CHAPTER 98: WHISPERS OF TRUTH...

Charis

I woke up with a start, staring blankly at the wall opposite me, bathed with the soft light from the moon, trying to remember where I was.

It took me a moment before I realised this was Rhett’s pack house.

Stretching, I turned towards the soft glow from the bedside lamp and saw a tray of snacks, slices of banana bread, and a cup of chamomile tea that was now cold. Rising slowly from the bed, I noticed it was completely dark outside and wondered how long I’d been asleep.

The last thing I remembered was curling under the sheets, waiting for Slater to bring me food. I couldn’t remember falling asleep at all.

I left my bedroom and stepped into the corridor, noting how quiet the pack house was. Back at Crestborne, on evenings like this, especially with the full moon just a few days away, the atmosphere would be chaotic with preparations for the coming Full Moon celebration everywhere.

Curious, I padded to Slater’s room, the room opposite mine and knocked lightly before opening the door. I peered inside, and there was no one. His bed was still made, indicating it hadn’t been slept in.

Leaving his room, I moved to Kael’s room at the beginning of the corridor and repeated the same check, discovering he wasn’t there either.

They weren’t back yet? I wondered silently.

Frowning, I decided to return to my room to get my phone and call them, but just as I turned, the sound of muffled voices coming from upstairs reached me. I paused and listened carefully.

The first voice was Alpha Terry’s, Rhett’s father, and he seemed to be talking to someone or comforting them rather.

"Don’t worry, she’ll turn up. I’m sure of it," he said soothingly. "These things take time, but we’ll find her."

"It’s been more than a month, Terry," came a broken voice in response. It sounded familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. "What if something terrible has happened to her? What if she’s hurt or worse?"

"Don’t think like that," Alpha Terry replied firmly. "The more you think she’s in danger, the more she’ll be exposed to them, positive thoughts only. She’ll survive whatever she’s facing."

I’m not sure if it was because I was still disoriented from the sleep, but something about what they were talking about resonated with me.

I took a step back, intending to leave. This wasn’t my business at the end of the day, but my feet refused to move.

The voices began moving downstairs, and I could hear their footsteps on the marble steps. I pressed myself against the wall, knowing I should leave but unable to make myself move.

"I keep thinking about all the mistakes I made," the other voice continued, filled with sadness. "All the times I was too harsh and demanding. Maybe if I’d been a better father, she wouldn’t have felt the need to run."

"You can’t blame yourself," Alpha Terry responded gently, "parenting is the hardest job in the world. We all make mistakes, but that doesn’t mean our children don’t know we love them."

"I wish she knew that..." the other voice said with a deep sigh. "I wish I could tell her that."

"Don’t worry, Silas... she’ll be fine."

My heart stopped.

Silas?

I inched forward, daring to peek around the corner, also curious about who Alpha Terry was comforting with such tenderness. What I saw made the blood in my veins dry up.

It was my father.

My father stood there, barely a few feet away from me, just like he did when I’d seen him at the club. He looked different.

He looked gaunt and exhausted. His once full frame was now nothing but a ghostly outline. His shoulders were slumped, his hair was dishevelled, and he was crying.

I clutched the wall, struggling to breathe as my body went into shock. My heart began racing so fast that I thought it might burst from my chest. My vision blurred, and my chest tightened painfully. My hands started trembling uncontrollably, and I felt like my airway was blocked.

The room was spinning, and the wall opposite me was closing in on me. I couldn’t cry, I was afraid to move. All I could do was press myself harder into the shadows and pray no one noticed me.

He was crying.

My father.

I’d never seen Silas cry. Not once. Not even at Caden’s burial. But here was, sobbing quietly as Alpha Terry clasped his shoulder, consoling him.

"She’ll come home, Silas. I have faith in that. And when she does, you’ll have the chance to tell her everything you should have said before.

"What if she doesn’t want to come home?" my father asked brokenly. "What if I’ve damaged our relationship beyond repair?"

"Then you’ll work to rebuild it," Alpha Terry replied with conviction. "That’s what fathers do."

Their voices began fading as they moved to another part of the house. When I felt strong enough to move, I peeked out again and saw they were gone. But something caught my eye on the hallway table. A piece of paper?

No. It was a photograph.

I dashed toward the table, my eyes widening with surprise when I saw it was a photo of me. I picked it up with trembling hands and smiled sadly.

I remembered exactly when this photo was taken.

It was during the Harvest Moon Celebration, and it happened to be my fourteenth birthday. For some strange reason, my birthdays always seemed to fall on important events.

I had just begun feeling the first stirrings of my wolf that day, and overjoyed by this milestone, I’d taken a picture in the photo booth. It was a small indulgence since I didn’t have any pictures of myself in our house.

My eyes moistened with tears as I ran a thumb over the glossy surface, staring at the girl in the picture, wondering if I would ever be able to go back to being Charis Greye again.

I heard someone clearing their throat behind me, and I jumped and spun around to see Alpha Terry standing there with a quiet smile.

"I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you," he said gently.