The days that followed passed like mist.
Shapeless.
Quiet.
Heavy with the kind of silence that carried words no one was brave enough to say.
No one mentioned the Blood Moon Gathering.
Not openly, anyway.
But I could feel it.
I felt it whenever a conversation stopped the moment I entered a room.
Whenever someone's eyes lingered on me for a second too long before quickly looking away.
Whenever whispers followed me down a corridor and disappeared the moment I turned around.
The Gathering was over.
But somehow, it hadn't really ended.
Not for me.
Whatever had happened that night had settled over Silvercrest like the faint scent of smoke after a fire.
Not strong enough to make anyone panic.
Not dangerous enough to demand attention.
But impossible to completely ignore.
And perhaps the strangest part was that everyone seemed to believe the same thing.
That Keiran had rejected me.
I never corrected them.
How could I?
I didn't know what he had intended to say.
I had run before he could.
But after everything I'd heard that night, after everyone had practically predicted his rejection before he even reached me, I couldn't convince myself that his words would've been anything else.
So I let them believe it.
Maybe it was easier that way.
If everyone thought I had already been rejected, no one would expect me to explain.
No one would ask me to face him.
No one would ask what happened after I ran.
And most importantly...
I wouldn't have to find out the truth.
Because I was terrified of the truth.
I kept myself busy.
That was the easiest way to survive.
Every morning, I went to Lysandra's garden before the rest of the pack was fully awake.
I sorted herbs.
I prepared poultices.
I cleaned jars.
I helped mix tinctures.
I learned which plants could reduce fever and which could ease the pain of shifting injuries.
Lysandra never treated me like I was useless.
She gave me work because she trusted me to do it.
That meant more than she probably realized.
When I wasn't helping her, I cleaned storage rooms, organized supplies, repaired whatever I could, and stayed away from the main pack house.
I'd learned long ago that invisibility could be both a curse and a protection.
No one noticed me.
And lately, I was grateful for that.
Every morning, when I woke, the ache was still there.
It wasn't as sharp as it had been that first night.
It had become something dull.
Something patient.
Something that lived quietly beneath my ribs.
My wolf was healing too.
Slowly.
She remained quiet most days.
Sometimes, when I woke, I could feel her faintly.
We're okay.
I'd lie there staring at the ceiling.
"Not yet."
Then I'd close my eyes.
"But we will be."
I didn't know if I believed it.
But I repeated it anyway.
Maybe believing came after saying something enough times.
Or maybe hope was simply another habit.
One afternoon, Lysandra handed me a woven basket filled with herbs.
"Take these to the training yard."
I stared at her.
"The training yard?"
She raised an eyebrow.
"Did I stutter?"
"No."
"Then go."
I hesitated.
She noticed.
"Elara."
I looked at her.
"You can't spend the rest of your life avoiding every place that reminds you of something painful."
My fingers tightened around the basket.
"I know."
"Do you?"
I sighed.
"Apparently not."
Lysandra gave me a small smile.
"Good. At least you're learning."
I shook my head.
"You enjoy making me uncomfortable."
"Immensely."
Despite myself, I laughed.
It was small.
But real.
I picked up the basket.
"Fine."
"Good."
I walked toward the training grounds.
Every step made my stomach tighter.
I hadn't been there since the night of the Gathering.
The last time I'd stood near those fields, I'd been carrying hope.
I'd believed my mate might finally be the person who changed everything.
Now, even the thought of seeing him made my chest hurt.
Keiran.
I swallowed.
I didn't want to see him.
I especially didn't want to find out whether he truly had rejected me.
Because if I saw him...
I'd have to know.
And I wasn't ready.
The sounds of the training grounds reached me before I saw them.
Shouting.
Weapons striking.
Boots pounding against dirt.
The familiar rhythm of warriors training.
I slowed.
The midday sun glared against their blades.
Sweat and earth filled the air.
I kept my eyes lowered.
Just deliver the herbs.
Then leave.
Simple.
I reached the edge of the field.
And then I saw him.
Keiran.
My heart stopped.
He was sparring with Callen.
