Alison’s POV
The room was quiet, except for the gentle hum of the wind outside. Quiet, but far from calm.
I sat cross-legged on the floor, my hands gripping the edges of a woven mat as if holding on to it would somehow anchor me. Simone sat across from me, serene and unbothered, as though my chaos didn’t rattle her in the slightest. Her cane rested beside her, and her unseeing eyes stared past me into the void.
“Close your eyes, Ally,” she said, her voice low and steady. “You need to focus on the silence within.”
Silence within? It was almost laughable. How could I find silence when a thousand voices still clawed at my sanity? One voice was angry, another mournful, and then there was the constant hum of mundane thoughts that belonged to people I couldn’t even see.
“I can’t do this,” I muttered, opening my eyes. My fingers tightened around the mat, and frustration built in my chest like a pressure cooker. “It’s too much. I can’t focus on anything because there’s no silence.”
Simone tilted her head slightly, her lips twitching into a faint smile. “That’s because you’re fighting the voices, Alison. You’re trying to block them out completely, and that’s most definitely impossible. You need to embrace them. Accept them. Only then will you have control.”
“Embrace them?” I scoffed, rubbing my temples. “You make it sound like this is some gift, Simone, it’s more like a curse to me.”
“This is a gift,” she replied gently, leaning forward. “But like any gift, it must be nurtured, not resisted, you don’t seem to know how many people would die to have this gift, and I believe there’s a reason the moon goddess chose you for this rare gift. Now, again. Close your eyes.”
Rolling my eyes reluctantly, I did as she asked.
“Breathe,” she instructed. “In through your nose, out through your mouth. Slowly. Deliberately.”
I took a shaky breath, and then another, trying to let the rhythmic rise and fall of my chest center me. For a moment, the voices seemed to fade, their edges softening.
But then they surged back, louder than before. A wave of overlapping emotions and fragmented thoughts crashed into me, and I gasped, clutching my head.
“Ahhh!! I can’t!” I cried, my voice trembling. “It’s too much, Simone!”
“You can,” she said firmly, her calmness unwavering. “You just haven’t put in enough effort in learning how yet. Trust me once you get the hang of it you will be okay.”
Her patience with me was both infuriating and oddly comforting all at once.
This pattern repeated for days, me trying and failing, Simone calmly guiding me back to the start. Each failure felt like a punch to the gut, a reminder of how far I still had to go. But Simone never lost faith. She never scolded me or showed frustration, which only made me more determined to keep going.
And today, something shifted.
We sat on the mat once more, the late afternoon sunlight streaming through the windows and painting the room in golden hues. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply, letting Simone’s calm presence wash over me.
“Let the voices in,” she said. “Don’t fight them. Let them flow past you like a river.”
I hesitated, then let go of the resistance that had been holding me back for so long. The voices surged again, but this time, I didn’t flinch. I let them wash over me, observing without attaching myself to them. Slowly, they began to untangle, each one becoming distinct instead of a chaotic blur.
And then, there it was, the silence within.
A calm space where I could breathe, think, and exist without being overwhelmed.
I opened my eyes, and tears spilled down my cheeks. “I… I did it,” I whispered, my voice trembling with disbelief. “I did it.”
Simone smiled, a look of quiet pride on her face. “Yes, you did. You’re stronger than you think, Alison.”
Without thinking, I lunged forward and hugged her tightly, the joy in my chest threatening to burst. “Thank you Simone,” I whispered.
Her laughter was soft and warm. “This is only the beginning, my dear. But you’ve taken the first step, and that’s what matters the most.”
I pulled away, wiping my tears, and reached for my phone. “I need to tell Xander. He’s been so worried about me. He will be so proud.”
Simone nodded, her expression thoughtful. “Go ahead. Celebrate your victory, I need to get some water.”
With trembling fingers, I dialed Xander’s number. He picked up almost immediately, his voice a mix of relief and curiosity. “Alison? Are you okay?”
“I’m more than okay,” I said, unable to keep the grin off my face. “I did it, Xander. I finally controlled the voices.”
“That’s amazing,” he said, and I could hear the genuine happiness in his tone. “I knew you could do it.”
As he spoke, something unusual happened. For the first time, I could hear his thoughts clearly even from miles away from me.
“Should I tell her about the hearing? She’ll want to know, but it might stress her out… Maybe I should wait…”
“Xander,” I interrupted, my smile fading slightly. “Is there something you’re not telling me?”
He paused, and I could practically feel his hesitation. “What do you mean?”
“You very much know I read your thoughts,” I admitted, my voice soft. “You were just debating whether to tell me about something. What is it?”
He sighed, and I imagined him running a hand through his hair in that nervous way he always did. “There’s a hearing tomorrow,” he said finally. “Kendrick and Priya’s case. It got moved because of some ceremony in the head Alpha’s pack.”
I blinked, the news catching me off guard. “I thought the hearing already happened.”
“Like I said, they rescheduled,” he explained. “I didn’t want to burden you with it, not after everything you’ve been through.”
“I see,” I said quietly. “Okay.”
“My Love… ”
“I have to go,” I said abruptly, ending the call before he could protest.
I sat there for a moment, staring at the phone in my hand. My thoughts were a whirlwind. Did I want to attend this hearing? Could I face the person who had tried to kill me by poisoning me alongside the reason she had done it?
“Alison?” Simone’s gentle voice pulled me back to reality, she had walked back to her bench.
I looked up to find her watching me with a knowing expression, though she was blind but she always knew when my mood altered “What’s troubling you?”
I sighed, setting my phone aside. “The hearing tomorrow. Kendrick and Priya… Priya is the one I told you that tried to kill me by poisoning me. I want to go. I want to look her in the eye and show her how strong she had made me”
Simone tilted her head thoughtfully. “And what do you hope to gain from that?”
“Maybe, closure,” I admitted. “I need to understand.”
She smiled faintly. “Then you should go. Keeping a clean conscience is important.”
I nodded slowly, her words sinking in.
The rest of the day passed in a blur of quiet moments and laughter. Simone and I spent hours talking, her wisdom and warmth filling the spaces in my heart I hadn’t realized were empty.
By the time I returned home, the sun had dipped below the horizon, painting the sky in deep shades of orange and pink. I made my way upstairs, hesitating outside my father’s room before knocking gently.
“Come in,” his voice called, soft but steady.
I opened the door to find him lying in bed, a book resting on his lap. He looked up with a smile, his face lighting up when he saw me.
“My little Turtle,” he said warmly. “Come sit.” I was told he called me that because of my passionate love for sea turtle as a baby
I crossed the room and perched on the edge of the bed. “How are you feeling today dad?”
“Better,” he said, setting the book aside. “What about you? You look… different. Calmer.”
“I am,” I admitted, smiling. “Simone’s been helping me. I’m finally getting the hang of controlling my gift.”
He reached for my hand, his grip gentle but reassuring. “I’m proud of you, sweetheart.”
I hesitated, then took a deep breath. “I want to go to the hearing tomorrow. With you.”
His smile faltered, worry flickering in his eyes. “Baby, are you sure? I don’t want you to relive that pain ever again.”
“I’m sure,” I said firmly. “I need to do this, Dad. For myself.”
He studied me for a moment before nodding reluctantly. “Okay. If you’re certain, I’ll support you.”
“Thank you,” I said softly, squeezing his hand.
As I made my way back to my room, a sudden doubt began to creep in.
Am I really ready to face them?