Protect the innocent

Back at the Nightbane pack after the two scouts got to the pack.

The heavy doors of the Nightbane Pack’s council hall swung open.

Two wolves entered before dropping to one knee.

“Alpha.”

Kaelen Nightbane sat at the head of the stone chamber, one arm resting against the carved armrest of his chair. Firelight danced across the sharp angles of his face, but his expression remained unreadable.

“Report.”

The younger scout lowered his head.

“We found the scent.”

Kaelen’s eyes lifted.

“And?”

“It led us to a house hidden on the outskirts of Ashgrove.”

The older scout continued.

“It wasn’t protected by an ordinary ward.”

Kaelen’s fingers stilled.

“There were no visible runes. No magical barrier.”

He hesitated.

“But the moment we crossed the boundary…”

“My wolf disappeared.”

Silence filled the chamber.

The younger scout swallowed.

“We lost everything.”

“Our strength.”

“Our senses.”

“Even our bond to you.”

Kaelen leaned forward.

“What else?”

The older scout answered quietly.

“The scent vanished the instant it crossed the boundary.”

“It was as if the land itself swallowed it.”

Kaelen closed his eyes.

For a long moment, he said nothing.

When he finally spoke, his voice was almost a whisper.

“The Veil of Isolde.”

Both scouts looked up in surprise.

“You know of it, Alpha?”

“I know enough.”

The hall fell silent again.

Standing a respectful distance away, Kaelen’s Omega, Steffens, studied him carefully.

He had served Kaelen for nearly fifteen years.

He knew every expression the Alpha wore.

This one…

He had never seen before.

Concern.

Hope.

Fear.

All at once.

After dismissing the scouts, Kaelen remained seated, staring into the flames.

Steffens waited until the great doors closed behind them.

“You’ve spent years telling the council the prophecy was nothing more than an old story.”

Kaelen’s gaze never left the fire.

“You said the stories surrounding it were exaggerated.”

Steffens frowned.

“Then why investigate it now?”

A faint smile touched Kaelen’s lips.

“Because I never really doubted the woman who placed it in my hands.”

Steffens brows drew together.

“You knew the witch?”

Kaelen finally looked at him.

“I met her only once.”

His voice grew quieter.

“But once was enough.”

The fire crackled between them.

Steffens waited.

Kaelen rarely spoke of his past.

When he did, every word mattered.

“I was saved by a witch after the great crash.”

“She found near the eastern border after a battle.”

“I have no idea how she survived close to the eastern border she should have hated me.”

“But perhaps she had her motherly instincts alert and only saw a 6year old boy”

A shadow crossed his face.

“She trusted me.”

Steffens remained silent.

Kaelen rose slowly from his chair and walked toward the tall windows overlooking the moonlit forest.

“The last thing she gave me…”

He looked toward the distant darkness beyond the glass.

“…wasn’t a warning.”

“It was a choice.”

His reflection stared back at him.

“To return her the favor in the future or be on the wrong side of the prophecy “

The memory he had buried for twenty-five years surfaced once more.

The blood.

The moonlight.

The witch tenderness.

And the prophecy that should never have become his burden.

Twenty-five years ago

Twenty-One Years Earlier

Moonlight spilled across the forest, turning the blood-stained ground silver.

The battle had ended hours ago.

Broken branches, discarded weapons, and the scent of blood lingered in the cold night air.

Kaelen lays dying beside his father who had fallen in the hands of rival wolfs

A little tap had woken him and saw a stranger middle aged woman and then sleeps the next second.

He was awake after heaven knows how long with his legs banged.

He heads out to find that the woman was already out in the woods and the but looks nothing like where a person lived to live but to survive. More like someone on a run.

She wasn’t a wolf.

He knew that immediately.

She was a witch.

One of the elder witches, judging by the intricate silver runes embroidered into the sleeves of her robe hanged in the room.

“Are you awake”

Her voice was rather soothing.

She should have been out, he searched everywhere so what??

The moment he turned around.

Golden.

Wise.

Unafraid.

“You…” he whispered.

Kaelen went beside her.

“I know you.”

A faint smile crossed her lips.

“Yes you happens to be the only well raised kid I have seen in this wealthy neighborhood.”

He knows she has been mocked by kids his age and he never joined in.

She gave him a bottle of water wrapped in strange clothing after taking a sip off it.

“You shouldn’t be helping me,” he said.

“You’ve crossed into Nightbane territory and your scent is very obvious they will come for you.”

He said then drank all the liquid in the bottle as though he didn’t get it from a witch.

“No.”

“They are useless here in.”

For the first time, genuine surprise flickered across his face.

“The veil of Isolde.”

He frowned.

“What is that?”

“It’s an old spell….” She coughs.

Kaelen said nothing.

“I saved your life”

“Does wolves return favours?”

Especially not during an age when wolves and witches were sworn enemies.

The woman studied him for several long moments.

Then, with trembling fingers, she reached beneath her cloak and withdrew a tightly wrapped bundle of worn parchment.

“Take this.”

Kaelen didn’t move.

“What is it?”

“A prophecy. It drew me to you the first time and you are the reason I lingered around you, you are part of this prophecy and you will chose between protecting one from my bloodline or be on the other, side in the future you will lead your own pack”

He almost laughed.

“Witches have too many prophecies.”

“This one,” she said softly, “you shall see it when it had already begun.”

Her hand shook as she placed the bundle into his palm.

“The day will come when wolf and witch will have one mission and This mission is rooted in fear, uncertainty and corruption.”

Kaelen looked down at the weathered parchment.

“You will know if to return this favor then”

The woman smiled weakly.

“I don’t have much time left, I must return to the coven to make sure my daughter is safe, I will take the blame and let my daughter live with the lies, I also see her breaking free from the lies and choosing her path”

Silence settled between them.

The wind stirred the trees overhead.

She looked toward the moon, her eyes suddenly distant.

“I had hoped to complete this mission…”

She paused.

“…that perhaps you the Alpha it spoke of.”

Kaelen looked up.

“The Alpha?”

She laughed quietly, though the sound ended in another painful cough.

“The one on the path that protects my bloodline and brings the witches to justice”

She shook her head.

“I hope the last part of the prophecy also protects you.”

His brow furrowed.

For the first time since he’d found her, uncertainty crossed her face.

She stared at him as though debating whether to reveal something.

Then…

She smiled.

Her voice became barely audible.

“…protect the innocent.”

Her breathing faltered.

“Not because they’re wolves.”

“Not because they’re witches.”

“But because they’re innocent.”

Kaelen’s grip tightened around the prophecy.

“I don’t even know your name.”

The woman looked at him for what would be the last time.

“You don’t need to My daughter is seraphine, she is 20 and I haven’t seen her in 10years.”

Her eyes drifted toward the moonlit sky.

“I have done my path”

She exhaled.

“Have this porridge and get some rest”

Kaelen did that and till next morning he woke up alone and never saw her again, the only proof that wasn’t a dream was that he had the prophecy with him.

The prophecy rested heavily in his hands.

He had never believed in destiny.

Yet for reasons he couldn’t explain…

He took the parchment with him.

He never learned the witch’s name.

But he never forgot her final request.

Protect the innocent.