Rise of the Warrior Queen (Kaia and Silver) novel Chapter 44

CHAPTER FOURTY FOUR

KAIA’S POV

“You know, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, Kaia. I just thought I’d ask. I didn’t mean to pry,” Silver said when I was quiet for too long.

I shook my head. “I didn’t think you were. It’s just… I’m finding it difficult to believe that you still haven’t figured

out what’s going on. By now, I figured you must have already heard a rumor or two around the pack since you

arrived. Rumors spread quickly around here. You should know–seeing as everyone already knew your story

mere seconds after your arrival. It just doesn’t make sense that you still don’t know about me and Gareth.”

Silver shrugged. “Maybe I do. Maybe I don’t. And maybe I just prefer to hear it directly from you rather than

falling prey to the thousand and one different versions of the story flying around, Kaia. That’s not bad, is it?”

I contemplated for a moment and then let out a heavy sigh. “Well, like I said, it’s no news. If you haven’t heard

it already, then you will soon. It’s only a matter of time, so yeah, I might as well tell you now. I’m going to keep

it plain and simple, actually. No beating about the bush.”

I paused, taking a deep breath and letting it out. Then I spoke.

“Gareth is my fated mate. At least, he was supposed to be. Only he rejected me many weeks ago–the same

night we found out–because apparently, I wasn’t good enough. Not as his mate. Not as his Luna. And not as

the ladder with which he desperately intends to climb his way to the Alpha King position. Laura, on the other

hand, seems to suit his taste better since her father is practically a god amongst werewolf Elders–the most

influential one of them all. With his support and connections, not only would Gareth have what he’s been

longing for, which is the position of Alpha King, but his reign would be unstoppable. I, on the other hand, have

nothing to offer him–and neither does my family.”

I tried my best to keep the hurt and bitterness out of my voice as I spoke, but I don’t think I did a good job.

Not if the look in Silver’s eyes was anything to judge by.

We were both quiet for a moment before Silver spoke. “I’m sorry.”

I shook my head immediately. “Don’t be. The bond was a mistake. In fact, I’m pretty sure the Moon Goddess

made that match in a haze of sleep. There’s absolutely no way she actually meant to pair me with a man like

Gareth. I know I deserve better–for my services to this pack, if nothing else.”

Silver chuckled softly but nodded in agreement. “For what it’s worth, I think he did you a favor. Even though

he didn’t know it. Congratulations on dodging that bullet.”

I returned his smile with one of my own. “Thanks, Silver.”

We had barely taken a few steps forward when something came back to me. I slowed down my steps and turned my head to look at Silver.

“Hey,” I said softly, “do you still have that dream you told me about? The one you mentioned at the hospital

when you first woke up?”

Silver gave a small nod. “Yeah, Almost every night.”

There was a pause, then his gaze dropped to the ground as he kicked a loose stone.

“But there’s another one too,” he added quietly. “I don’t know for sure if it’s a different dream or if the two are

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CHAPTER FOURTY FOUR

linked somehow. But this one… it doesn’t happen as often, but when it does, it’s… stranger. Quite disturbing,

really.”

I tilted my head. “Stranger how?”

He rubbed the back of his neck again, the way he always did when something was hard to explain. “There’s a woman. I don’t know who she is, but I always see her. And every time, she looks afraid. Like she’s being chased or hiding from something.”

I frowned.

“She’s always running,” Silver continued. “Like she’s either running to somewhere or from somewhere. Or sometimes she seems to be searching for something. Sometimes she’s breathing so hard, it sounds like she’s just escaped death itself. Everything about her screams fear. I’m talking the kind of fear that causes your whole body to vibrate visibly. The dream never ends the same way, but that feeling… the fear… it’s always

there.”

The more he spoke, the colder the back of my neck felt. I mentally shivered, remembering the dream I’d had not too long ago, back when I was staying with Mia at the hospital. That dream hadn’t felt like a dream at all. It felt real–like I had been awake and watching everything unfold.

There had been a woman too.

