The trees closed in behind her like guardians. Moss clung to ancient trunks, and silver light filtered through the dense canopy. The forest was alive with murmurs. Branches creaked like old bones, and glowing eyes blinked from the shadows. But Aria felt no fear.
Something guided her.
By midday, she reached a stream and knelt to drink. Her reflection shimmered. For a moment, she saw something else—golden eyes instead of her green ones. A flash of fur. Then it was gone.
She looked up to find a figure watching her from across the water.
A man—tall, broad, his dark hair falling to his shoulders. His bare chest rippled with scars and tattoos that shimmered faintly under the sunlight. His eyes glowed gold. Not human.
"You followed the howl," he said.
Aria stood slowly. "You're...?"
"Alpha Kael," he said. "And you're late."
He turned and vanished into the forest. Aria hesitated only a moment before following.
---
They walked in silence through ancient trees. Kael's strides were long, purposeful, while Aria struggled to keep up. Though his presence felt feral, something about him was grounding—an invisible thread tying them together.
Finally, they arrived at a hidden glade ringed by obsidian stones. Small huts, smoke curling lazily from their chimneys, stood nestled among the trees. Children ran barefoot while warriors sparred in the clearing.
"A village of wolves," Aria whispered.
Kael glanced at her. "A sanctuary. For those hunted by your kind."
"My kind?"
"Humans who burn what they don't understand. Witches. Wolves. The old blood."
A woman with silver hair approached, her violet eyes kind but sharp. "You brought her, Alpha?"
Kael nodded. "She bears the mark."
The woman stepped closer and touched Aria's cheek. A warmth spread beneath her skin, like sunlight and wildfire intertwined.
"She is raw," the woman said. "Untrained. But there is power in her. And pain."
Aria pulled back. "Who are you people?"
"We are what you were meant to become," Kael said. "Your father was one of us once."
She froze. "What?"
"He left to protect you," the woman said. "And died for it."
Anger surged in Aria's chest. "You knew him?"
Kael's jaw clenched. "He was my blood-brother. And you are his legacy."
Thunder rumbled in the distance.
Kael motioned to a nearby hut. "Rest. We'll begin at moonrise."
---
That night, Aria dreamed again. A blazing moon. Her hands dripping with blood. A voice echoing: *Choose the pack or the pyre.*
She awoke in sweat. Kael stood at her door.
"Come."
He led her to a stone circle beneath the moonlight. Wolves surrounded it—some in fur, others in human form, all watching silently.
"This is your trial," Kael said. "To claim your place."
A young man stepped forward—tall, with wild eyes and a cruel smile. "I'll test the girl."
Kael nodded. "Daxon volunteered."
Daxon shifted mid-leap, fur exploding from his skin. Aria dodged just in time, the swipe grazing her ribs.
Pain flared. But it awakened something deep within her.
Her vision sharpened. Her hearing doubled. Her blood surged with ancient power.
She snarled—an animal sound—and launched herself at him.
The two clashed beneath the stars, growling and snarling. Claws against claws. Rage against fury.
When it ended, Daxon lay panting on the ground, his flank bloodied.
Kael stepped forward. "You fight like your father."
Aria stood tall despite the pain. "He taught me to fight dirty."
Laughter rippled through the wolves.
Kael's smirk faded slowly. "Then it's time you learn what it means to fight as one of us."
---
The days that followed blurred into routine. Dawn began with physical training—climbing trees, wrestling warriors, tracking animals. Aria bruised, bled, and fell countless times. But she rose stronger each day.
At night, they practiced shifting. The pain of transformation was unimaginable—like fire threading through her bones—but each time, it grew easier. Her senses sharpened. Her reflexes quickened.
One night, Kael found her beside the stream.
"You train like someone running from something," he said.
"I am," she admitted. "From the girl who couldn't save her father. From the fire. From being weak."
Kael stepped closer. "Strength isn't in the body. It's in the will. And your will... burns."
Their eyes met. Heat flared between them—electric and dangerous.
He lifted a hand, brushing her cheek with surprising gentleness. "You don't have to run anymore."
Her breath caught.
Then the moment was gone, replaced by the rustle of wings and a messenger landing nearby.
Kael's expression darkened as he took the note.
"Trouble?" she asked.
He nodded. "There's movement near the human borders. A woman with a silver tongue and a dark crown."
Mircella.
"She's hunting you," he said.
Aria's eyes narrowed. "Then it's time she found out what I've become."
**To be continued...**