Under The Oak Tree Ch 17 Novels & Stories

She is clinging to the bark, her body shaking violently. I run to the base of the trunk. Betty. Let go of the branch. I force the words straight into her mind through the link. She shakes her head, her teeth chattering so hard I can hear them from the ground. Trust me, Betty. Drop. She releases her grip by an inch. The ground gives another massive shudder, and the oak tree bends completely in half, its highest leaves brushing against my shoulders. Betty slides down the smooth bark, her body falling straight into my front paws.

“For years now, the land has been left fallow for grass to grow and this year, I can assure you all, that something massive has been planned.” “Can you tell us —” one of the students started but was cut short. “Unfortunately, I can't tell you all what it is as I don't know it, too.” After some minutes of walking, they got to the field which happened to be the place where Brie had trained Harold last semester. The grasses had been leveled and was a lush, tropical green world which homed butterflies and other insects. “I wonder what it is they plan to do here? Any idea?” the student next to Max whispered to him. He simply rolled his eyes in disgust and said nothing.

I suck in a sharp breath and exhale it out as a scream with Granny Fae and Grandpa Jules as the tree descends. "Timber!" Uncle Alan yells fearfully until the tree lands loudly on its side. Everyone jumps before running to the windows. And when we see what the tree landed on, I almost faint. "What is that underneath it?" Little Susan asks. "Our rental car," Claude growls angrily. The alarm blares for a few moments until eventually dying out with the rest of the vehicle smashed underneath the tree. I can see it in Claude's face - he wants to curse, he wants to scream, he wants to run out into the rain and kick something. And I do, too - all three of us do. But more importantly, I want to. Why

When it collapsed, its eyes dimmed, but the dark stain on the earth remained. Breathing hard, I wiped frost from my cheek and scanned the trees. “They’re stronger than we thought.” Silas nodded grimly. “And smarter.” We pressed on, the trail growing colder but no less ominous. Twisted trees gave way to a clearing where the ground was scorched black — a place of dark magic. “I don’t like this,” Mara said, voice low. “It feels like a trap.” “Stay close,” I ordered. “Nyx is watching.”

I murmured. POV: Darius Kai always forgot one thing: He ruled the forest. But I ruled the dark between the trees. I leaned against an old oak some distance from the ridge, hands in my pockets, head tilted back to watch the moon carve silver through the branches. The pack’s tension rolled through the roots like heat. Kai’s anger. Rowan’s panic. The girl’s awakening. And underneath all of it— the old one. Stirring. Testing. Amused.

The dying oak meant something. “Should we tell Jax?” Sarah asked downstairs. “We should mind our business,” I said. She shook her head. “It’s our duty.” She was right. But I already knew how it would end. Jax would never believe us. I returned to the temple at sunset. The oak tree stood in the courtyard, barely alive. I pressed my hand to the bark. “What are you trying to tell me?” It didn’t answer. But I understood. Something was coming. And I was running out of time to stop it.

Maya’s POV: I look at the huge oak tree in front of us and forget how to breathe for a moment. It is taller than the rest. Its trunk is wide and old, with deep lines running along the bark. The branches stretch high, almost touching the moon. Lyra walks closer and places her palm on the tree like she knows it. “This is the oldest tree in this part of the forest,” she says softly. I step beside her. “How do you know?”

How many times had they put themselves in danger while I was too focused on war plans and elder meetings to notice? I stayed far enough back that they wouldn't hear me. Close enough to intervene if something went wrong. The trees grew thicker. The light grew dimmer. Shadows stretched long and dark across the forest floor. Still, the children kept running. Finally, they stopped. A massive oak tree loomed ahead. Ancient and gnarled. Its roots twisted up from the ground like frozen snakes. Its branches spread wide, blocking out what little remained of the evening sky. Carl and Karin dropped to their knees beneath it.

The man said weakly as he held out his hand. As everyone minus Jill reached out their hands to help him a smile creeped up on his face and Jill knowing something bad would happen and couldn’t stop it in time so she grabbed his hand as well and, in a flash, they were gone. The box itself that Jill was worried about had also disappeared and in a sudden flash of lightning the great infamous oak tree of Oaken Hills was struck.

“Alright! Alright! My bad! I know you don’t do your niece! That’s completely incest!” The girl laughed as she received a stern look from Silas. I bowed my head. I just looked at the noisy dry leaves whenever I stepped on them. Do they have a relationship? The girl was just laughing at his irritability. They seemed used to each other. “What tree is this?” I asked while touching the big tree we stopped at. “Oak tree,” the girl replied shortly and stood beside me. We were out of the forest, but this area still seemed to belong to the homeowner. There was not a single person in sight, and only one type of tree was planted. The environment here is pure green—with dark green grass, big oak trees,