.<br /> “Well?” Alpha Tristan prompts. “What is he saying?” <br /> Beta Carlos still doesn’t understand, and Alpha Achilles is visibly frustrated now. The other Alphas are starting to whisper among themselves, obviously not pleased by this inconvenience. <br /> “What is he saying?” they keep asking, while Beta Carlos is red-faced, trying desperately to communicate.<br /> I know I should probably shut up. My job here in the first place is to assist in the meeting, a mere delivery girl for snacks and anything else that the Alphas might need. But I just can’t help seeing the helpless hint in Alpha Achilles’s eyes when no one can understand what he’s saying. <br /> So I step forward, relaying the words I just heard. “Alpha Achilles said that you’re a liar. The Rogues are alive, and you’re too arrogant to admit it.”<br /> The entire room goes silent. The Alphas are at a standstill, all looking at me with varying expressions of shock. The world seems to freeze for a moment as I slowly come to the realization that I messed up.<br /> “I’m so sorry,” I quickly amend. “I… I just heard the Alpha King—”<br /> “Heard?” Alpha Tristan echoes. “You heard him? He’s mute, you imbecile!”<br /> The other Alphas laugh. I lower my head, but as I do so, I catch sight of Alpha Achilles looking at me. <br /> His eyes are wide with shock, but I’m surprised to find just a tiny hint of fascination in there amid the rage. That minuscule drop of positive attention almost made me forget the heaviness of the words I just said for him, but the other Alphas didn’t. Especially Alpha Tristan.<br /> “Get this little bitch out of my sight,” he splutters. “If she dares to speak a single word, I will shut her up myself.” <br /> My heart stops. Beta Carlos approaches me as quick as lightning, ushering me back into the carriage. But then, Alpha Achilles steps in between us and grabs me by the arm. <br /> Once again, his voice rings in my head. ‘Touch her, and I will chop your head off.’<br /> “What is this?” Alpha Tristan demands. “What’s he saying this time?” <br /> Beta Carlos swallows hard. “He wishes to say that if you touch the girl, he will chop your head off.” <br /> I thought that the silence earlier was bad enough, but this time it ends up being inexplicably worse.<br /> It’s the silence that makes it feel like the walls are closing in on me, suffocating me. I can almost hear the snow falling outside, gathering on the windows. The Alphas are now looking at me with expressions I can’t read, and I feel like it would be better if they just glared at me. <br /> Alpha Achilles pushes me behind him, standing in front of me protectively. His scent immediately invades my senses, and I have to consciously make an effort to focus as I hear his voice. <br /> &#039;If you really can hear me, then you can be of use,&#039; he says, and even though his tone is neutral, even cold, I find myself eager to help. &#039;Tell Tristan that his pride won’t erase the fact that Rogues are present around his pack, and they need to be dealt with. Tell him to stop being a pussy and do something about it.&#039; <br /> The bluntness of those words makes me gasp out loud. “I have to tell him that?” <br /> “Tell me what?” Alpha Tristan demands. “Speak for him, if that is what he wishes to do!” <br /> “Speak!” the other Alphas urge me, and I look at Alpha Achilles helplessly. <br /> “He says that your pride, Alpha Tristan,” I begin nervously, “won’t erase the fact that Rogues are present around your pack and they need to be dealt with.” I pause, swallowing hard. “And you should stop being a pussy and do something about it.” <br /> Saying that was like dropping a bomb. The Alphas suddenly rush forward, complaining about the words as though they came from me. <br /> “Respectfully,” Alpha Tristan growls, “get out of my pack.” <br /> Alpha Achilles smirks, but he starts to walk away, keeping me away from Alpha Tristan. Beta Carlos looks like he wants to protest, but it’s over. <br /> The meeting didn’t happen not because we were late, but because no one wanted to listen.<br /> However, before we can even make it through the door, loud sirens begin to ring inside the meeting room, echoing in the halls and in the whole pack. Alpha Tristan freezes. “We are under attack.”<br /> <br /> $Chapter<br /> Chapter 3<br /> ACHILLES.<br /> The strong vibrations on the ground tell me that the sirens are still ringing. I know that Tristan told me to leave, and a part of me wants to make good on this so he would learn his lesson, but I refuse to put any of his people in danger just because their leader can’t swallow his pride.<br /> Instead of leaving with Claudia and Carlos, I beckoned the Alphas to come forward and fight. Thankfully, they don’t question me this time. Even Tristan marches out with them, not bothering to look at me.<br /> “What are we going to do, Alpha?” Carlos asks.<br /> &#039;We are going to fight,&#039; I tell him through signing. &#039;The Rogues must be in their borders now, and we can’t let them get in. You and I are going to get out there, fight them from the outside, and stop them from breaking through.