The wind howled louder than before. My hair whipped across my face as the earth trembled beneath us. Shadows twisted through the trees like smoke, dark tendrils licking at the ground. My body felt like it was burning from the inside, like something old and angry was clawing its way out of me. Kelvin’s voice broke through the chaos. “Rachael!” he called, his voice strained with worry. “Fight it. Stay with me.” But I couldn’t. I didn’t even know what I was fighting. A scream built in my throat, sharp and primal, tearing out of me as my knees hit the ground. My nails dug into the soil, and the pain of my shifting bones made my vision blur. It wasn’t like a normal shift. It felt like my soul was breaking apart, rearranging, becoming something else. The last thing I saw was Kelvin running toward me. Then—darkness. I woke up to silence. The wind had stopped. The earth no longer trembled. The moon hung overhead, full and bright. I sat up slowly. My body felt... different.
Crescent Vale was nothing like I imagined it was to be. The ruins weren’t just ancient as assumed, instead they were cursed. Twisted trees curled like skeletal fingers around crumbling archways. The air hung was heavy, thick with sulfur and silence. Even the wind seemed to hesitate here, like it feared to breathe too loudly to avoid being suffocated. Shadows clung to every corner, like memories which were too dark for me to forget. My footsteps echoed too loud in the quiet, and every instinct inside me screamed to turn back. “This place used to be the Ghost Wolf sanctuary,” Kelvin said, brushing vines away from a cracked stone gate. “Before it became a graveyard.” “Was it the last one we visited?” I asked him with curiosity in my voice. I couldn't remember the root that laid us there. But for sure I could say I never pray to have the same experience we had the last time. It was a whole lot horrible that I had to reject the process of making me the ghost wolf. I don'
The moment the Deathbound Alpha lunged toward us, the shrine exploded into chaos. Kelvin tackled me to the side just as a massive claw tore through the stone where I stood seconds before he helped me. Mike on the other hand shifted mid-air, colliding with the beast’s flank in full alpha form, he snarled and snapped with reckless fury. But it wasn’t enough. This thing wasn’t just a wolf, I could say it was more of a wolf. It was a corpse which was reborn by curse and vengeance. A creature with no heartbeat—only hunger. Hunger of blood. Hunger of flesh and that of revenge! Nothing else matters to it, he was breathing out fire. I scrambled to my feet, ignoring the sting in my ribs. My mother stood frozen at the shrine’s edge, glowing softly, her body flickering like flame in the wind. “Is it really you?” I demanded, even as the wind howled and magic churned around us. Her eyes filled with pain. “I am… but I’m not whole. They found me after the fall of the Ghost Den. The
The air that was surrounding us was thick with ash and magic. My pulse still thundered in my ears from the explosion of power I had released. One assassin died. The other vanished, likely retreating to report what he had witnessed to him. I should’ve felt powerful, more stronger than ever. Instead, I felt… fractured. Like the weakling I was known to be. Kelvin helped me walk, his grip on me was steady and warm. Mike followed behind, silent now. The forest around us was tense, watching. Every branch creaked with suspicion. Every gust of wind carried whispers of something ancient. “You didn’t just awaken your wolf,” Kelvin murmured as we reached a clearing near the edge of a frozen lake. “You called something bigger. You called the Ghost Realm.” I stopped, my breath catching. “What do you mean?” Mike answered for him, voice grim. “The mark they put on you wasn’t just to suppress your powers. It was a blood seal—one linked to the spirit realm. When you broke it… you opened a
The silence that followed Kelvin’s outburst was suffocating. It wrapped around me like an invisible chain, heavy and binding. The weight of two destinies pulled at me from opposite ends—one marred by betrayal and false promises, and the other cloaked in vengeance, sacrifice, and undeniable loyalty. Mike stood there, his shirt soaked in blood, his eyes pleading as if the years of pain he’d caused could be washed away by a single moment of truth. “Rachael, don’t let him turn you against me. I came here for you, not for a fight.” Kelvin scoffed beside me, storm-gray eyes blazing. “You’ve always come for her, Mike. Don’t twist this.” “I know you still feel it,” Mike pressed, stepping forward despite Kelvin’s low growl. “That mark… It’s not just a connection. It’s a bond forged by fate. You can’t erase it.” I took a deep breath, my hands trembling slightly as a strange warmth pulsed at the base of my neck—the very spot Mike had once marked me. The air crackled around us, the sky abo
The silence that followed it was deafening. Mike’s confession had lingered me like a venomous fog was between us. I could feel Kelvin tense beside me, his muscles were twitching under my fingertips, but I didn’t release him. Not yet. That could be dangerous. Because something about Mike’s words… something about the way his voice wrapped around my name—it wasn’t just manipulation. It felt real. Or maybe my wolf just wanted to believe it was real. “You’ve done enough damage,” I said slowly, even though my voice didn’t carry the certainty I hoped for. “Why now, Mike? Why warn me?” He exhaled shakily, and for a brief second, I saw something crack in his eyes as he spoke up. “Because they’re moving faster than expected. The Elders know your powers are close to awakening. They're afraid, Rachael. You’re a threat to everything they’ve built—and if they can't control you, they’ll eliminate you.” Kelvin growled low, his patience th