Chapter 6
A simple drawing…
That’s all it was supposed to be.
20
Just a drawing. I didn’t think anyone would notice. I didn’t want them to. It wasn’t
Wasn’t meant fo
anyone else–it was just something I had to let out. A feeling
I couldn’t explain in words, so I put it on paper instead.
Two wolves—one etched with wings of light, the other crouched low with eyes full of sorrow, hollow and bleeding pain.
The moment I finished it, I knew what it meant. I didn’t need to write a message or sign my name. The drawing itself was the message.
A message to someone I never met. Someone who had suffered in silence much longer than I ever could. Someone I thought would never see it, and if he did, would never care.
But I was wrong.
That morning, when someone knocked on my dorm door, I thought it was just one of the girls from the floor or the dorm manager. But when I opened it,
I froze.
Beta Alfonso stood there.
And beside him–Louis, looking just as confused as I was.
Three pack warriors flanked the hallway behind them, standing tall and silent like statues, making it clear that this wasn’t a casual visit.
“Beta Alfonso,” I blinked and nod my head in acknowledgment. “It’s… it’s an honor, please come in.”
My voice cracked a little from nerves as I stepped back to let them inside. My heart beat so fast I could feel it in my throat.
Why was the Beta of the pack here?
Did I do something wrong?
I didn’t even have time to process how strange this was. It was barely nine in the morning, and I had a class in twenty minutes. Not that I’d be going now.
Louis gave me an awkward shrug as he walked in behind the Beta/“I swear I didn’t know we were coming to see you,” he said under his breath, giving me a tiny smile of reassurance.
“I–I don’t understand,” I finally said once they were seated. “Is something wrong?”
Beta Alfonso smiled kindly, but there was something serious in his expression too–like he was holding something fragile in his hands and trying not to
break it.
“No, Ellaine, Nothing is wrong,” he said. “Quite the opposite, actually.”
I blinked again. “I don’t follow…”
“The drawing,” he said.
That’s when it clicked.
Oh. My. God!
My chest tightened as my eyes dropped to the floor.
“You saw it…” I whispered.
TA
Chapter 6
He nodded. “I did. But more importantly–he did.”
I swallowed hard. “He.. Such as.. Alpha Francesco?”
“The memorial,” he continued: “We check it often to make sure it stays clean. You’re not the first to leave flowers or a token. But that drawing, it stopped
us in our tracks. We thought it was beautiful. Painful. Honest. But we assumed it was just from an anonymous visitor.”
He paused, his gaze steady on me.
“But last night… for the first time in over three years… the Alpha spoke.”
My eyes widened in disbelief.
Louis gaped. “Wait… wait, “he talked*? To who?”
“To me,” the Beta answered, calm and steady. “He said, “It’s beautiful. She understands.” That’s all he said. Then he walked away.”
Silence filled the dorm room. My ears buzzed, like the world had muted everything else.
“He… he said that?” I finally asked, barely above a whisper.
The Betà smiled gently. “He did.”
My throat tightened… I didn’t know what to say.
I’d heard the stories, just like everyone else. The silent Alpha. The ghost of a man who used to rule like a shadow from behind his walls. After losing his Luna, he hadn’t spoken a word. Some believed he’d gone feral. Others thought he’d gone mad.
And yet, my drawing—*my* simple, sorrow–drenched sketch–made him speak.
“I just wanted to… express something,” I said softly. “I know what it’s like to lose something you thought would last forever. I didn’t mean any offense. I didn’t know if it would be seen…”
“It wasn’t offensive,” Beta Alfonso said gently. “It was… healing. In its own way. And he needed that.”
Louis gave me a small grin. “El, you made the Alpha talk. Do you have any idea how huge that is?”
I shook my head. “I didn’t want to cause trouble…”
“Ellaine,” the Beta interrupted, leaning forward slightly. “You haven’t caused trouble. You’ve done something rare–something meaningful. And while he may not say much, I believe the Alpha is grateful.”
That made my chest twist again, but this time with something warmer than dread.
Grateful?
“I’ll let him know you meant it as a gesture of understanding, not intrusion,” the Beta added. “But I wanted to thank you personally. And to tell you… that you’re seen.”
*Seen.*
Such a simple word. But for someone like me–someone who’d been invisible for most of her life–it meant the world.
I nodded quickly, feeling tears sting behind my eyes. “Thank you, Beta Alfonso.”
He stood, offering me a kind smile before heading toward the door.
Before leaving, he glanced back at me one last time. “Keep drawing, Ellaine. The world needs more truth like yours.”
16:49 Sat, 12 Jul T GO
Chapter 6
When the door shut behind him, Louis stared at me, wide–eyed.
“El,” he said after a beat, “you “broke the Alpha’s silence.”
I couldn’t hold back the overwhelmed laugh that bubbled from my lips.
“Yeah,” I whispered, almost to myself. “I guess I did.”
That night, I sat by the window of my dorm, sketchbook in my lap, pencil in hand.
The Florence skyline stretched out beyond the glass–soft golden hues blending into deep purples and blues as the sun dipped beneath the horizon.
I let the pencil move on its own this time.
I didn’t think. I didn’t plan. I just felt.
Wings….
This time, not on wolves. But on a human form. A shadowed figure wrapped in grief, surrounded by thorns… but with a glimmer of light behind them. Like maybe, just maybe, something had started to shift.
Maybe healing was a quiet thing. A slow thing. Maybe it didn’t come all at once with loud proclamations or tears. Maybe it came through small gestures.. A kind word. A shared sorrow. A drawing left at a memorial.
And maybe, it didn’t matter if you were a rejected she–wolf or a powerful Lycan Alpha.
Pain was pain…
Grief was grief…
And sometimes, the only way through it… was art.
I smiled softly to myself and looked up at the stars beginning to bloom in the darkening sky.
Wherever you are, Francesco Totti… I understand.
And maybe that’s enough for now.