Callen was the Alpha's son and the future Alpha of Silvercrest. He was already respected by most of the pack, and there was no doubt he would eventually inherit the position.
Together, he and Keiran looked exactly like the kind of wolves Silvercrest admired.
Strong.
Confident.
Powerful.
They moved with precision, every strike controlled.
I looked away immediately.
My wolf stirred.
Him.
I gripped the basket tighter.
"No."
Our mate.
I swallowed.
"Don't."
She whimpered.
I hated that she still wanted him.
I hated that my body still reacted to him.
And I hated most of all that I still didn't know what he had wanted to say that night.
Maybe he had been coming to reject me.
Maybe he had been coming to tell me exactly what everyone expected.
Maybe he had been coming to tell me I wasn't worthy of standing beside him.
I didn't know.
And I didn't want to know.
Not yet.
I hurried toward the healer's tent.
I placed the basket down.
Then I turned around.
I was almost free.
Almost.
"Elara."
I froze.
My heart jumped.
It wasn't Keiran.
I knew the voice.
Callen.
I slowly turned.
The future Alpha stood several feet away, a towel draped over one shoulder.
His expression was unreadable.
Behind him, I could hear the warriors continuing to train.
And somewhere among them...
Keiran.
I refused to look.
"Elara," Callen said again.
"Alpha."
He frowned slightly.
"You don't have to call me that when we're alone."
I looked at him.
"You're still the future Alpha."
"And you're still Elara."
I wasn't sure what to say to that.
Callen stepped closer.
"How are you holding up?"
My stomach tightened.
"I'm fine."
His eyebrow lifted.
"You're sure?"
"Yes."
"Because you don't look fine."
I gave him a small smile.
"I'm just tired."
Callen studied me for a moment.
I wondered if he could hear my heartbeat.
Probably.
"Have you been sleeping?"
"Some."
"That's not an answer."
"It's the answer I have."
He almost smiled.
"You're stubborn."
"I've been told."
"By Lysandra?"
"Mostly."
That actually made him laugh.
The sound surprised me.
I'd never spoken to Callen like this before.
He seemed less intimidating when he wasn't surrounded by people.
Then his expression became serious again.
"I heard what happened."
My smile disappeared.
I looked down.
"Everyone did."
"I mean at the Gathering."
My fingers tightened around my sleeves.
"I know."
"I wanted to ask if you're all right."
"I'm getting better."
"That's good."
He hesitated.
Then he asked quietly, "Did you really run because Keiran rejected you?"
My heart stopped.
I looked at him.
"What?"
Callen's eyes narrowed slightly.
"That's what everyone is saying."
I swallowed.
"I..."
I didn't know how to answer.
"I didn't stay long enough to find out."
Callen went silent.
For the first time, his expression changed.
Confusion.
"You don't know?"
I shook my head.
"He was coming toward me."
"And?"
"I ran."
"Why?"
I looked away.
"Because everyone was waiting for him to reject me."
Callen's jaw tightened.
"Who said that?"
"Everyone."
"That's not an answer."
I gave a humorless laugh.
"Does it matter?"
"It matters to me."
I looked at him again.
Callen stepped closer.
"Elara, did Keiran actually reject you?"
"No."
The word came out quietly.
"Then stop saying he did."
I stared at him.
"But..."
"There is no but."
He sighed.
"You left before he could speak."
"Yes."
"Then you don't know what he was going to say."
I looked toward the training field.
I could see Keiran from the corner of my eye.
I immediately looked away.
"I don't want to know."
Callen followed my gaze.
His expression softened.
"You're afraid."
My throat tightened.
"Yes."
"Of him?"
I shook my head.
"Of the answer."
He didn't say anything.
I continued.
"If he rejected me, at least I know."
"But he hasn't."
"I know."
"Then why are you punishing yourself over something that hasn't happened?"
I stared at the ground.
Because I'd spent my entire life preparing for rejection.
Because believing I was unwanted was easier than hoping someone might choose me.
Because hope had hurt more than loneliness ever had.
I didn't say any of that.
Instead, I whispered, "Because it feels inevitable."