&#039;<br /> Carlos nods, and I finally turn to Claudia. &#039;You stay here. No matter what happens, don’t leave.&#039;<br /> “But….” she starts to protest, but then she swallows hard and relents. “I will.”<br /> With that, Carlos and I leave the room, shifting into our Wolf forms as soon as we hit the fields outside the pack mansion.<br /> Thick snow is now covering the ground, with more raining down from the slate blue sky. Light fog is shrouding the land, making the lifeless trees look like cruel thin hands thrust into the sky, but I can still see the battle going on in the distance. The Alphas and the patrol guards are keeping the Rogues at bay, because the stone walls that surround the pack are now chipped and damaged on one side, providing a point of entry for the enemy.<br /> Carlos and I leap across another section of the wall, landing on the thick forest outside the pack. It’s a lot darker here, colder, but the near absence of anything makes me feel strangely more connected.<br /> Even when the first line of Rogues sees us and starts to attack, I find myself fighting back seamlessly. I push back the Rogues trying to tackle me, swatting them with my paws and crushing them under.<br /> The thing about Rogues is their number. That’s how they succeed in taking over the packs since they started their revolution two years ago. As the Alpha King, I tried peace talks with them. I tried to hear their demands and find a middle ground, but they were never open to that. They just attacked mindlessly in the hopes of weakening us enough to submit.<br /> However, they are weak. If their necks get bitten, or if their chests get damaged, they’re basically as good as dead.<br /> So that’s what I do know. Every time they charge, I pin them to the ground and crush their ribs under my paws. I bite the others, always aiming for their necks. Their smell is thick in the air, making it easy for me to sense where they are and where they’re coming next even though I can’t hear them. Once their blood is shed, they freeze on the ground, unmoving and unable to attack again.<br /> But more and more of them are coming.<br /> Still, I’m in my element, and I know that I can take them all down.<br /> It took years for me to become confident in fighting again. Since that Rogue attack when I was twelve, I’ve grown fearful and limited.<br /> When I found out that I lost my voice and my hearing, it felt like my life ended. All the things I used to love doing became looming monsters that I had to overcome.<br /> My father was the one who came to my rescue. He taught me how to fight again, to use my other senses to make up for the fact that I can’t call for backup, I can’t command anyone, and I can’t hear what’s going on around me.<br /> And I have gotten good. So good in fact that I could take down troops of Rogues all by myself. I gained the respect of the other Alphas because of it too.<br /> But what happened today reminds me that even after this adjustment, I’m still as limited as before.<br /> When Carlos couldn’t understand me, I felt as small and as voiceless as I did eighteen years ago.<br /> The only thing that saved me from sinking low was Claudia.<br /> I still don’t know how she did it. I still don’t know how or why I hear her voice in my head, melodious and clear and refreshing, after years of not being able to hear anything else. It’s like her presence pierced through every weakness I have and made it her own, alleviated it, allowed me room to breathe.<br /> And now I feel like I have to be close to her.<br /> More Rogues attack, trying to crowd around me to limit my movements. I push all of them back, keeping them in front of me where I can see them and rounding them all up until they fall into crumpled heaps under my feet.<br /> I’m winning. Adrenaline is rushing through my veins like a drug, and I’m getting high just off the thought of another victory. I begin to move faster, breaking through their ranks until the others are too afraid to approach. It feels like I have no disability at all….<br /> Until I feel a familiar whoosh of energy behind my back.<br /> I turn around just in time. I see a Rogue flying midair with its teeth bared and ready to bite. I freeze, petrified at how close it is and how I didn’t sense it.<br /> And that’s my biggest mistake of the night.<br /> Seemingly out of nowhere, Carlos swerves into view and wedges himself between me and the Rogue, taking the bite that was supposed to be for me.<br /> Only when the Rogue tackles him down do I remember to move. I claw at it, scratching its face and leaving long and deep gashes. It backs away with a whimper, but it’s too late. The damage is done.<br /> Time seems to slow down, to stop, even. Blood pools around Carlos’s neck like a halo.<br /> “Alpha…” I see his mouth move. His eyes are becoming unfocused, and I can almost feel him panting in pain. “Alpha, go back to the mansion.”