Chapter 10
621words
She turned to face the council. "The silver wolf is not a curse but the rarest of gifts. It appears only when our kind faces a great threat—a protector, not a destroyer."
"Superstitious nonsense," Victor scoffed. "Where is your evidence?"
"In the ancient texts," Eirina replied calmly. She pulled an old leather-bound book from her robes and placed it on the table. "The Chronicles of the First Pack speak of the silver wolf as the Moon's chosen healer, appearing in times of greatest need."
I shifted back to human form, the dress reforming around me. "My father used his gift to heal others. I have the same ability."
"A convenient claim," Victor said dismissively. "But where is your proof that I had anything to do with your father's death? You were a child, traumatized and confused."
"I was sixteen," I corrected. "Old enough to recognize murder when I saw it."
Derek stood. "This council will adjourn to consider both matters—the nature of the silver wolf and the allegations against Elder Victor. We will reconvene at sunset."
Victor's face remained impassive, but I could see the calculation in his eyes. He had expected the council to side with him immediately. Derek's intervention had bought us time, but for what?
As the elders filed out, Derek approached me. "Come with me," he said quietly. "There's something I need to show you."
---
Derek led me through a series of hidden passages in the mansion, finally stopping before an unassuming wooden door. He produced an old key from his pocket.
"My father's private study," he explained. "No one has been in here since his death. Not even me."
The door swung open to reveal a small, book-lined room. Papers were scattered across a massive oak desk, as if the occupant had just stepped out momentarily. The air smelled of leather, old books, and faintly of Derek's father—a scent I remembered from my childhood.
"Why bring me here now?" I asked.
Derek ran his fingers along the spines of several books before pulling one out. "Because I think the answers we need are here."
He handed me a leather journal. "My father's private diary. I found it hidden in my room last night, with a note to bring you here if things went badly with the council."
"Who left it?"
"Marcus. Apparently my father gave it to him before he died, with instructions to pass it on if anything happened to him."
I opened the journal with trembling hands. The pages were filled with neat handwriting, dates spanning the last year of his life. I flipped through until a familiar name caught my eye.
"Look," I said, pointing to an entry. "He mentions my father."
Derek leaned close, his warmth reassuring as we read together.
*April 15 - Met with James Grey again today. His research on silver healing is remarkable. If we can harness this power naturally, without Victor's dangerous shortcuts, we could transform our people's future. James believes his daughter has inherited his gift, possibly even stronger than his own. We must protect her at all costs.*
I turned the page, my heart racing.
*May 3 - Victor's experiments have gone too far. The test subjects are showing signs of madness. The silver infusions aren't taking properly without the natural silver wolf gene. James wants to shut everything down, but I fear Victor won't let this research go easily. We've hidden copies of our findings in the old tunnels beneath the eastern forest.*
