Chapter 2–The hunt begins

Aria stood confused, her heart racing and fire burning through her lungs.Behind her, Maeron shouted.

“Let her fall! The prophecy ends here!”

The prophecy.The word sent chills down her spine.

Amidst the chaos, she turned around, meeting Maeron’s pals gaze.For the first time, she saw fear in his eyes.Not hatred—but fear.

Why?

The guards marched forward.

Aria opened her arms wide, feeling hopeful than ever.

“If fate plans for me to die, it will have to try harder.” She whispered.

With that, she jumped.

The wind screamed around her and the mist swallowed her.The rest of the world seemed to blur into silver and red.For a moment, she thought she saw Kael’s face in the moon whispering to her, Run  my love.

Then it all went black.

She woke up to rain dripping from the trees above her.She lay on moss, her leg bandaged and her throat sore.

Elias crouched right next to her, his eyes empty but relieved.

“You’re safe for now Aria.”

Aria sat up weakly.“How did I—”

“I caught you midway down.You don’t remember?”

She shook her head.“I didn’t see anything.”

He stood up and looked towards the mountains.“We have to start moving.The council must have sent a tracker after you.There is no time to waste.”

“A tracker?” She asked, sounding confused

Elias nodded.“His name is Dax Riven.Some call him the wolf of no mercy.They say he has never failed a mission.”

Aria’s heart pounded.“Let's keep moving then.”

Elias met her gaze.“No Aria, you can’t keep running forever.You have to find out who killed Kael and why they did it before Dax gets to us.”

Aria’s fist tightened.“Then we begin tonight.”

The moon pierced through the clouds, casting silver light over her tear-streaked face.Somewhere deep in the dark forest, a wolf howled—a low, haunting sound.The sound stirred panic in her.

It wasn’t the sound of a warning.

It was a promise.

The forest sat still and quieter than ever.

Aria hunched beneath a fallen log, gripping the edge of her torn cloak.Rain dropped softly above her, dripping down her hair and soaking her clothes.Her wolf struggled beneath her skin, restless to come out but the pain in her leg kept her in her human form.

A few paces forward stood Elias, scanning the trees.

His scent was masked by herbs and his movements were quiet.

He had always been good at hiding, after all he was once a tracker himself before being made a guard by Kael.

“How much longer till we reach the border?” Aria whispered weakly.

“Another day, that is if we move a bit faster.”He looked back.“We have to use short cuts rather than the path.The council’s hunter will track us down faster with scent spells if we don’t.”

Aria nodded with a sigh.“Then let’s take the riverside.The strong current will cover our trail.”

Elias looked at her in hesitance.“I think you need rest.You are still bleeding.”

“No Elias, I can’t rest.Not until I find out who killed him.”

Her voice cracked.

“Of what use is the truth if you die now?” Elias looked away. His jaw tightened.“We will find the truth.I swear it.But for now, rest and regain your strength.”

Far behind them, somewhere beneath the cliffs, another wolf searched through the mist.

He needed not the help of a torch.His sharp eyes cut through the darkness like a blade.Every breath he took covered the air with frost.

Dax riven went after the faint scent of moonfire and fear.

After a long search, the guards found no trace of Aria’s body below the cliffs.That made Maeron extremely furious.

It was no surprise to Dax Riven.

He had studied the Luna from afar sometime back.

She was gentle, yes.But soft, no.

“She jumped,” one of the younger trackers said nervously.

“No wolf can survive a fall like that.”

Dax did not reply to him.His sharp eyes continued to scan around.

He knelt down.Brushing his fingers over a patch of moss on some rocks at the edge of the cliffs.There laid burnt  straps of silver hair on the rocks.Still warm.

“She lived,” he murmured to himself.

The young tracker shivered from the cold, “What do we tell the council since there’s no evidence of her death?”

Dax rose to his feet, rain drizzling down the black leather of his coat.“We report that she is not dead and that we will find her.”

He turned his gaze towards the fog, as if he could see through.For a moment, his pupils turned silver— the mark of the shadow blood.After blinking, they returned to grey.

  

The day was a long but quiet one.

Aria limped beside the river bank.Her body ached with every step she took.Every time she closed her eyes, she imagined seeing Kael’s face—peaceful, innocent, trusting but dead.

The forest seemed heavier by the minute, whispering secrets.Sometimes she thought she saw weird creatures between the trees, staring at her.Their eyes glowed faint gold—but they disappeared when she blinked.

By nightfall, the drizzling rain stopped.They made camp near the river’s bend.

Elias handed her a piece of bread.“Eat, you need all the strength you can get.”

She took it, though she wasn’t hungry.“They’ll come after us, right?”

“They already have.”

Her gaze fell onto the fire.“Sometimes I wonder, Elias, what if we are never able to uncover the truth? What  if the council wins?”

 “Then we will find another way, there’s always a way Aria.” Elias said quietly.

“Kael always believed in unity and we will honor that till our last breath.”

His eyes softened when they fell on her.There was something in there—something he had never had the guts to say while Kael lived.

She turned away nervously before he could summon courage.

Miles away, Dax Riven continued searching relentlessly.

He followed her faint scent into the valley.

Her essence was rare—moonfire woven into her blood.

It summoned something deep within him.

He squatted beside a stream,dipping his fingers into the current.The scent was faint, almost unnoticed but it was there.

“East,” he murmured to himself.

He began to follow like a shadow among the trees.

Something was wrong.The further he went, the stronger the pull got—not just of a hunter to a prey, but of recognition and want.His wolf was restless beneath his skin, wild and drawn.

He ignored it with all his strength.

Years of experience had taught him not to trust his instincts.

He was on a mission to kill her if capture failed.That was the law.And Dax Riven always obeyed the law.

Dusk fell on the trees slowly, bleeding the last ray of gold from the sky.Their shadows grew taller through the trunks like silent hunters until the entire forest was cloaked in deep darkness.

Aria lay on her back, staring at the stars above.

Maeron’s voice kept playing in her head:the prophecy ends tonight.

Why did the prophecy matter so much even in the moment of her death?

She wrapped her hands around her belly instinctively.She frowned.That was nothing—just her body’s way of responding to being nervous.And yet, she felt strange lately, her strength surging and fading untimely.

“Elias,” she whispered softly.

He turned to her, “Yes Aria?”

“Did Kael mean uniting the pack when he said he was close to peace?”

“Yes.”

“Why would someone kill him for wanting that?”

“Because peace would mean sharing power and Maeron’s council does not want that.” He replied bitterly.

Aria nodded, but distress was evident in her eyes.She knew Kael’s death had a deeper cause.Something that had started long before that unforgettable night.

A rustle in the trees made her heart race.

Elias drew his dagger and placed his index finger on his lips, signaling Aria to be quiet.

The forest went completely still.Then a massive shadowy figure emerged from the trees.

It was a rogue wolf—black as pitch and eyes burning red.

“Run Aria!” Elias shouted.