Teeth in the Dark

The forest came alive with sound—snarls, snapping branches, the thunder of paws. Kaelen ran, his lungs burning, every step tripping over roots and stones. Elira was ahead, swift and sure despite the arrow still lodged in her side. She moved like the trees themselves bent to her will, gliding through the undergrowth with impossible grace.

Behind them, the werewolves closed in. Their howls crashed through the night like waves battering the shore.

“They’re faster than us!” Kaelen gasped, stumbling.

“Keep running,” Elira snapped. “Do not stop until I say.”

A shadow hurtled past them, slamming into the ground with a thud that shook the soil. One of the wolves had leapt ahead, blocking their path. Its silver eyes gleamed with hunger.

Elira loosed an arrow in a blur. The shaft struck the creature’s chest, slowing it, but not stopping it. With a guttural snarl, it lunged. Elira shoved Kaelen aside, rolling beneath the beast’s swipe and slashing her dagger across its throat. Dark blood sprayed across the leaves, and the wolf collapsed with a strangled howl.

Kaelen scrambled up, heart hammering. “How—how are we supposed to fight all of them?”

“We’re not,” Elira said through clenched teeth. She grabbed his wrist, pulling him forward. “We’re supposed to survive.”

They broke into a clearing, moonlight spilling across the grass. For a heartbeat Kaelen thought they had escaped—then he saw silver eyes glinting in every direction. The pack had surrounded them.

The largest wolf padded forward, blood still dripping from its wounded shoulder. It towered over Kaelen, the smell of musk and iron thick around it.

“You cannot run from the Moon,” it rumbled. “Your blood sings to us. It is ours.”

Kaelen’s mouth went dry. He gripped the melted remains of the poker still clutched in his hand, utterly useless. The fire inside him stirred, clawing at his chest, demanding to be let out.

Elira stepped between him and the wolf, dagger raised, though her breath came shallow with pain. “He is not yours.”

The wolf’s gaze shifted to her, and its grin widened. “Elf bound to oath. You will die for him, and he will burn for you. Such is the curse of your kind.”

Elira’s hand trembled, but her voice was steady. “Better to burn than to kneel.”

The wolf snarled and leapt.

Kaelen didn’t think. The fire inside him surged, bursting free with a roar. Flame erupted from his hands, washing across the clearing in a blinding wave. The werewolf mid-leap shrieked as fire consumed its fur, crashing to the ground in a heap of smoke. The others howled, recoiling from the sudden blaze.

But Kaelen didn’t stop. The fire poured out of him, wild and merciless. Trees ignited, grass blackened, smoke filled the clearing. His body shook with the force of it, veins alight like molten metal. He felt powerful, untouchable—yet also hollow, as though something inside him was being devoured.

“Kaelen!” Elira’s voice cut through the inferno.

He turned. She stood a few paces away, her face lit by firelight, her eyes wide—not with fear, but with desperation.

“Enough!” she shouted. “If you don’t stop, you’ll kill us both!”

Her words pierced through the haze. The fire faltered, stuttering in his chest. Pain followed, sharp and unbearable, as though knives of flame carved through his veins. He gasped and dropped to his knees, the blaze collapsing into embers. Smoke choked the air, and the wolves retreated into the shadows, snarling.

The pack leader glared at him from the edge of the clearing, its fur singed, eyes burning with fury. “This is not over, Thorne. The Moon will have you.”

Then, with a final growl, the wolves melted back into the forest, leaving the clearing scorched and silent.

Kaelen collapsed forward, his body trembling, his skin fever-hot. Elira knelt beside him, pressing a hand to his shoulder.

“You nearly burned everything,” she said softly, her voice trembling despite its steadiness. “Including me.”

Kaelen looked at her, horror and guilt flooding through him. “I—I couldn’t stop it.”

Her violet eyes met his, fierce and unyielding. “Then you must learn. Because if you don’t, Kaelen Thorne, the fire will consume more than just you. It will consume us all.”