I remember seeing her come in through the window like she was being hunted or chased by something, just like Silver just said. I could still see her–panicked, her breath coming out in short, ragged gasps. She had rushed into the corner of the room and crouched there, like she was hiding from something right outside. And then there was that strange, foul smell that followed her in the moment she opened that window. Which means that smell could belong to whatever it was that was after her.

I never had that dream again after that one time, so I had slowly forgotten all about it.

But now that Silver was telling me this…

It felt too similar to ignore. Could he be talking about the same woman?

I stared at Silver, my voice growing quiet. “This woman–what does she look like?”

He let out a frustrated sigh. “That’s the problem. I don’t know, Kaia. I’ve never seen her face. Not even once.”

My eyebrows pulled together. “What do you mean?”

“She always has her back to me,” he said. “And when she doesn’t… it’s like there’s something covering her face. A shadow, maybe? Like it’s blurred out on purpose. I’ve tried to see so many times, believe me. Sometimes when I have that dream–when I see an entire village on fire–I see her standing there in the middle of the chaos. But no matter what happens, her face is never visible. For some reason, it seems there’s something about her that doesn’t want to be seen. All I’ve ever been able to see is the color of her hair. Which

is black.”

A strange, cold feeling crawled over my skin. This had to be the same woman. The one from the hospital. I

remember I wasn’t able to see her face either. Everything he described matched what I h en. The panic.

The fear. The way she was running and hiding. Even the heavy breathing.

A certain part of his story replayed in my head and I frowned in confusion. “Did you say she had black hair?” I

asked, and Silver nodded.

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CHAPTER FOURTY FOUR

“Yeah. At least, that’s what I always saw in the dream.”

My brow furrowed.

Everything he said matched with what I saw, indeed.

But there was one thing that didn’t match.

I sighed and turned to Silver.

“The woman I saw,” I said slowly, “she had red hair,”

Silver looked at me, confused. “What? You–You saw her too?”

I nodded slowly, still unsure of what was going on. “Yeah. That morning Mia was attacked, while I was in the hospital with her, I had this… I don’t even know what to call it because I’m pretty sure I never even slept. But yeah, there she was, climbing in through the window and running off to hide in a corner. But her hair was red, not black. Bright, deep red. Like fire. I remember it clearly. That was the one part I could see. Her face was hidden, covered in shadows just as you said. But her hair stood out.”

Silver shook his head. “Okay now, this is… That’s strange. The woman in my dream has black hair. I’m sure of

it.”

I frowned, trying to piece it all together. “Everything else sounds exactly the same. But the hair… that’s

different.”

“Maybe it’s not the same woman,” he said, but even his voice held doubt.

I thought for a moment, then shook my head. “Or maybe it is… but we’re seeing different parts of her.

Different moments. Maybe her hair changes. Or maybe-“I stopped myself. It sounded crazy even in my own

head. Stupid, even.

But at this point, I was running out of sense to make. Everything was just a confused mess.

“Maybe what?” Silver asked, his eyes fixed on me now.

I hesitated. “Maybe she’s not just a dream.”

Silver didn’t say anything, but the look in his eyes told me he had already considered that too.

“She felt real,” I added. “The night I saw her… it didn’t feel like a dream. I thought I was awake.”

He nodded slowly. “Yeah. That’s exactly how my dreams feel sometimes. Like I’m there with her. Watching. Or maybe she’s the one watching me–who knows anymore.”

I still don’t understand.

Red hair. Black hair. Shadows. Running. Fear.

Who was this woman, for goodness sake? And why did she appear to both of us?

I wasn’t sure of anything anymore. But I knew one thing–whatever Silver was caught up in I was already part

of it too. That was the only explanation I could think of as to why we would both be set

Silver ran a hand through his hair, his brows knitted in frustration.

he same thing.

“I can’t believe this. Everything’s just getting more confusing by the day,” he muttered. “First the dreams, then the ring, and now this mystery woman… it’s like every time I think I’m close to figuring something out, something else shows up and throws everything off.”

