2. THE DREAM

CLOUD

Present day

Darkness…

It always starts with darkness.

Every single time.

I don’t know why.

I don’t know when.

But the dream always finds me.

I was standing in a place I had never seen before.

A huge castle stood before me.

Its walls were covered in blood.

The ground was filled with broken swords, burning wood, and bodies lying everywhere.

The air smelled like smoke.

I heard people screaming.

Then…

I saw a woman.

She was holding a baby tightly in her arms.

She looked terrified.

Her silver eyes were full of tears.

She kept looking behind her like someone was chasing her.

“Run…” she whispered.

But I couldn’t move.

It was like my feet were stuck to the ground.

Then I saw another person.

A man.

He was lying on the floor with blood all over him.

His armor was broken.

His sword was shattered.

Even though I had never seen him before…

For some reason…

My heart hurt.

It felt like I knew him.

Then…

A loud growl shook the ground.

I turned.

A huge werewolf walked toward a golden crown lying on the floor.

He picked it up.

Then he laughed.

A cold…

Cruel laugh.

Around him, I saw people in chains.

Children crying.

Old people kneeling.

Families being dragged away like slaves.

The whole place felt…

Broken.

Suddenly…

The werewolf turned his head.

He looked straight at me.

His glowing red eyes met mine.

Then he pointed at me.

“There you are…”

I gasped.

Everything around me disappeared.

I opened my eyes.

I sat up so fast that I almost fell off my bed.

I held my chest.

I could hear my heartbeat.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

I rubbed my face.

“This dream again…”

I sighed.

“Seriously…”

“Can my brain not think of something nice for once?”

“I don’t mind dreaming about food.”

“Or becoming rich.”

“But no…”

“It always chooses blood and scary people.”

I shook my head.

“I think my brain is broken.”

I climbed off the bed and sat quietly outside the little wooden hut.

The morning air was cool.

Birds were singing.

The mountains looked peaceful.

It was hard to believe that only a few moments ago I had been inside such a terrible dream.

Who were those people?

Why did they always appear?

Why did that castle feel…

Familiar?

I closed my eyes again, trying to remember every face.

“Cloud!”

I jumped.

“Ah!”

I turned around.

“Uncle Thefar!”

He folded his arms.

“Were you sleeping again?”

I scratched the back of my head.

“I was… thinking.”

He laughed.

“You only call it thinking because you’re too old to call it a nap.”

I smiled.

“That hurts.”

“It was a very intelligent nap.”

He shook his head.

“We’re out of firewood.”

“Can you go to the nearest forest and bring some back?”

“Of course.”

I grabbed my old jacket, my rope, my axe, and the animal-skin bag hanging beside the door.

Just as I was about to leave…

Uncle Thefar held my arm.

His smile disappeared.

His eyes became serious.

“Cloud.”

“Yes?”

“No matter what happens…”

“Do not reveal your true form.”

I frowned.

“But why?”

“You already know why.”

“No one must know who you really are.”

I sighed.

“I know.”

He looked at me for a few more seconds before letting go.

“Be careful.”

“I always am.”

He raised one eyebrow.

“You fell into the river three days ago.”

“That was different.”

“You chased a fish.”

“It looked delicious.”

He sighed deeply.

“Just go.”

I laughed and hurried away before he changed his mind.

As I walked through the village, people began whispering like they always did.

“That’s him.”

“The foreigner.”

“I heard he came from another land.”

“Nobody even knows where.”

“He doesn’t belong here.”

“Maybe he’s an outcast.”

“Stay away from him.”

I kept walking.

Pretending not to hear them.

But every word reached my ears.

Every single one.

Sometimes…

I wondered if they were right.

I didn’t know where I came from.

I didn’t know who my parents were.

The only family I had was Uncle Thefar.

I looked up at the sky.

“Maybe I really don’t belong anywhere.”

I kicked a small stone across the road.

It bounced into a chicken.

The chicken chased me.

“Hey!”

“I said sorry!”

An old woman laughed.

Even I couldn’t help laughing as I escaped the angry bird.

Maybe today wouldn’t be so bad after all.

Soon I reached the forest.

Tall trees surrounded me.

The air smelled fresh.

“This is better.”

“No chickens.”