<br /> I shake my head. I make my way towards him, stumbling, but the vibrations on the ground suggest that the battle is still going. My vision is blurred now. All I can see is the blood. All of my senses have shut down, so much so that I don’t feel the Rogues crowding around us until I catch their scent.<br /> They’re coming at me from all sides now, and all I can do is push them away from Carlos. My heart is frozen in my chest in fear. Every second that passes feels like a missed opportunity to get him the help he needs.<br /> I keep pushing the Rogues back, but my concentration is gone. The fact that I can’t hear or call for help is catching up to me. I get scratches all across my arms, my chest, my face….<br /> Until their weight finally holds me down.<br /> I shift into my human form to avoid getting crushed, but I can’t protect Carlos anymore. I’m trying to pull him to his feet, but we’re stuck….<br /> But then the Rogues start to scatter just as a sweet, warm scent invades my nostrils.<br /> I look up, and I find Claudia standing before us, driving the Rogues back.<br /> <br /> $Chapter<br /> Chapter 4<br /> ACHILLES.<br /> Claudia shifts into a beautiful bronze-colored wolf, breaking through the group of Rogues and scattering them. This time, they don’t return or retaliate. They just scamper away.<br /> With that, she reverts back to her human form and starts to lead me and Carlos away from the battle.<br /> I don’t know how she did it, but she somehow gets us out of there and back into the front of the mansion. Perhaps I’m just reeling from what happened. Perhaps I’m just being thick. Either way, when I come back down to earth, I see that she’s already propping Carlos against one of the columns, tearing off the hem of her skirt to stem the flow of blood in his neck.<br /> Only when I see her whispering to him do I realize what exactly happened.<br /> She… saved both of us.<br /> After I told her to stay inside the meeting room no matter what.<br /> The first emotion that floods my chest is anger. She didn’t follow my command. She just went ahead and did what she wanted. But the next thing that follows that wave of rage is something I’m not ready to acknowledge: appreciation. A rush of affection. Disbelief that she came to my aid when I needed it the most and most likely single-handedly saved Carlos’s life when I wasn’t capable of doing so.<br /> Still, the first thing that I think of saying is, “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”<br /> Unsurprisingly, she hears it. She wheels around on me with indignation on her face. “You told me you needed my help. So I fought off the guards to save you. What I deserve right now is a thank you, not whatever this is.”<br /> I get up and try to reason with her, but then I see a big shadow looming over us. Claudia suddenly sinks into her knees for a bow. I turn around and see Alpha Tristan, covered in Rogue blood.<br /> His eyes find Claudia, flashing with an expression I can’t read. But when he looks at me, what he feels is clear enough, and that is pure and utter distaste.<br /> The battle seems to be over, and there are a couple of wounded Alphas and patrol guards being assisted into the mansion. I try to get up and help, but Tristan puts a hand on my chest despite me being half a foot taller than him, stopping me with a glare.<br /> “Don’t even dare,” he mutters. “I am tired of your selfishness. I am tired of the absolute disrespect you show to our people. For the past two years since this revolution started, you have approached this with only yourself and your pack in mind. What about us? What about the other people who are suffering, the ones who are much, much lower in rank?”<br /> I can’t hear his voice, but I can read his lips, and every single thing he says hits me like a punch in the gut.<br /> I want to say something. I want to tell him that it was not like that, that it was never like that at all. I have kept every single citizen in his land in mind whenever I charged for battle. That’s why I preferred to have an active role instead of doling out commands.<br /> However, I can’t help but feel a sting of truth behind his words. In a lot of ways, he’s right. The only fighting strategy I know is fighting alone or with Carlos. That’s not always going to work. Like tonight. I took him away from the main event of the fight and encouraged him to fight on the sidelines with me. And look where that got him.<br /> Wounded and broken, trying to protect me from a threat I didn’t hear expect because I couldn’t hear anything.<br /> Suddenly, the old shame of being deaf and mute comes back. I have spent years trying my best to be okay with my condition, and I have come to a point where I thought I was making the most of my abilities.<br /> I never thought I would be thrust back into feeling like none of the growth I made mattered.<br /> Around us, the wounded Alphas and Betas get visited by healers, carefully urged back into the safety and warmth of the mansion. I can’t bear to even look at them. I feel like everything is my fault.