Silent Noise Read online

  Copyright ©: Lana Fox

  Publisher: Lana Fox

  E-ISBN: 978-1-77626-089-8

  First Edition: 2021

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  Editing: Anita Vosser

  Cover design: Mariaan Joubert

  Typesetting: Liezl Strydom

  Also available in printed format:

  ISBN: 978-1-77626-052-2

  First Edition: 2021

  Print on demand

  Printing and binding by:

  Groep 7 Drukkers en Uitgewers (Pty) Ltd

  Pretoria

  www.groep7.co.za

  To my best friend, Colene, and my mom, for always motivating me and my Inkitt readers who helped me to believe in myself.

  Dear reader

  Thank you for choosing my book out of the scores of others. This is my first book and as it is self-published I want to thank you for understanding that there may still be a few things that slipped through the cracks.

  I hope you enjoy Lily’s story.

  Happy reading

  Lana

  Chapter 1

  Lily

  My ears perk up as a gentle knock sounds from my bedroom door. Rubbing my hand over my face and stretching out like a cat, I start to flutter my eyelids open, only to quickly clamp them shut again and groan as the light seeping in through my curtains instantly stings my sleepy eyes.

  “Miss Lily, breakfast will be served in 30 minutes.” The soothing voice of our housekeeper comes from the other side of the door.

  I hastily glance at the tiny screen of my alarm clock sitting on the bedside table. It is already 7:30 in the morning, making me ALMOST late for breakfast.

  “Thank you, Miriam,” I croak out. “I will be right down.”

  Miriam lingers a little while longer in the hallway before she talks again. “Alpha Leonidas asked me to remind you of tonight’s formal dinner,” she says although it sounded more like a question.

  I scrunch my face up and try to remember which dinner she is referring to.

  “The one with Shadow Creek Pack.” Her voice seeps into the room again, sounding neutral.

  “Oh, yes. Thank you, Miriam. Will you lay my black off-shoulder dress out for me?” I ask her, already excited for tonight’s festivities.

  “Of course, Miss,” she answers and walks down the hall, probably on her way to my brother Axel’s room.

  Axel and I are twins. We share a few similar characteristics, both in appearance and personality. This is probably why we are so close.

  We both have straight, golden blonde hair, paired with light, baby-blue eyes and fair skin. Axel wears his hair in a low-maintenance, Buzz Cut, with short, neatly trimmed hair along the sides of his head and slightly longer, messier hair on top, usually earning him multiple second glances from the ladies.

  Our older brother, Cassius, is only two years older than us. Because he recently turned 18, he has already started his Alpha training with my father—the current Alpha of Hollow Stone. Cassius is the first-born son of Alpha Leonidas and Luna Eleanor, my parents, making him the heir and future Alpha of Hollow Stone.

  Because of our bloodline, we are all expected to partake in extensive combat training from the early age of twelve years. Being part of the Alpha’s household makes us instant targets; therefore, we need to be able to defend ourselves and our pack. Thus, we all adhere to a strict training schedule consisting of combat training, endurance training and self-defense.

  Still lying lazily in bed, daydreaming about meeting our friends from Shadow Creek tonight, Axel barges into my room without even knocking and falls down onto my bed right next to me.

  “You are going to be late for breakfast,” Axel chimes in a teasing tone, pointing his index finger at me.

  “Nah, I won’t,” I snort. “How long does it take to throw on a clean shirt and some shorts?” I reply mockingly.

  “Well, depends on how many clean shirts and shorts you try on before finding the right one,” he teases again cocking his brow at me.

  I repeatedly poke him hard in the ribs with my finger. “Aren’t you a smarty pants so early in the morning?”

  “At least I have picked out a pair of pants!” he jokes back, still chuckling. With that, I abruptly push him off the bed and listen to his body, landing on the floor with a loud thud. Muffling my giggle, I peer over the side of the bed and give him a cocky smile before throwing off my blankets and sauntering to my own private bathroom.

  I look in the mirror and splash some ice-cold water on my face trying to rid myself of the last signs of sleepiness.

  “You know, mom and dad, along with most of the other Alphas, will be at the provincial meeting all of next week,” Axel casually says, leaning on the doorframe with his arms crossed over his chest.

  I just give him a quick glance in the mirror and a smirk in return. I know all too well what he is getting at. Then, without being able to help myself, a goofy smile stretches over my face, and I can hear Axel snickering at my expense from behind.

  “You can inform lover boy tonight,” he says suggestively with a wink and a wiggle of his eyebrows.

  I quickly finish wiping the last remaining drops of water from my face before jokingly throwing the towel at him and briskly walking out of the bathroom.

  Grabbing a dark blue casual t-shirt and a pair of ripped denim shorts from my closet, I turn to see a very mischievous looking Axel tapping the watch on his wrist mockingly. “Like I said, late for breakfast!” he yells whilst quickly walking out of the room and heading to the dining hall.

  “Damn,” I mutter under my breath, throwing my clothes on and rushing out of the room.