I placed my bag on the ground and picked up my axe.

THUD!

One swing.

THUD!

Another swing.

After a while I stopped.

I remembered what the villagers had said.

Outcast.

Foreigner.

Doesn’t belong.

My grip tightened.

Before I knew it…

Sharp claws slowly grew from my fingers.

Without thinking, I slammed them into the tree.

CRACK!

The tree split apart.

I stared at my hand.

“Oh…”

“I did it again.”

I quickly looked around.

Nobody.

Good.

I let out a long breath.

“Cloud…”

“You really need to stop doing that.”

Just then…

A scream echoed through the forest.

A woman’s scream.

I froze.

Another scream.

Without thinking, I ran.

Branches slapped against my face as I pushed through the trees.

When I reached the clearing…

I stopped.

A young woman stood surrounded by royal guards.

She had beautiful silver eyes unlike any I had ever seen.

She didn’t look like anyone from our village.

Something about her felt…

Different.

The guards wore armor marked with the symbol of a wolf.

The same symbol Uncle Thefar had shown me many times when telling stories about the fallen Kingdom of Eclipse.

One guard shouted,

“Surrender!”

Instead…

The young woman growled.

Her body transformed into a powerful werewolf.

She attacked.

She was fast.

Very fast.

But there were too many guards.

She knocked two down.

Another grabbed her.

A fourth struck her from behind.

I hid behind a tree.

My heart was racing.

Should I help?

No.

Uncle said never reveal yourself.

But…

She couldn’t win alone.

I closed my eyes.

“Oh, Cloud…”

“Your life was peaceful five minutes ago.”

I sighed.

“So much for collecting firewood.”

Before I could change my mind…

I transformed.

My body became a giant wolf.

With one leap…

I crashed into the middle of the guards.

They flew in every direction.

The young woman looked at me in complete shock.

For a second…

Neither of us moved.

Then another guard attacked.

We fought side by side without saying a word.

She understood my movements.

I understood hers.

Almost like we had fought together before.

Within minutes…

The remaining guards turned and ran.

“We’ll report this!”

One shouted before disappearing into the forest.

Silence returned.

I slowly transformed back into my human form.

The young woman stared at me.

“Who are you?”

I smiled awkwardly.

“You’re welcome.”

She blinked.

“That’s not what I asked.”

“I know.”

“I just thought I’d answer the important part first.”

She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“You don’t understand what you’ve done.”

“What do you mean?”

“You attacked the King’s guards.”

I shrugged.

“They started it.”

She stepped closer.

“You’ve put yourself in danger.”

“And everyone around you.”

“You should leave.”

I frowned.

“But I don’t even know your name.”

She looked at me for a long moment.

It almost seemed like she wanted to say something.

Instead…

She climbed onto a tree branch.

Then another.

Within seconds…

She disappeared into the forest.

I stood there scratching my head.

“Well…”

“That was confusing.”

“I save someone’s life…”

“And somehow I’m the one getting scolded.”

I looked at the pile of firewood I had forgotten.

“Oh no…”

“Uncle is definitely going to kill me before those guards do.”

I tied the wood together with my rope, placed it over my shoulder, and hurried back toward the village.

By the time I reached home, the sun was already setting.

Uncle Thefar was waiting outside the hut.

His face alone told me he already knew something had happened.

He folded his arms.

“What happened?”

I scratched my head.

“So…”

“I may have accidentally saved someone’s life.”

His eyes narrowed.

“Cloud.”

“And maybe…”

“I also accidentally turned into a wolf.”

Silence.

A very long silence.

Then he closed his eyes.

“You revealed your true form.”

“I had no choice.”

“There is always a choice.”

“She would have died!”

“That was not your business!”

His voice was louder than I had ever heard before.

I stared at him.

“I couldn’t just stand there.”

He turned away.

Running one hand over his face.

When he finally spoke…

His voice had become quiet.

“They’ve found you.”

I frowned.

“What do you mean?”

He looked at me with eyes filled with fear.

“You have to leave.”

I laughed nervously.

“Leave?”

“How?”

“For what?”

“Where am I supposed to go?”

Uncle Thefar took a deep breath.

Then, for the first time in my life…

He said words that changed everything.

“Because…”

“It’s time you learned who you really are.”