<br /> Tristan for sure feels like it is.<br /> He walks around me like I’m just his disobedient child. “Leaving in the middle of battle is a disgrace. You are the Alpha King, and you should act like it. The safety of our people should always come before yours or anyone close to you. What you did—”<br /> “Pardon, Alpha Tristan,” Claudia suddenly says.<br /> Tristan looks at her like he wants to take her head off and throw it across the mountains, and all my instincts rise into protective mode. I try to get in between them, but Claudia stands in front of Tristan and squares up against him.<br /> I can tell that she’s scared. She keeps kneading her hands, which are still slick with Carlos’s blood. Her breathing is uneven, and I can tell that she would rather hide, but for some reason, she’s facing him in this strange challenge.<br /> “You’re interrupting me again,” he notes in disbelief before glaring at me. “You should train this pet of yours.”<br /> I make a move to push him, but Claudia catches my arm and shoves me back. “Alpha Tristan, it was me who took them back to the mansion. It’s not right for you to talk to the Alpha King this way, and—”<br /> &#039;Don’t do it,&#039; I warn her. &#039;Don’t cross him.&#039;<br /> Claudia doesn’t listen. “What you’re doing is disrespectful. No one is gravely hurt, and we should be glad that--”<br /> “Out,” Tristan interjects. “Get out of my pack, and never show yourselves ever again. I&#039;m banning the Alpha King and anyone from his side from Moonlight Grove Pack.”<br /> She opens her mouth as though to protest, but I just grab her shoulder and pull her back as Tristan pushes past her and enters the mansion. Then, his guards start to close the doors, barring us from ever entering.<br /> She blinks hard as though she can’t believe it happened that way. She slowly faces me. “I’m sorry.”<br /> I don’t listen to her. I just beckon Carlos to follow me, and off we go back to our pack.<br /> The awkwardness inside the carriage back home is almost tangible, with the three of us facing each other. I can’t even look at Claudia. The disappointment and rage brewing inside me need a release. I know that part of it is my fault, but there is only one reason why we were kicked out and shut down just like that.<br /> &#039;Take him to the infirmary,&#039; I sign to the guards as soon as we arrive, and they all guide Carlos up the stairs. When Carlos looks at me questioningly, I communicate to him, &#039;I will be here for a while.&#039;<br /> Claudia tries to get up the stairs, but I hold my arm out and block her way. She looks up at me in fear, and I stand in front of her.<br /> “If this is about what happened….” she begins, but I shake my head to cut her off.<br /> &#039;I don’t know how you can hear me,&#039; I say coldly, &#039;and I don’t know how I can hear you. It must be some kind of freak connection between us because we were close as kids, but those days are gone. You and I don’t mix anymore, and that’s how it should be. You have no business speaking for me. You have no business putting words in my mouth.&#039;<br /> She swallows hard. “I only wanted to direct his anger at myself, not you.”<br /> That takes me a little aback, but I shake my head. My decision is already set.<br /> I look down at Claudia, holding her gaze. &#039;Once daylight sets in, I want you to leave the palace and find another home to serve. We are now parting ways.&#039;<br /> <br /> $Chapter<br /> Chapter 5<br /> CLAUDIA.<br /> My chest goes hard, as though my body is slowly turning into stone. I look up at Alpha Achilles, blinking rapidly and trying hard to focus despite the growing pain in my heart, desperately wishing I heard wrong.<br /> But Alpha Achilles just stares down at me.<br /> &quot;I can&#039;t leave,&quot; I tell him, my lips barely moving. In fact, my face feels numb. &quot;I... this is the only home I know.&quot;<br /> His face stays stoic. Unmoved. &#039;It doesn&#039;t matter. Moonlight Grove is the biggest pack next to ours, and I lost their loyalty.&#039;<br /> I shake my head. &quot;I did it for you. I spoke for you. When no one understood you, I did. And I made sure everyone else did too. The only reason I talked to Tristan is because I wanted him to punish me for taking you away. Why are you doing this to me?&quot;<br /> I take a step closer to him, and he steps back, determined to keep the distance between us. Eventually, he turns away from me like he can&#039;t bear to look me in the eye. At first, I think that it&#039;s just because he can&#039;t stand to look at me, but the longer we stand here, the more I understand that it&#039;s because he doesn&#039;t want me to see something.<br /> &quot;Tell me,&quot; I urge him. &quot;What&#039;s the problem? You know it&#039;s not my fault.&quot;<br /> &#039;It doesn&#039;t matter,&#039; he finally says. &#039;It has to end here. I&#039;m sorry, Claudia.