Chapter 2 Secrets In The Shadows

Morgana woke to the smell of flowers and wood smoke. Her body felt heavy, like she was trapped under thick layers of pain. Every breath hurt. Every small movement sent fire through her ribs.

She opened her eyes slowly. The room was small and warm. Dried plants hung from the wooden roof. Bottles filled with strange liquids lined the shelves. This was a healer's house.

"You're awake." The voice was soft and kind.

Morgana turned her head. An older woman sat in a chair beside the bed. Her gray hair was pulled back in a simple braid. Her eyes were soft but worried.

"I'm Runa," the woman said. "I've been taking care of you."

"How long?" Morgana's voice came out like a whisper. Her throat felt dry as sand.

"Three days." Runa stood up and poured water into a cup. "You lost a lot of blood. Those hurts were deep."

Three days. Morgana tried to sit up, but pain shot through her chest. She fell back against the pillows with a gasp.

"Don't move too much," Runa said. She helped Morgana drink the water. "Your body is still healing."

The water tasted like heaven. Morgana drank it all and wanted more. "Where is he?"

"Who?"

"Dolph." The name felt strange on her lips. How long had it been since she said it out loud?

Runa's face changed. She looked sad and worried at the same time. "He's been here every day. He sits in that chair when you sleep. He only leaves when other pack business calls him."

Morgana felt something twist in her chest. It wasn't pain from her cuts. It was something else. Something that hurt in a different way.

"Why?" she asked.

"You'll have to ask him that yourself."

The door opened. Dolph walked in, and the small room suddenly felt smaller. He was bigger than she remembered. Taller. His shoulders were bigger. His dark hair was longer now, touching his collar. But his eyes were the same deep brown she remembered from her dreams.

"Runa," he said. His voice was deep and rough. "How is she?"

"Getting better. But she needs rest."

Dolph nodded. He looked at Morgana, and she saw something flash in his eyes. Guilt? Pain? She couldn't tell.

"I'll leave you two alone," Runa said. She picked up her goods and walked to the door. "Don't tire her out, Alpha."

Then they were alone. The quiet stretched between them like a wall made of nine years of hurt and anger.

Dolph pulled the chair closer to the bed. He sat down but didn't look at her. His hands were folded in his lap. Big hands with calluses and old scars.

"You came back," he said eventually.

"I didn't have anywhere else to go."

He looked up then. His eyes met hers, and she saw the boy she once knew hiding behind the man he'd become.

"What happened to you out there?"

Morgana closed her eyes. The thoughts were like dark water, pulling her down. "You don't want to know."

"Tell me."

"Why? So you can feel bad about throwing me out?" Her voice got stronger with her anger. "So you can tell yourself it wasn't your fault?"

Dolph's jaw got tight. She could see the muscle jumping under his skin. "That's not fair."

"Fair?" Morgana tried to sit up again. This time she made it, even though it hurt. "You want to talk about fair? I was sixteen, Dolph. Sixteen and scared and alone. And you looked at me like I was poison."

"You were dangerous-"

"I was a child!" The words came out like a shout. "I was just a scared little girl who didn't know how to handle her wolf. And instead of helping me, you sent me away."

Dolph stood up so fast the chair fell over. He ran his hands through his hair. "You think that was easy for me? You think I wanted to do that?"

"Then why did you?"

He was quiet for a long time. When he finally spoke, his voice was soft. "Because I was afraid."

"Of what?" "Of you." He turned to look at her. "Of what you could do. Of what you made me feel."

Something in his voice made her heart beat faster. "What do you mean?"

But before he could answer, the door burst open. A young man with sandy hair and bright blue eyes came in. He was breathing hard like he'd been running.

"Alpha," he said, not seeing Morgana at first. "We have a problem. The Wind Winder pack is at our borders. They're asking for a meeting."

Dolph's whole body went stiff. "Now?"

"Magnus himself is there. He has twenty wolves with him."

"That's too many for a peaceful visit," Dolph said. His voice was different now. Cold and hard. This was the Alpha talking, not the man who had just been telling her about his fears.

The sandy-haired man finally noticed Morgana. His eyes went wide. "Is that-?"

"Jahn, meet Morgana," Dolph said. "Morgana, this is Jahn, my beta."

Jahn stared at her like she was a ghost. "The stories about you... they said you were dead."

"I'm hard to kill," Morgana said.

"We need to go," Dolph said to Jahn. Then he looked at Morgana. "Rest. We'll talk more later."

"No." Morgana pushed herself up further. "If the Wind Winder pack is here, it's about me. I know it is."

"You don't know that."

"Don't I?" She looked at him hard. "When did they start coming around? When did Magnus start asking for meetings?"

Dolph's quiet was her answer.

"It's because I'm back," she said. "Something's changed. Something's different now."

She thought about the strange dreams she'd been having. Dreams of fire and ice, of dogs running under a full moon. Dreams of a woman with silver hair who whispered words she couldn't understand.

"There's something you're not telling me," she said.

Dolph and Jahn looked at each other. She saw them have a whole chat with just their eyes.

"What is it?" she asked.

"The birthmark," Jahn said softly. "On your shoulder."

Morgana's hand went to her shoulder. She could feel it there, warm under her skin. "What about it?"

"It wasn't there before," Dolph said. "When you were sixteen. I would have noticed."

She frowned. "That's impossible. I've had it since-"

But when she thought about it, really thought about it, she couldn't remember when the mark had appeared. It was just there one day, like it had always been part of her.

"Show me," she said.

Jahn gave her a small mirror. Morgana pulled her shirt down and looked over her shoulder. There it was-a crescent moon surrounded by five small stars. As she watched, it seemed to glow with a soft silver light.

"What does it mean?" she whispered.

The door opened again. This time it was the old woman from the night she arrived. Eldra Stormhowl. She walked in like she owned the place, her silver hair braided with bones and beads.

"It means everything is about to change," Eldra said. Her voice was like wind through old trees. "And Magnus knows it."

"Eldra," Dolph said. There was a warning in his voice.

"She has a right to know," the old woman said. She looked at Morgana with eyes that seemed to see everything. "You've heard the old stories, child. About the Luna who will join the packs."

Morgana felt cold all over. "Those are just stories."

"Are they?" Eldra smiled, but it wasn't a happy smile.