  On my way to the dining hall, I swiftly put my hair up in a messy bun, taking the stairs two steps at a time.

  Mom is going to kill me.

  As soon as I step into the hall, my eyes fall on our table immediately, spotting my brothers and mother already seated and waiting for me. Even from across the room, I can see my mom looking pretty annoyed.

  Although she is clearly agitated by my lack of punctuality, she keeps her composure in front of the pack members already seated and waiting on my arrival.

  The rest of the tables around the hall are also filled. Everybody is eyeing me and waiting for me to sit down. It is customary for the Alpha’s household to receive their food first before anybody else are allowed to start eating.

  I hurry through the hall, making sure to keep my head down and swiftly pull out a chair next to Cassius. My mother glares at me for a second before gracefully standing up and lifting her chin.

  “Proceed.” Her melodic voice is laced with authority as she addresses everybody in the room.

  As soon as she sits down, the loud sounds of chatter and the clinking of cutlery can be heard throughout the hall. Axel looks at me from across the table and snickers under his breath.

  “A future Luna never leaves her pack waiting,” my mother says coldly without looking up from her plate.

  I just stare at her wide-eyed, not knowing what to say in return.

  “Cassius, how is your shoulder feeling this morning?” my mother asks, finally looking up from her plate and changing the subject. Her expression is void of emotion as she waits for his answer.

  “Feeling much better, thank you, Mom. Nothing that a good night’s rest and a warm bath can’t fix,” he replies, giving her a charming smile.

 
Cassius dislocated his shoulder yesterday during a training session, but thanks to our fast healing as werewolves, it should already be fully healed and pain-free.

  Werewolves, like us, usually live in small communities called packs. Every pack has an Alpha, who is considered the leader of the pack. In this case, my father. To be a strong and worthy Alpha, one must be from an Alpha bloodline.

  In a pack, we see each of the members as family, and all decisions are made to benefit the welfare of the pack as a whole. This is usually the job of the Alpha and Luna. A Luna is the mate of the Alpha, kind of like the ‘Queen’ of the pack.

  Because I am a female from an Alpha bloodline, there is a very good chance that I will one day be paired up with an Alpha from another pack, making me the Luna of that pack.

  Knowing this, my mother is constantly trying to educate me in ‘the ways of a proper Luna’, although I am only sixteen and not completely ready for that role just yet.

  It is unheard of for a Luna to be paired up with an Alpha before the age of eighteen, leaving me two more years to fix up my act and start acting like the lady they expect.

  The rest of breakfast goes by without any further incidents. After breakfast, Cassius, Axel and I go to our rooms to change into our training attire before starting with our daily training program.

  Chapter 2

  Lily

  Dressed in running shoes, a bright pink tank top and black leggings, I fasten my hair into a high ponytail and head out to the training grounds where we will begin our training for the day.

  Today is agility and endurance training, not exactly my favorite, but definitely needed when training to become a great warrior, or in my case, Luna of a pack.

  I meet up with the rest of the warriors standing around, waiting for the training to begin. We have about ten minutes to spare and I immediately walk over to my best friend, Sala, already talking to Axel, Cassius, and Chase.

  The five of us are pretty close and usually stick together during training or any other pack activities. Chase and Cassius are both eighteen and already training for their future, very important positions in the pack. Chase as the future Beta and Cassius as the future Alpha.

  Chase is our Beta’s son, which means that he will take over from his dad as the new Beta of the pack, as soon as the new Alpha, in this case, Cassius, is announced.

  The Beta wolf is the second in command, after the Alpha and Luna. They act as a discipliner to reinforce the Alpha’s decisions and enforce the rules of the pack. The Betas also stands in as Alpha when the Alpha is not present. In short, they are pretty badass and difficult to take down because of their strength and level of combat training.

  “Will you be attending tonight’s festivities?” I hear Chase asking Sala when I join them.

  Sala puts her arm around my shoulders and pulls me into a sideways hug pushing our cheeks together as soon as she sees me. We are both smiling brightly, just thinking about tonight’s events.

  “I won’t be able to join you guys for the dinner, as it is only for high-ranking pack members,” she answers in a high-pitched mocking tone, trying to sound very posh. “But I will most definitely be joining the festivities outside the castle,” she continues, smiling at him and giving us all a wiggling brow.

  Sala is training to become a pack warrior, so she is not considered a high-ranking pack member like the rest of us, although we don’t treat her any differently. She is just as much a part of us as any other family member.

  The formal dinner will take place in the dining hall of the castle and will only be attended by the households of the Alphas and Betas of the packs that were invited. However, most Alphas travel with a small group of warriors when entering the borders of neighboring packs. All of these warriors set up tents just outside of the castle walls, making huge bonfires and taking part in their own festivities. Drinking, dancing, and catching up with old friends from other packs. This usually gets quite rowdy and carries on into the early hours.

  “Alright pups, gather around!” The voice of Delta Kane booms across the open field, calling us all together. “Today we will be running along the border of the pack grounds as a warmup!”