Callen was quiet for a moment.
Then he said, "Maybe you should stop deciding other people's choices for them."
I looked up.
He gave me a small, almost sad smile.
"Let Keiran make his own decision."
My heart pounded.
"I can't."
"Why?"
"Because if I see him, I'll have to know."
"And?"
"I don't think I can handle it."
Callen studied me.
Then he nodded slowly.
"Then don't face him today."
Relief washed through me.
"But eventually?"
I looked away.
"I don't know."
"You don't have to know yet."
His voice softened.
"But don't spend the rest of your life running from a conversation that hasn't happened."
I didn't answer.
Callen stepped back.
"For what it's worth..."
I looked at him.
"The Moon doesn't waste her choices."
My chest tightened.
"If she chose someone for you, there is a reason."
I swallowed.
"Thank you, Alpha."
He smiled faintly.
"And Elara?"
"Yes?"
"Keep your head up."
Then he walked away.
I stood there for a moment.
I could feel eyes on me.
I knew some of the warriors had noticed our conversation.
I didn't care.
My gaze accidentally shifted toward the field.
Keiran was looking in my direction.
Our eyes almost met.
I panicked.
I turned immediately.
And walked away.
Fast.
I didn't stop until the training grounds were far behind me.
I didn't look back.
I couldn't.
Not yet.
That night, the ache returned.
I sat beside my cabin window, staring at the faint lights of the pack house through the trees.
Somewhere inside that building, Keiran was probably laughing with the others.
Training.
Living.
Doing everything he had always done.
While I sat here wondering if I was worth choosing.
I pulled my knees toward my chest.
"I don't hate him."
My wolf stirred.
"I don't."
I rested my chin against my knees.
"I just wish I didn't have to prove my worth to anyone."
For a long moment, there was silence.
Then my wolf spoke.
Then stop proving it.
I closed my eyes.
The thought settled somewhere deep inside me.
Quiet.
Fierce.
Certain.
Maybe she was right.
Maybe I didn't need to convince Keiran.
Or the pack.
Or anyone.
Maybe I simply needed to learn who I was when no one was watching.
The next morning, I returned to Lysandra's garden before sunrise.
Dew clung to the leaves.
The air smelled of mint, wolfsbane, and wet soil.
Lysandra was already mixing a tincture when I arrived.
She didn't look up.
"You're changing."
I frowned.
"How?"
"The way you move."
I began sorting herbs.
"What about it?"
"You're not waiting to be noticed anymore."
I paused.
She continued stirring.
"You used to look around every room as though you were waiting for someone to tell you that you belonged there."
I looked down at the herbs.
"Maybe I still do."
"No."
She smiled faintly.
"You don't."
I didn't know what to say.
"I don't know if I'm ready to be seen."
Lysandra finally looked at me.
"Ready or not, child, the world sees what it's meant to."
She placed the spoon down.
"And you are meant to be more than invisible."
I looked at my hands.
For years, I'd thought surviving meant becoming smaller.
Quieter.
Easier to overlook.
But maybe surviving didn't mean disappearing.
Maybe it meant becoming strong enough to remain standing even when people finally looked.
Maybe healing wasn't about forgetting what happened.
Maybe it was about growing into the space the pain left behind.
That night, I stepped outside my cabin before bed.
The forest was quiet.
Then I felt it.
That pulse.
The same strange vibration beneath the earth.
I stopped.
My wolf lifted her head.
There.
I closed my eyes.
The wind curled around me.
For the first time, I didn't dismiss it.
I didn't tell myself I was imagining things.
I simply stood there.
Listening.
Waiting.
And strangely...
I didn't feel small.
I didn't feel forgotten.
I didn't feel invisible.
I simply felt present.
Somewhere far beyond the trees, something ancient seemed to stir in response.
I didn't know what it was.
I didn't know why it had begun calling to me.
But the feeling was becoming impossible to ignore.
And perhaps the Moon Goddess hadn't forgotten me after all.
Perhaps she had simply been waiting for me to stop asking whether I was worthy...
And start becoming the woman I was always meant to be.