Alison’s POV
The first thing I noticed was the noise.
It wasn’t the hum of machinery or the muted sounds of nature outside my window… it was voices. A cacophony of them. They overlapped and twisted together like a symphony gone wrong. Some were angry, others were mournful, and a few were so quiet they seemed to whisper secrets just out of reach.
The more I tried to tune them out, the louder they grew, crashing against each other in a storm of unintelligible words and emotions.
My body felt heavy as I stirred. I wasn’t fully awake yet, but the voices… they wouldn’t let me slip back into the comforting darkness.
“Why did this happen to her?”
“I’ll kill anyone who touches her.”
“She’ll be fine… won’t she?”
Who did these voices belong to? Why did they sound so close yet so far? My heart raced as panic gripped me. My eyelids fluttered, and I forced them open, the brightness of the room blinding me momentarily.
I blinked rapidly, and when my vision cleared, I saw them. Xander sat beside my bed, his hands gripping mine with an intensity that sent a jolt of warmth through me. My parents hovered nearby, their faces a mixture of concern and fear.
The room was still, but the voices raged on.
“Alison,” Xander said softly, leaning closer. His eyes were shadowed with worry, but his voice was calm, steady. “You’re awake.”
The voices clashed again, louder this time. My head throbbed, and I winced, bringing my hands to my ears.
“Stop!” I shouted, my voice hoarse. “Stop it! All of you, just stop!”
They exchanged glances, confusion etched across their faces. But I didn’t need to see their expressions to know what they were thinking.. I could hear it.
“Is she in pain?”
“What’s happening to her?”
“oh no, She’s losing it. She’s losing her mind.”
“No, no!” I screamed, shaking my head violently. My hands pressed harder against my ears, but it didn’t help. “I’m not crazy!”
“My love, no one said you were,” Xander said, his voice calm but firm.
“You didn’t say it out, but you thought it!” I snapped, glaring at him. “I heard you, Xander! I heard you!”
The room fell deathly silent. For a moment, the voices dimmed, leaving only the pounding of my heart in my ears.
“What are you talking about?” my mother asked cautiously, her voice trembling.
I turned my wild gaze to her. “I can hear you. All of you. Your thoughts. They’re screaming in my head!”
Xander reached for my hand again, but I pulled away, shaking. “Alison, no one’s saying anything. Whatever you’re hearing… it’s not real.”
“It is real!” I shouted, tears streaming down my face. “It’s real, and it’s driving me insane!”
My father stepped forward, his brows knitted in concern. “Sweetheart, calm down. We’ll figure this out. Just… ”
“No! Stop talking!” I screamed, clutching my head as the voices surged again, then an idea occurred to me immediately. “someone… Someone please bring Simone!”
“Simone?” my father repeated, his confusion deepening.
“She’s a friend,” Xander explained quickly, his voice tinged with urgency. “Someone Alison met recently, she had told me about her days back.”
My father’s gaze darkened, and his tone turned wary. “What does she have to do with this?”
“She’ll know what’s happening to me,” I whispered, my voice breaking. “Please, just bring her.”
For a moment, my father hesitated. I could hear his doubts, his reluctance.
“This Simone could be dangerous.”
“She might be the cause of this.”
“No!” I screamed again, gripping the sheets tightly. “She’s not dangerous. Just bring her! Please!”
My father exchanged a look with Xander before nodding reluctantly. “I’ll send someone to get her.”
The next half hour felt like an eternity. The voices didn’t stop, their relentless barrage making it nearly impossible to think. My mother tried to soothe me, but her voice both spoken and unspoken only added to the chaos. Xander stayed close, his hand hovering near mine but never touching, as if he feared one wrong move would break me.
Finally, the door opened, and Simone entered, her cane tapping softly against the floor. Her presence was like a balm to my frayed nerves.
“Ally,” she said gently, her unseeing eyes turning in my direction. “I’m here.”
She moved with a calmness that belied the storm in my heart, her steps measured and sure. As she reached my bedside, she placed a cool hand on my arm, her touch grounding me.
The voices quieted.
I gasped, my hands falling away from my ears. “They’re gone,” I whispered, staring at her in awe. “The voices… they stopped.”
Simone smiled faintly, her head tilting as though she were listening to something only she could hear. “For now my friend.”
My father, who had been watching from the corner of the room, stepped forward. “What do you mean, ‘for now’?”
Simone turned toward his voice and bowed slightly, a gesture of respect. “Alpha, Your daughter has been gifted with a rare ability,” she explained. “She can hear people’s thoughts. But because she has no control over it, the voices are overwhelming her.”
“Gifted?” I repeated, my voice rising. “You call this gift? This isn’t a gift. It’s a punishment! How am I supposed to live like this, listening to everyone’s inner thoughts? I’ll go insane! Few minutes into it I feel my head ache, imagine an eternity with it”
Simone placed a calming hand on my shoulder. “It’s not as bad as you think, my friend. With proper training, you won’t hear all thoughts, only the ones you choose to hear.”
Her words were meant to reassure me, but they felt like a far-off dream, unreachable in the chaos I was experiencing.
“How can she learn it, Can you train her?” my father asked, his voice steady but tinged with desperation.
Simone nodded. “I can. But it will take time, patience, and a willingness to learn.”
“Do it,” Xander said immediately, his voice firm and unwavering.
As if on cue, the voices returned, creeping into my mind like a rising tide. I whimpered, clutching my head as the noise grew louder and louder.
“Please,” I whispered, my voice breaking. “Make it stop. Just make it stop.”
Simone’s hand remained on my shoulder, her presence a small island of calm in the storm. But the voices were relentless, crashing against me with renewed vigor.
Through the chaos, a strange thought crossed my mind: How does the Moon Goddess hear everyone’s wishes amidst all this noise?