  Axel and I immediately make eye contact, both of us cocking a brow. This is just one of the silly things that we do when we both share a thought. Right now, it is a ‘we are as good as dead’ thought.

  “Most of you are training to become warriors or other high-ranking individuals of this pack, which means that you will be taking part in border patrols on a regular basis!”

  Loud groans could be heard throughout the group, although Delta Kane continued without being fazed by it at all.

  A Delta is the pack’s third in command, just below the Alpha and Beta, but higher ranking than other wolves.

  “Start getting used to it!” He eyes us seriously one by one whilst carrying on with his speech. “The border is your new best friend! Get to know your friend intimately! For most nights you will be spending your time with the border, instead of with your future mate!” he yells.

  “Very dramatic,” Axel mind-links me in a mocking tone, rolling his eyes. I couldn’t help but chuckle under my breath, trying to hide it with a slight cough. “Make love to the border, get married to the border, be one with the border.” Axel continued to mock in a high-pitched voice ringing through our mind-link.

  Because we are connected by birth to our family members, we can mind-link with one another. This means that we can communicate with anyone in the family at any time through thought alone. Alpha’s on the other hand, have the special ability to mind-link with any pack member at any given time, this is called a pack link.

  “Axe, cut it out, you are going to get us into trouble,” I replied through the mind-link, pretending to fasten my shoelaces so no one could see my face.

  I tried to suppress my laughter before straightening back up, although I am not completely sure if I had gotten it right.

  “Get going pups if you want to make it back in time for lunch!” Delta Kane’s voice boomed one last time before we all took off at a brisk pace.

  Being born a werewolf, each of us receives a wolf side and a human side from the Moon Goddess. She is our deity, a divine being that all werewolves believe in. Our wolf side grants us many special abilities, such as super hearing, extremely sensitive sense of smell, fast healing, mind-link and of course, being able to transform into a wolf.

  The Moon Goddess is also the one who pairs us with our own destined soulmate, the other half of your soul. A person made especially for you. Your wolf side, as well as your human side, would be able to recognize your ‘mate’ as soon as you turn eighteen. At that time, the bond will snap into place, drawing you towards one another.

  The mate bond is magical, and the strongest bond there is between werewolves. It may be a blessing, or it may be a terrible curse.

  Once you find your mate, you are bound to them for life or until one of you die. Losing a mate is one of the worst things that can happen to a wolf. Some werewolves recover after many years, while others never recover from the loss of such an intimate bond and gradually go insane or take their own life.

  “Looks like we won’t be saving all our energy for tonight’s party after all.” I hear Sala commenting from behind. I snort in response, glancing at her over my shoulder while keeping a steady pace.

  “You think Raiden will be there?” she asks, falling in alongside me.

  “Yeah, I’m sure he will,” I answer, trying to keep my breathing even.

  “Shadow Creek is one of our closest allies, my father will most definitely have invited them.”

  “You guys going to sneak off again and leave me alone with Chase?” Sala asks jokingly, cocking a brow at me.

  “Most definitely,” I answer her very confidently, only getting a chuckle in return.

  Chapter 3

  Lily

  It is alr
eady late afternoon by the time we are finished with training for the day. We had to complete the obstacle course ten times after lunch, leaving all of us scattered on the ground, heaving heavily, trying to catch our breath.

  My lungs are burning, and my muscles are sore, but I feel strangely blissful lying flat on my back on the soft, plush grass with my arm covering my eyes.

  Sala is sitting next to me with her knees propped up and her head dangling in between. She is still trying to catch her breath as she stares at the ground, lost in her own thoughts.

  “We should get back,” Sala casually says, picking her head up with a sigh. “Don’t want to miss out on dolling up for the boys,” she playfully says, bumping me gently with her fist.

  I groan and sit up to look at her. We both stare at each other for a second before breaking out in smiles.

  “You should get back before mom bursts an artery,” I hear Axel tease sarcastically as he walks past us heading towards the castle.

  Sala just gives me a knowing look before standing up and stretching her arm out for me to grab. I gratefully accept and let her pull me up onto my feet. We walk back chatting as the neighboring packs start to arrive in the courtyard.

  Heading straight for my room, I sigh in relief and smile when I see my pretty black dress gracefully laid out on the bed. I hop in the shower and let the warm, soothing water run over my tired muscles, rinsing away the day’s hardships. I quickly wash my hair and take a second to inhale the rising steam and let my mind wander to Raiden.

  He is Alpha Anderson’s only son and future Alpha of Shadow Creek. They are our closest neighboring pack and also one of our closest allies.

  Because of this, many of the young wolves in our pack have friends in Shadow Creek. We regularly sneak out of the pack grounds in small groups to meet up with the youngsters from Shadow Creek in a stretch of unclaimed forest between our two packs.

  It is at one of these gatherings almost two years ago that I met Raiden. We had an instant connection and have been sneaking out to meet in the forest, along with the rest of the youngsters, every chance we get.