&#039;<br /> The finality in his tone breaks what&#039;s remaining in my heart. My breath hitches in my throat and I find myself opening and closing my mouth, struggling to find the right words to tell him that I don&#039;t want to go, that I shouldn&#039;t. But nothing comes to mind.<br /> For the first time in my life, I don&#039;t know what to say.<br /> He turns around to leave, and every fiber of my being tells me to come after him. Maybe even to stop him. But my body is already frozen in place. The only thing I can do is watch him leave.<br /> He walks back to the palace, and I stand outside for I don&#039;t know how long. Snow rains down on me, flocking on my hair and my lashes.<br /> I don’t know what I’m waiting for, to be honest. Am I expecting him to come back and retract his words? Because a part of me definitely wishes he would.<br /> A bigger part of me knows he won’t.<br /> When I see a figure approaching, I immediately think that it&#039;s Alpha Achilles, coming back to take back what he said. It’s hard to see in the snow, so I try to meet him halfway.<br /> But it’s only Gamma Kiernan.<br /> His golden blond hair shimmers in the dim light as he peers at me. “Claudia? What are you doing out here in the cold? It’s the start of the Solstice Festival tomorrow, you should be preparing with the rest of the staff.”<br /> I almost say that I’ll be on it, but the only thing that comes out of my mouth is, “I don’t work for the pack anymore, Gamma. I am to leave tomorrow, as what’s ordered by Alpha Achilles.”<br /> “What?” His expression darkens. “We can’t afford to kick out more staff now, not with everyone leaving because of the revolution….” He holds up a hand. “I will talk to him. Just get inside.”<br /> I follow his order, but every step back to the maid’s quarters feels like a big hand digging into my insides and scooping everything out. By the time I get back to my room, I’m already empty.<br /> Empty enough to start packing everything I ever owned.<br /> * * *<br /> ACHILLES.<br /> Letting go of Claudia is the right choice. It has to be.<br /> I should have known that it wasn’t good news, the fact that she could hear me and I could hear her. The moment I felt that rush of affection for her when she tried to stand up to Tristan on my behalf, I knew that it would only be right to release her….<br /> Or at least, this is what I keep saying to myself as I lay in bed, tossing and turning, staring at the moon through the window and replaying the moments of fascination and shame from tonight.<br /> I wish there was a way to erase them all.<br /> How long I lie there awake, I don’t know. But the only reason I finally fall asleep is because my body gives way to exhaustion.<br /> And soon, the dreams come.<br /> In my dream, I’m back beyond the borders of Moonlight Grove Pack. But this time, I’m alone. Carlos is not around. The Rogues aren’t present either. The only thing in front of me is a frozen lake, shining like a mirror under the dark sky.<br /> And standing in the middle of the lake is a beautiful woman with stark white hair and gray eyes. Her skin is so pale that it’s almost blue. Her dress is bright white, pearlescent and glowing, billowing in the air even in the absence of a breeze.<br /> It’s the Moon Goddess, and she’s staring at me.<br /> We haven’t communicated before. She hasn’t shown up in my dreams, but I’ve seen countless paintings of her before, and heard so many stories about her showing up in pivotal moments.<br /> Perhaps this is mine.<br /> My nerves jump, but I sink to my knees, my breath fogging up in front of me.<br /> “Rise, my child,” she says. Even though she’s a deity, I still can’t hear her voice. I can only read her lips. “Dark times are ahead, and they loom closer and closer to you with every second that passes. Just tonight, you have suffered a great loss.”<br /> I don’t get up. &#039;I have done my best. I protected the people—&#039;<br /> “Exactly,” the Moon Goddess interjects, walking across the frozen lake with the water still moving underneath. Her feet aren’t touching the ice. “That was your victory tonight, even with the parting of your ally. Your loss came much later.”<br /> &#039;I’m afraid I don’t understand,&#039; I sign to her. &#039;The battle ended there.&#039;<br /> “No.” She stops right in front of me, reaching out to touch my cheek. “You wished to find a way to expand your limits, and I gave it to you. But you pushed it away.”<br /> I stare at her, trying to decode what she means. I desperately want to make sense of it, to not waste the valuable time I have with her, but nothing is clicking.<br /> “I put her on your path for a reason,” she continues. “And you wanted none of it.”<br /> Suddenly, the Moon Goddess’s face starts to change, morphing like molten wax until it forms a new set of features. <br /> A face that is all too familiar.<br /> Claudia.<br /> She starts to speak again, but this time, I hear her voice—Claudia’s voice—echoing in my head like a prophecy.<br /> “I am the Siren, the Alpha’s Voice, and I shall be heard.”

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