Whispers of the Wolf

My Wolves

Orion

A click. A creak.

Then the sound of feet running along the concrete floor.

I barely had time to stand, before I saw Radley running towards my cell.

Wait ... Radley?

What was he doing here?

I rushed towards the bars, just as Radley reached them.

"Orion!" He cried, a big smile on his face as he gripped on to the bars, then screamed as he pulled away.

"Radley!" Alaric's voice boomed through the cells and he was there in an instant, kissing Radley's head, holding him close.

"Is he okay?" I asked as Alaric pulled back a little.

He gently took Radley's hands into his own, turning them over to look closely at them. Tears fell from Radley's eyes and he whimpered as Alaric kissed his palms.

"His skin is burned from the silver bars." Alaric cast a quick glance at me, before drawing Radley close again.

"How ..." Radley hiccuped. "How is that possible? I've never been burned by silver before." He buried his head in Alaric's neck, his shoulders shaking.

I frowned, confused. Radley was a werewolf - he would have always been burned by silver.

Alaric must have caught my confused look as he held up a finger in my direction, then answered Radley's question. "You've never come into contact with silver before. All the metal in your house would be steel. Not even silver plated."

Radley raised his head to look at Alaric. In the dim light of the cells, I could see a sheen of fresh tears coating his eyes. Alaric glanced at me from over the top of Radley's head, an unreadable look in his eyes.

What was going on?

Shifting my gaze back to Radley, I felt my chest squeeze and my heart ached. I wanted to touch him. Hold him. I pushed my arm between two of the bars as far as it would reach, my fingertips brushing against Radley's t-shirt.

"Let's have a look at your hands," I muttered gently to him. Alaric loosened his hold, throwing me a warning look as he did, so that Radley could turn to face me. He held out his hands tentatively, his arms shaking.

Ignoring Alaric, I held Radley's hands gently, glanced down at them ... and tried not to gasp. Blisters were forming on the palms of his hands, the skin red raw, his fingers shivering.

"Oh my god," I murmured, wanting to bring his hands to my lips to kiss away the pain.

"His wolf will help heal the burns," Alaric said softly. He hooked a finger under Radley's chin and turned his face towards him. Alaric frowned a little. "No more gripping the bars of the cells. Okay?"

Radley nodded, then turned to face me.

"Why did you grab the bars?" I asked, letting his hands go. "You must have known they were silver. I mean, they're designed to keep wolves under control while being kept prisoner."

Alaric gave me a hard look, then rolled his eyes.

"He's only just learned that he's a werewolf," Alaric muttered. "This morning, in fact."

What?

My gaze darted to Radley's face, and I noticed the lost look in his eyes, the confusion etched into his cute face, the quiver of his bottom lip.

"How?" I breathed.

Radley hadn't known he was a werewolf? But ... how? He lived in a pack of wolves. They shifted and ran through the woods behind his house. I'd seen it with my own eyes. Was even caught by a wolf myself.