Semua Bab THE SILENCE OF LYCAN ISLE: Bab 11 - Bab 20

The first wave of supplies arrived by boat early in the morning, long crates carried across the deck and down onto the private dock as though they held sacred artifacts. Tiana had been sent to deliver a message to the downstairs staff when she glimpsed them being unloaded – tall wooden boxes stamped with gold seal wax bearing the Lycan crest: a wolf’s head crowned with thorns.“Handle them with clean gloves only,” one supervisor warned. “They’re one-of-a-kind artifacts from overseas.”Tiana paused, curiosity pricking her mind. She wondered what it felt like to live in a world where things held more value than people.She flinched at the thought.Perhaps it wasn’t the world – perhaps it was just Ross Lycan’s world.*By midday, the mansion transformed into an organized storm of activity. Tiana assisted in cleaning the glass veranda, where guests would mingle and overlook the moonlit ocean when the night of celebration finally arrived. She worked in silence alongside two senior maids who

The morning of the festival dawned unusually bright, as if even the sun remembered what day it was. Tiana had barely opened her eyes before the distant drums and chattering voices reached her – an expectant sound that seeped into her bones.Lycan Isle had never been usually this animated. But on this day, even the waves seemed to pull back, as though the ocean itself were taking a breath before the island burst alive with drums, lanterns, dances, and the old rituals honouring the tides and the souls carried away by them.The Moon Tide Festival wasn’t just an event here; it was a living heartbeat, a yearly story the entire island told together, a solemn yet uplifting celebration that embodied the island’s deep connection to the sea. It began as a humble tribute by the early settlers of the island to honour the sea’s bounty and the brave souls who navigated its treacherous waters.The first island dweller, Captain Shadrack Lycan Mayweather, initiated the festival. He believed that the mo

When they reached a quieter path near the cliffs, Ross finally stopped and turned to her.“Tiana. Look at me.”She tried. Failed. Tried again. Finally her eyes reached his. His jaw was clenched, but his gaze was gentle.“No one, and I mean no one speaks to you like that,” he said. “Not while I’m here.”“But what she said…” Tiana swallowed, voice shaky. “She’s right, Ross. I don’t fit in. People stare. They whisper. They think I’m—”He stepped closer. “I don’t care what they think.”“But I do!” she snapped, voice cracking. “I’m tired of feeling like I’m walking around someone else’s world hoping I don’t break something. I’m tired of looking over my shoulder every second. And I’m tired of being humiliated just for standing next to you!”The confession ripped out of her like a wound finally tearing open.Ross’s expression softened. “Tiana…”Before he could reach for her again, drums began pounding across the island – the opening call of the Moon Tide Festival.Villagers cheered in the dis

The hallway was still ringing with Clara’s final, poisonous whisper when Tiana finally managed to move again. Her pulse throbbed painfully in her throat, her palms damp despite the cold air inside the mansion.She needed to breathe. To think. To escape Clara’s suffocating presence.So, she left the manor. Just a short walk down the path toward the edge of the gardens – just enough to clear her head.The late afternoon light had faded, turning Lycan Isle’s trees into long, spindly silhouettes. The forest always looked darker than it should at this time of night, shadows pooling between the pines like ink.Tiana wrapped her arms around herself, taking slow steps down the stone path.“Miss Greene?”She turned sharply.One of the estate’s junior groundskeepers stood a few feet away, cap pulled low, hands nervously wringing a rope he carried. She recognized him vaguely – quiet, always working with his head down.“Yes?” she asked.“You’re needed,” he said quickly. “Mr. Lycan sent me to fetch

Ross froze. Tiana felt his fingers go cold against her skin.The servant held out a small, damp object wrapped in cloth. Ross snatched it, unwrapped it – and the moment he did, his entire body went rigid.It was a rusted silver chain. With a pendant. A second pendant. Cracked down the middle. Matching the one found eleven years ago.Tiana’s breath faltered. “Ross… what does that mean?”Ross stared at it, horror creeping into his expression. “It means,” he whispered, “Nathaniel wasn’t alone. Someone was with him.”Tiana’s blood turned to ice.“And that someone,” Ross said slowly, “knew exactly where you’d run last night.”Their eyes met. Everything clicked into place like a trap snapping shut.Someone had led her into the same part of the forest where Nathaniel vanished. Someone had wanted her found. Someone who might have returned after eleven years.Tiana’s voice cracked with fear. “Ross… who would do that?”Ross’s jaw tightened, and a shadow crossed his eyes – a cold, deadly shadow T