CHAPTER FOURTY FOUR

He kicked at the dirt, his voice rising slightly. “It’s like things keep going from bad to worse, Kaia. And at this rate, I don’t think I’ll ever find any real answers. What if I never get my memory back? What if I never remember who I am or who I was before this? What if I’m stuck here for the rest of my life with no way out of

this mess?”

His voice trembled slightly at the end–not with fear, but with something different. Defeat. Hopelessness.

Anger.

This was the first time I was seeing Silver this angry since he showed up here, and I was a little taken aback. Normally, he was always calm and gentle, even when he was being provoked–mostly by Gareth. But seeing him this way… it was obvious he’d had it. He was beyond frustrated with the situation, and who could blame

him?

“Silver,” I reached out to touch his arm when it happened.

One minute he was talking and gesturing angrily and then the next, his eyes–those usually calm silver eyes- flashed brightly.

Not with emotion. Oh no. This was something else.

It was light.

A sudden, sharp, silver glow lit them up from within, like moonlight trapped behind glass. My breath hitched, and I stumbled back a step, my hand dropping instantly.

“Kaia?” Silver blinked, the light already fading completely. “Kaia, what’s wrong?”

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. My heart was pounding so hard in my chest I couldn’t speak. I lifted a finger and pointed at his eyes.

His face twisted in confusion. “My eyes? What about them? What is it? Kaia, what’s wrong?”

He took a step closer, his face full of worry and concern as he gently grabbed my arms and pulled me closer. “Kaia, talk to me, please. What’s wrong? What did I do? Did I say something?”

I swallowed hard, trying to find my voice. What did I just see? Did I imagine it? Could stress be making me

hallucinate now?

“I…” I stammered, then shook my head and forced a tight smile, trying to keep my arms from shaking. He was holding me. He would know something was wrong if I started trembling in his hands.

Wait! What?!

He was holding me?!

My eyes widened when I noticed how close we were, and I quickly withdrew from his hold, taking a single step back to put some distance between us.

It wasn’t that I was afraid of him. I wasn’t. I was a little shocked by what I saw yes, but it wasn’t enough to scare me. I just didn’t want anyone getting the wrong idea if they saw us standing that close. Especially not

Silver himself.

“It’s nothing,” I finally said. “I just… I thought I saw something, but–it was nothing.”

Silver didn’t look convinced. “What did you think you saw?”

Thesitated again, my heart racing.

CHAPTER FOURTY FOUR

How was I even supposed to answer that question?

Say something, Kaia, Lie if you have to. The more you remain quiet, the more he’ll start to suspect something

is indeed wrong.

I forced another smile and shook my head. “It’s really nothing, Silver. Forget it. It’s probably just the lack of sleep messing with my head.”

It wasn’t. I knew what I saw, and I knew it was real. I just didn’t know what it was, or what it meant.

Silver still didn’t look convinced. “Kaia-”

“I should go,” I interrupted quickly, my voice coming out higher than I intended. “You’ve got your mission, and I’ve got things to take care of back at the pack house.”

His eyes searched my face. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

I nodded too fast. “Yeah, Totally, I’m fine, Silver, Why wouldn’t I be?” I chuckled nervously.

Then, before he could press again, I stepped away. “Good luck, Silver. And take care, okay? That part of the woods–especially around that mountain–is the scariest and most dangerous part of the territory, so you’re going to want to be careful. Find me when you get back, okay? We’ll talk some more. And don’t let the night meet you there–you won’t like what you see. Alright, take care.”

I didn’t wait to figure out the look on his face as he watched me. I turned and walked off before he could say another word. I didn’t look back. I couldn’t.

Because I didn’t trust what he might see on my face.

The only thing echoing in my mind as I moved through the trees was one question, looping over and over

again:

Did his eyes just glow Silver?

For goodness sake he doesn’t even have his wolf. And even if he did, nowhere in the entire universe was there a wolf with silver eyes. It was bad enough that the human already had silver eyes, but for his wolf to also have it, it wasn’t just unheard of. It was something else.

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