Chapter 139 The Wolf inside 1

Chapter 139: Chapter 139 The Wolf inside 1

Talia’s POV

Kaelen was still staring at me.

His gray eyes moved across my face like he was seeing me for the first time. His lips were parted, and his breath came in short, shallow gasps. He reached out and touched my cheek, and his fingers were shaking.

"You are beautiful," he whispered. "You have always been beautiful."

My eyes burned with tears. No one had ever looked at me like that, and no one had ever seen my real face or called me beautiful.

I wanted to stay in that moment forever.

I wanted to stay there with his hands on my face and his eyes on my skin and pretend that the rest of the world did not exist. But the rest of the world did exist. The pack was waiting, the trial was coming, and I could not hide in this room forever, no matter how much I wanted to.

We could not stay in the room forever, and I was not ready to show my real face to the pack yet. I only just gathered enough courage to show Kaelen.

My hands were still shaking from what I had done.

The necklace had been around my neck for fifteen years, so taking it off to show him my real face felt like tearing off a piece of my skin. But putting it back on felt even worse, like climbing back into a cage I had just escaped from.

But I picked up the necklace from the bed anyway, and fastened it around my neck. The silver chain was cool against my skin, and the charm settled against my collarbone, warm and familiar.

The magic flowed over me, and I watched Kaelen’s face change. His eyes dimmed, his jaw tightened, and the wonder faded, replaced by something harder.

He did not like seeing me hide again. I could see it in the set of his shoulders, and the clench of his fists.

But at least I knew he understood, even if he did not say anything else.

He was just there, watching me with those gray eyes that saw too much. I wondered what he was thinking, if he was angry that I had waited so long to tell him, or if he was hurt that I had not trusted him sooner. But he did not say, and I did not ask.

"You do not have to wait for the trial," he said. "You can try to shift now. Today."

My heart pounded. "Where? I cannot do it here, someone will see. The pack house is full of wolves, and the training grounds are always busy."

He took my hand, and his fingers were warm around mine. "I know a place. A clearing in the forest that is deep enough that no one will find us."

I looked at him. "What about your meeting with the elders? You said you had to go."

"About that, hold on." Then his eyes lost focus for a moment, and I knew that he was mind-linking someone. I watched his face change, the way his jaw tightened, and the way his breathing slowed.

When his eyes cleared, he looked at me.

"Cain will attend the meeting in my place." His voice was calm and final. "He is my Beta. Jax and Silas will go with him."

"Will the elders not be angry?" I asked.

"I do not care." His hand tightened around mine. "You come first."

I really did not agree with him, but I did not argue, and I just nodded.

A part of me felt guilty. The elders were important, and the meeting was important. But Kaelen had pushed it all aside for me, for my secret, and for my wolf. I did not know if I deserved that kind of devotion, but I was too afraid to argue, and too grateful to refuse.

We walked through the pack house together.

The hallways were busy. Wolves rushed past us, carrying supplies and talking to each other. Some bowed as we passed, and some nodded. But no one looked at me twice.

I felt relieved, knowing that the charm was working.

I kept my head high and my eyes straight ahead. Kaelen walked beside me, with his shoulder brushing mine. His presence was warm and steady, and I leaned into it without thinking.

No one knew what we were about to do. No one knew that beneath the plain face and the dull eyes, I was someone else entirely.

The pack members we passed had no idea that their Luna was walking past them with her true face hidden beneath a spell.

They only saw what the charm wanted them to see, which was a plain girl, a forgettable girl, and a girl who did not matter. They did not know that beneath the mask, I was someone else entirely. And they did not know that in a few hours, that mask might come off for good.

Kaelen led me out of the pack house. We passed the training grounds, where warriors sparred in pairs. We passed the gardens, where the fountain bubbled and the flowers swayed in the breeze. We passed the last line of buildings, and then we were in the forest.

The trees grew thicker as we walked. The forest felt different today. Like it was wilder, and older, and like it knew something I did not.

Their branches reached toward the sky, blocking out the sun. The air smelled of wildflowers and earth, and of damp leaves and hidden things.

The shadows between the trees seemed deeper, and the silence seemed heavier. I could feel Lyra pressing against my chest, eager and impatient. She wanted to run, and she wanted to be free. And for the first time, I wanted to let her.