ack like a sting soft and strange. Nora... I kept hearing it. I don't understand this dream at all. What di

of wet earth. It felt safe for a little while, like a hand I hadn't known I wanted. But peace never last

ocket because she always comes in like a bright thing. "Good afternoon, Nora.

ng go? At home, I was up by seven. I go for a run in the cold air, come back, and help i

dy. I didn't wait for permission. I swung my legs out of bed and st

the room. "You have fully recovered, Nora." She came closer, eyes bright. "Remember, you coul

py that I could walk again? I forced a smile. "Thank you," I said.

s, a face that once could hold laughter easily, now thin and tired. The bandage around my head m

a plaything. I laughed. It felt like a small crime to laugh, but I did. I sat on the bed edge so she could unwrap it. The bandage came off

ck. A confident knock. I looked at the door a

as. His face was familiar and kind, like a song

ake you to your floor," he said. His vo

he owner of this hospital," the nurse joked and we all laughed. It felt lik

er and smiled like he always does. For a second I wanted to ask why he kept coming back. Why d

always stood tall and empty at the top. It has three floors that mean something. Omegas down low. Gamma and family on the first. Beta on the second. Alpha on the last. Only Alpha Johnson and his daughter sleep at

t small. My chest is tight. The halls smelled of stew and old wood and the laughter that

was sharp and false. "Finally back, Nora?" she said like she found the right s

t name. "Thank you, Ellias, for bringing my cousin home," she said, all sugar and ice. I stared at her.

ra," he said. His voice was soft and real when he said my name like that

am but had no sound left. He left me. Just like that. For

its back. Each step was a small thing that pushed me forward.

throat hurt and my chest felt raw. I held my pillow and my body shook. I asked the same question I have been asking

s easier than the tiny cuts of silence people give. Helen takes every small thing that could make me smile and crushes

ceiling and my mind wandered back to the dream's voice. Nora... I pressed my palm to my hear

ou hear me, please. Please let me know what it fe

I could not keep it inside me. My wish was not about power or revenge. It was about one small thing I want more than any

r an answer or the world to shift under my feet. Nothing came. Only my o

thought no one could see. Fires. Howls. Old songs. People tied to the moon like they were children

the seconds between my breaths like they were beads on a string. I felt empty and hungr

voice. I thought of the way Ellias had said my name before he left. The warmth of it sat in me lik

ces and the clatter of people preparing. The pack was getting ready. I could hear footsteps and th

row. I imagined the fires and the drums and the old women singing the songs the Moon taugh

l and didn't try to stop them. They were heavy and valueless and tr

"Please," I said, "let me know

ite. I closed my eyes. The house around me breathed and the world we

air tighten like a string pulled taut. I couldn't say what would happen. I only knew I had to

th to my face. Tears soaked the edge and the salt burne

I would not hide. Maybe that was brave. Maybe it was stupid. Maybe nothing would come of it.

ike I wanted to feel my pulse steady. My eyes closed and the house w

d then I said out loud into the dark, the si

orr