Ariana’s POV

The soft morning sun filtered through the blinds, casting golden streaks across the resident lounge. My scrubs clung to me from the long shift, and exhaustion wrapped around my bones like lead. But today, I wasn't on call. That meant I could finally go home.

Home, where Grandma would be waiting with her warm herbal tea and unsolicited spiritual warnings. Just the thought of my own bed, silence, and maybe sleep without beeping monitors made me want to cry from joy.

As I folded my white coat into my duffel, Allyn sprawled on the couch, one sock off, hair an absolute mess. “You know what, Ari? I’m just going to marry the Alpha of Highfang Pack and never look back,” she declared, dramatically tossing her stethoscope on the floor.

I snorted. “Again with the Alpha fantasy? I love how you escape your reality with crazy imaginations.” i chuckled

She wagged a finger at me. “That’s what you think. My cousin swears her neighbor’s friend saw a guy shift into a wolf last month.”

I rolled my eyes. “Right. And I’m secretly the reincarnation of a moon goddess.” We both laughed

As Allyn kept rambling about the “forbidden love between a human surgeon and a deadly Alpha,” I zipped my bag and slung it over my shoulder. The fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, I was already halfway to the door when she called out behind me.

"Don’t forget your badge again, Ariana!"

I paused, patted my chest pocket, it was empty.

With a sigh, I trudged back and snatched it off the table. “Thanks. The last thing I need is security tackling me on my way out.”

“See? You’re definitely not an Alpha’s mate. They never forget anything.”

“Bye, Allyn,” I said with a tired smile, stepping into the hallway.

The hospital corridors were quieter now. Nurses were exchanging shifts, and the scent of antiseptic clung to the walls like a second skin. I passed the pediatric wing, where tiny giggles filtered out of a room, then the ICU, where machines hummed a rhythmic lullaby of life and loss.

Outside, the morning air hit me like a balm, cool, fresh, real. The hospital faded behind me with every step I took toward the small bus station nearby. I lived just two stops away, tucked in a quiet street near the edge of town where time felt slower.

Grandma’s garden greeted me first, roses in full bloom, and the faint scent of lavender always lingering in the walkway, my favourite time of entering the house. Her house was modest, but every corner of it breathed warmth.

She was waiting on the porch, grey hair neatly tucked into a scarf, eyes sharper than any consultant I’d worked wit

“You’re late,” she said, handing me a steaming mug of tea before I could speak.

“You know how Allyn can be sometimes, she held me back with talk of werewolves and fairy tale Alphas,” I replied, taking the cup.

She didn’t laugh. Her eyes flicked up, just for a second. Thoughtful. Almost... worried.

“There’s truth in stories, Ariana. You just have to know where to look.”

"Yeah, right, but I'm not interested in looking now" I said heading inside the house, to my room.

I must have knocked out the second my head hit the pillow.

Sleep came like a wave, deep and dreamless. No monitors, no page calls, no adrenaline spikes. Just stillness. When I finally opened my eyes, the soft scent of something familiar coaxed me fully awake, jollof rice and plantains.

A gentle knock sounded before the door creaked open. Grandma stepped in with a small tray. “You need to eat something, child. You didn’t touch your tea.”

I sat up slowly, blinking the sleep from my eyes. “I didn’t mean to crash that hard.”

“You work too much. You carry too much,” she said, placing the tray on the bedside table. Her hand brushed over my forehead, cool and comforting. “You’re warm. Not fever-warm, just tired-warm.”

She sat on the edge of the bed as I dug into the food. The rice was spicy, perfect. The fried plantains were still warm, golden and crisp.

“Allyn’s thinking of marrying a wolf,” I muttered between bites." That girl is silly" I continued with a chuckle

Grandma smiled,but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “People joke about the things they fear. Or dream of.”

I raised an eyebrow. “You always say strange things like that. Why do you talk like the Oracle of Emberpine?”

Her lips curved, but again, the smile was faint. “Because sometimes the earth whispers truths. You just haven’t learned how to listen yet.”

I finished eating in silence, letting her words settle somewhere in the background of my thoughts. Grandma reached into her pocket and placed something gently on the nightstand.

"Whats that"? I asked her, dropping the plate of already finished food on the table stand beside my bed.

"A remembrance of what you are and will always be" she said bringing a really weird looking necklace towards my neck, it looked really ancient with faint blue glow pulsing before dimming again

“I think… it’s time we talked,” she said softly "it's a neckpiece connected to the Crescent stone of our linage "

I stared at the Crescent Stone. Its surface was smooth and cool, but there was something ancient in the way it pulsed, like it remembered things I’d forgotten.

Grandma sat back, her fingers laced on her lap. “This stone… It's been in our family for generations. Passed down, mother to daughter. Always.”

I tilted my head. “What is it exactly?”

Her gaze drifted to the window, where sunlight filtered through lace curtains. “A keeper of balance. A protector. Your great-grandmother carried it during the war. Her mother before that. And now…” she glanced at me, something heavy in her eyes, “it’s yours.”

I frowned. “So, we’re… what, guardians?”

She nodded slowly. “Our bloodline was chosen long ago. We don’t just heal people, Ariana. We carry something older than medicine. A promise to humanity. A duty.”

My brain tried to grasp the words, but they felt slippery. “Chosen by who? For what?”

She hesitated, lips pressing into a line. “That part… is not for today. You’re not ready yet. But soon. You’ll feel it.”

“I don’t want to feel anything,” I whispered. “I just want to finish residency, be a surgeon, and live a normal life.”

Her hand reached for mine. “Some destinies aren’t meant to be normal.”

We sat in silence, the necklace resting on my neck like a quiet secret.

Then, faintly, I heard it. Not with my ears, but deep in my chest i felt a hum, soft and rhythmic, matching my heartbeat. It pulsed again.

“Why now?” I asked.

Grandma stood, smoothing her skirt. “Because the veil is thinning. And something… is waking up.”