Chapter 11: The Fragile Silence
The atmosphere in the Academy changed the moment Bianca arrived. She wasn't just a nuisance; she was a reminder of everything I had left behind. Every time I looked at her, I saw the marble floors and cold, heartless galas of the city. But to Wolfie, Bianca looked like "perfection."
It happened in the library during our study hall. I was leaning over a desk, trying to translate an ancient vampire text for my History assignment. Wolfie had gone to the archives to find a map of the northern territories.
"Drayan, darling, you look so stressed," a high-pitched voice trilled.
I didn't even look up. "Leave me alone, Bianca."
"Oh, come now. I found these," she said, sliding a stack of old polaroids onto the desk. They were photos of me from the city—at galas, at the library, standing near the opera house. I was always alone in the photos, but Bianca had cleverly cropped them or stood near me when they were taken. "Remember this night? You looked so handsome. We were the talk of the town."
"We weren't even talking to each other in that photo, Bianca. I was waiting for my father," I snapped, finally looking up.
But Bianca wasn't looking at me. She had spotted Wolfie standing in the shadows of the bookshelves, holding a heavy scroll. Bianca's eyes gleamed with a cruel light. She leaned over the desk, intentionally brushing her hand against mine, making it look like an intimate moment.
"You don't have to lie for her sake, Drayan," Bianca whispered loudly enough for the entire room to hear. "I know you're just staying with that wolf girl because of the contract. You're a noble. You belong with someone who understands your heritage, not someone who thinks a 'formal event' means wearing a cleaner pair of boots."
"I am married to her because I love her!" I snarled, standing up so fast my chair scraped against the stone.
But it was too late. I saw Wolfie's face.
She wasn't angry. She looked... broken. She was looking at the photos on the table—the images of me in my "natural habitat," looking like a prince of the city. She looked down at her own hands, calloused from training and stained with the dirt of the forest. To her, Bianca was the mirror of a life I had lost, and she was the anchor holding me back from it.
Wolfie didn't say a word. She dropped the scroll, the heavy parchment clattering on the floor, and ran.
"Wolfie! Wait!" I shouted, ignoring Bianca's triumphant giggle.
I chased her through the corridors, my vampire speed pushing me past startled students. I finally caught up to her at the stone bridge where we had our first real conversation. She was standing at the edge, her shoulders shaking.
"Wolfie, listen to me," I panted, reaching for her.
She stepped back. It was a small movement, but it felt like a canyon opening between us. "She's right, Drayan."
"She's a liar!"
"No," Wolfie said, finally looking at me. Her amber eyes were swimming in tears. "She's right about the world you come from. I saw those pictures. You looked... you looked like you belonged there. You looked like a king. And then I look at us here... in the mud, fighting for every inch of respect in a village that barely wants us."
"I chose this life! I chose you!"
Wolfie shook her head, a stray tear falling onto her moonstone ring. "Did you? Or did Drac choose for you? You're so good, Drayan. You're so loyal that you'd stay with me even if it made you miserable. You'd stay because of the vow."
She took a deep breath, her voice trembling. "I love you too much to let you be a martyr. If you want to go back to the city... if you want someone like her who actually fits in your world... I won't stop you. I'll tell the Council the marriage was a mistake. I'll let you go."
The words felt like a stake through my chest. "You're breaking up with me? After the wedding? After the Red Moon?"
"I'm setting you free," she whispered. "Because I'm just a wolf, Drayan. And you're a star. Stars aren't meant to be buried in the forest."
She turned and ran into the woods, shifting into her silver-wolf form before she even hit the treeline. I stood on the bridge, the cold wind of Redpaveley biting at my skin. For the first time since I met her, I felt the old, soul-crushing cold of the city returning.
She thought she was being a hero. She thought she was saving me. But as I watched her disappear into the trees, I realized she was doing the only thing that could actually destroy me.
She was giving up on us.
After many years of being alone . I Don't know what came to me I...I..I cried not normal for me, The tears are falling silently from my eyes, After I lost my Mother, for a long time I was like a rock ,even if I was sad , I never reacted ,Now ,am I gonna lose her too..I stood there looking at the woods silently wiping my tears.