Chapter thirty nine: blood of goldwolf

Finnick’s POV

The white wolf stood at the edge of the trees, its eyes glowing like moons. Not silver. Not gold. Something colder—something that didn’t belong to this world. It didn’t growl. It didn’t move. It just watched.

I stood frozen.

“Who are you?” I asked, my voice barely more than a whisper.

The white wolf didn’t answer. It tilted its head slowly, then turned and vanished into the forest without a sound—no crunch of leaves, no snap of branches. Gone, like a dream you forget the moment you wake up.

But the feeling it left behind stayed with me.

Something unnatural had been born. Something that shouldn’t exist.

I didn’t wait. I shifted into my wolf form and ran—faster than I ever had—following Freya’s scent. My paws hit the earth hard, my heart slamming against my ribs. I didn’t know how far she had gone or what she was trying to do.

But I had to find her.

Because I could feel it now—like a string tied between our hearts—pulling tighter. Something was happening to her.

And it was getting worse.

Hours passed. Maybe more.

By the time I found her, the moon was rising.

She was standing at the edge of a jagged cliff in Eldermire, looking down into the canyon. Wind howled around her. The air smelled like metal and magic.

This was it.

The place the old stories called Vein of the Ancients.

It was real.

A river ran through the canyon far below—silver-blue and glowing faintly. The legends said it wasn’t made of water, but something older. The blood of the first wolves. The source of the Nightfang line. Only those who drank from it could survive the death of a god.

I shifted back into human form and walked toward her.

“Freya.”

She didn’t turn. “You shouldn’t have followed me.”

“You knew I would.”

She nodded. Her voice was quiet but steady. “He’s getting stronger. I feel him in my veins. In my thoughts. I can’t stop him… not like this.”

“You don’t have to do this alone.”

She finally looked at me. Her eyes weren’t just glowing—they were *flickering*, like flame. “If I drink from the river, it might destroy me. Or it might destroy him. That’s a risk I have to take.”

My chest tightened. “And if it changes you?”

Her lips trembled. “Then I’ll still be me. I have to believe that.”

I stepped closer and touched her face. “I believe in you.”

She closed her eyes, leaned her forehead against mine, and whispered, “Whatever happens, remember I love you.”

“Always.”

Then—she jumped.

The fall was fast.

She hit the river like light meeting lightning—no splash, no sound—just a burst of silver light that rose into the sky.

I shouted her name.

For a long moment… nothing.

Then the river turned dark—deep purple mixed with silver. A spiral formed in the water, spinning faster and faster, and then—

She rose from it.

Not swimming. Floating.

Freya’s body glowed with raw power. Her hair flowed like it was caught in wind. The mark on her chest was gone—but in its place, a star-shaped scar glowed bright gold.

She opened her eyes—and the world shivered.

Something had changed.

She landed lightly on the rock near the edge of the river. Steam curled around her like mist.

I ran down to her, heart racing.

“Freya?”

She looked at me. Smiled faintly.

“I’m still me,” she said. “But I’m more now.”

I reached for her, pulled her close. Her body was warm—too warm—but not burning like before. And when I kissed her, she kissed me back like she’d just come back from the edge of death.

Maybe she had.

***************************

We camped in the canyon that night, hiding in a cave behind the waterfall that spilled from the Vein. She couldn’t sleep. Neither could I.

“Everything’s louder now,” she whispered, resting against me. “Every sound. Every heartbeat. Every voice… even the ones that shouldn’t be there.”

“Veyrix?”

She nodded. “He’s still inside me. But now I can see his thoughts, not just hear them.”

I frowned. “What is he planning?”

Her voice turned cold. “War. But not the kind we know. He wants to break the walls between the spirit world and ours. To remake everything. Tear down the packs. Unleash the primal wolves who never bowed to the moon.”

I tightened my hold on her. “We won’t let him.”

She took a deep breath. “I saw something else too. A vision.”

I looked at her. “What did you see?”

She met my eyes. “The final battle. It’s close. I saw the field—wolves from every pack fighting together. I saw Taron… injured. Kael… gone.” She paused.

“And I saw you.”

I waited.

“You were standing in front of me. Shielding me from Veyrix. But he cut through you like you were paper. You fell… and didn’t get back up.”

The silence between us was heavy.

I swallowed. “Then we change that. We fight smarter. Together.”

“I don’t know if we can.”

“You’ve never been alone, Freya. And you’re not starting now.”

She smiled sadly. “I don’t deserve you.”

“You’ve saved me more times than I can count. I’m just returning the favor.”

She leaned against my chest, and I wrapped my arms around her, praying the vision wouldn’t come true.

By morning, we were already climbing out of the canyon. Time was running out. We needed to return to the packs. Warn them. Unite them. Because Veyrix wasn’t waiting.

And he had followers now.

Two days later, we returned to the Moonfang camp.

Everything was different.

The sky had turned gray and heavy. The wind carried whispers. The wolves were tense—snapping at each other, watching the trees.

Taron met us at the edge.

“You’re alive,” he said, eyes wide.

“She drank from the Vein,” I told him. “She’s stronger now. The mark is gone.”

Taron looked at her carefully. “Is *he* gone?”

“No,” Freya said. “But I’m stronger than him now. And I know what we have to do.”

That night, the packs gathered.

Freya stood before them, glowing slightly, her voice louder than it had ever been.

“Veyrix is rising,” she said. “He’s building an army of rogues, spirits, and creatures that once walked only in nightmares. But we are not alone. We are wolves. We are packs. And together—we will make our final stand.”

Howls rang out.

Unity.

Strength.

Hope.

And as the night passed and we lay side by side under the stars, Freya turned to me and whispered, “No more running.”

I kissed her. “No more.”

But just before dawn, I woke with a jolt.

Freya was shaking beside me, eyes glowing with terror.

“I saw it again,” she whispered. “The future. The battle.”

“And?”

She swallowed. “I was different. Not just stronger. Bigger. Glowing. My fur was pure silver. I wasn’t a wolf. I was… something more. Something divine.”

I waited, heart pounding.

“And Veyrix was falling. Dying. But—”

She looked at me, her voice breaking.

“You were already gone.”

Freya awakens her God wolf form but sees a vision of Finnick’s death in the final battle.