Clarice's point of view
after shifting I quickly dashed into the forest though I felt something calling me back I ignored it. thinking of my journey to another place Just the thought sent a tremor through me, not fear, but something close to it. Curiosity. Anticipation. A quiet, brave kind of thrill.
When I finally slowed, the trees opened into a clearing where the moon shone bright over a long stretch of road. On the other side stood a rusted bus stop sign and the distant glow of a gas station. Human territory.
I shifted back, breath shaking, and quickly pulled out the spare clothes from my bag loose, comfortable, and perfect for blending in. My hands trembled a little as I dressed. Not from cold. From the reality of what I had just done.
I had left my pack.
Left my parents.
Left everything I had ever known.
But I wasn't lost.
Not completely.
In my father's study, buried under old pack archives, I had found a faded envelope. Inside it was an address someone who shared our bloodline but had cut ties with pack life decades ago. A distant relative whose decision had once caused a scandal… and who had somehow survived outside the werewolf world. I've heard about her when I was little, never thought I'd get to meet her.
If anyone could hide me, it was her.
So, with my heart pounding and my wolf still pacing beneath my skin "Are you sure about this" I heard my wolf's voice, "of course, like I got any other options",
"but I want to find our mate"
" No!!. I will not do such, disgusting", just the thought of it got me all disgusted.
I headed toward the main road and raised my hand. the road was desolate, a little bit too quite.
After Hours of walking, I finally found a small cottage I knocked on the door to see if I can get help around here since it's my first time being here after getting some help I was arrested towards a part where I'll see public transport.
And following the address written in my tight handwriting, I stepped into Phoenix City, Arizona.
It was nothing like home.
Tall bright buildings, neon signs humming with life, people rushing around with cups of coffee and strange glowing rectangles in their hands. No pack link. No scent trails. No wolf instincts buzzing in the air.
Just humans living their loud, busy, unpredictable lives.
After getting off the bus I asked a few logos around of the address after finally finding the place.
I tightened my grip on my bag and walked down the street until I reached a two-story cream-colored house with a garden full of sunflowers just like the address described.
I knocked.
I was extremely nervous.
For a moment, nothing happened. Then the door opened.
A woman in her late forties stared at me, her eyes were blank and she looked at me like a stranger even though I was, for now.
"Hi, my name is Clarice Silver", I whispered.
she nodded slowly. "I'm your niece. Alpha Rowan Silver's daughter."
I saw a mix of surprise, worry, anger, and something close to fear in her eyes.
"You shouldn't be here," she murmured. She tried to close the door but I was quick and held it firmly.
"Aunt please..." "I have no where else to go". I looked at her with tears in my eyes and the trick worked, it really soften the old lady's heart.
"hehe" looks like it not only works on my parents and my brother.
I stepped in.
Her home smelled of cinnamon candles, books, and something that made my wolf settle a faint trace of wolf blood, long unused but still there. She was a former warrior, once highly respected in the pack before she chose a human life.
A life she had successfully protected for decades.
As I sat on her couch, taking in the soft lights, the blankets, the human decorations, a wave of fascination washed over me. Cars roared outside the window. Humans laughed across the street. A distant train rumbled through the night.
It was chaotic. Strange. Loud.
And strangely comforting.
I could breathe here. not until I heard...
"so now can you tell me the fuck why you're here"
"Aunt, my parents said I should come stay with you for a while, i..."
"cut the crap little girl I've seen a lot of things I'm not some little girl you can deceive now say the truth or I'm kicking you out"
I knew she was getting angry she was not the gentle kind so I pull out my biggest trick and act pitiful.
"I really have nowhere to go you see a lot of things have happened and I need to stay away from for a while please just let me stay I promise I'll be good I'll..." I trailed off the rest words was swallowed in The mumbles of my soft months from crying and... it worked.
"ok ok...shut it I'll show you your room"
and then she took me to a room the love big like the one in the SilverCrest pack but still okay so I settled in took my bath and lay on the soft mattress.
For the first time since the ceremony, I let my shoulders loosen. My wolf lay quiet, observing everything cautiously, but not panicked.
I wasn't ready to explain everything, not yet. My aunt didn't push. She simply gave me water, handed me a blanket, and let me rest.
Tonight, all I needed was safety.
Tomorrow, the human world would start to feel less foreign. Tomorrow, I'd ask her about school, I still need to continue college and also about the future I wanted to build here, far away from the life I had escaped.
But for now…
I pulled my knees to my chest, listening to the unfamiliar sounds of Peacock City.
I had crossed the border of two worlds.
And there was no turning back.