Chapter 5: The Wolf Who Woke Up

Ember POV:

I woke up screaming.

The nightmare was the same one that had haunted me for ten years.

Fire.

Smoke.

My parents shouting my name.

The roof collapsing.

The smell of burning wood and flesh.

I sat upright in bed, gasping for air.

Sweat soaked my shirt.

For a few seconds, I didn't know where I was.

Then the unfamiliar room came into focus.

The Shadowlands.

Derek.

Safety.

A soft knock sounded at the door.

"Ember?"

Derek's voice.

"Are you okay?"

I wiped my face quickly.

"Yes."

"Liar."

The door opened.

Derek stepped inside carrying a mug.

The scent of coffee filled the room.

"Nightmare?"

I nodded.

"The fire again?"

I froze.

"How did you know?"

"You were crying in your sleep."

Embarrassment flooded me.

I looked away.

Derek placed the mug beside me.

"Drink."

"What is it?"

"Coffee."

"You made coffee yourself?"

"I know how to use a machine, little wolf."

A laugh escaped me.

Derek looked oddly satisfied.

"There it is again."

"What?"

"The smile."

I rolled my eyes.

"You keep saying that."

"Because I like seeing it."

Heat rushed into my cheeks.

Thankfully, Derek pretended not to notice.

After breakfast, Dr. Harper arrived.

The Shadowlands' chief medical researcher.

"Ready for testing?" she asked.

"Testing?"

"We need to examine your wolf spirit."

My stomach tightened.

"What if she's gone?"

Harper exchanged a glance with Derek.

"Let's find out."

Two hours later, I sat inside a circular medical chamber.

Blue light surrounded me.

Machines hummed softly.

"Relax," Harper instructed.

"Easier said than done."

"Fair point."

The scan began.

Energy moved through my body.

For several minutes, nothing happened.

Then suddenly...

Pain exploded behind my eyes.

"Ember!" Derek shouted.

I doubled over.

A strange warmth spread through my chest.

Something moved deep inside me.

Something alive.

"Sera?" I whispered.

Silence.

Then...

"Finally."

I froze.

The voice echoed through my mind.

Weak.

Hoarse.

But unmistakable.

"Sera?"

"You took your sweet time."

Tears instantly filled my eyes.

"You're alive."

"Barely."

"I thought I lost you."

"Impossible."

"I'm too stubborn."

A sob escaped me.

Ten years.

Ten years of silence.

Ten years of loneliness.

And now she was back.

"Why now?" I asked.

"Because he found us."

"Who?"

"Mate."

My eyes snapped toward Derek.

He stood outside the chamber.

Watching me with concern.

"Interesting," Harper murmured.

"What?"

"Your wolf spirit is reactivating."

"That's possible?"

"Very possible."

"In fact, it's already happening."

Hope flooded my chest.

Real hope.

The kind I hadn't felt in years.

"Will I be able to shift?"

"Eventually."

"Eventually?"

"Your wolf suffered severe trauma."

"Healing takes time."

"But yes."

"I believe you'll shift."

I couldn't breathe.

For years, every doctor told me the opposite.

For years, everyone said I was broken.

Now someone was telling me I could be whole.

When the testing ended, Derek found me standing outside the research center.

"How did it go?"

"Sera spoke to me."

For the first time since meeting him, Derek looked genuinely shocked.

"She what?"

"She spoke."

"After ten years."

A slow smile appeared on his face.

"That's incredible."

"I think so too."

For a while, neither of us spoke.

Then Derek asked quietly:

"What really happened to you?"

The question lingered between us.

Normally, I would have avoided it.

Normally, I would have changed the subject.

But something about Derek made honesty easier.

So I told him.

The fire.

The damaged wolf.

The years of neglect.

The Moonlight Grass.

The hospital.

The room.

Everything.

I expected pity.

I expected sympathy.

Instead, I got silence.

Dangerous silence.

Derek's jaw tightened.

His hands clenched into fists.

"They stole your treatment?"

"Yes."

"The only treatment available?"

"Yes."

"For a migraine?"

"Apparently."

The temperature around him seemed to drop.

His wolf pushed closer to the surface.

I could feel it.

"Derek?"

"I'm trying very hard not to drive back there right now."

"Why?"

His eyes locked onto mine.

"Because if what you're telling me is true..."

"Then your brothers don't deserve to call themselves family."

My chest tightened.

Nobody had ever defended me before.

Nobody.

Not once.

That evening, I stood on the balcony watching the city lights.

Sera was quiet now.

Resting.

Healing.

For the first time in years, I wasn't alone inside my own head.

A gentle knock sounded.

"Come in."

Derek stepped onto the balcony.

"Harper gave me your results."

"And?"

"Your wolf is waking up."

"I know."

"And there's something else."

"What?"

"The damage wasn't natural."

I froze.

"What do you mean?"

"The fire injured Sera."

"But something happened afterward."

"Someone kept her suppressed."

My blood ran cold.

"That's impossible."

"Is it?"

Derek stared into the distance.

"Because someone worked very hard to make sure you never healed."

The words echoed through my mind.

Someone.

Not fate.

Not bad luck.

Someone.

And suddenly, for the first time, I began to wonder if the worst thing that happened to me wasn't the fire.

Maybe it was what happened afterward.