Wolves in the smoke
570 Words
The scent of betrayal clung to the wind.
Ash. Steel. Sweat. And worst of all trust, burned and broken.
Mira led the pursuit through the Whispering Pines, her cloak flaring behind her like wings of vengeance. Behind her, Maelra and Kade ran silent, lethal, each footfall a promise of death.
“They moved fast,” Maelra growled, scanning the trail of broken twigs and smeared prints. “They knew we’d follow.”
“Lucan was always ten steps ahead,” Mira muttered. “Now he’s just running in circles, waiting for us to walk into them.”
Kade unsheathed his blade. “Then let’s not keep the bastard waiting.”
They found them near dusk huddled in an abandoned war camp, lit by green fire and twisted ritual markings. Wolves hers stood in a half-circle, heads bowed as Tessa stood atop a stone altar, arms wide.
Her hair was longer. Blacker. Her eyes burned with ancient darkness.
“My queen returns,” she said sweetly, as Mira stepped into the light.
“Tessa.”
“Did you miss me?”
Mira didn’t answer.
Tessa chuckled. “You always had the better magic. But I had the better plan.”
Mira scanned the crowd. Her wolves… enchanted. Bound. Lucan stood beside Tessa, his smirk sharp.
“You poisoned their minds,” Mira said.
“No,” Tessa replied. “I freed them. You think they wanted to follow you? A cursed weapon built to bring war? No. They wanted peace. And I offered it.”
“Peace doesn’t come with chains.”
“Chains you gave them first.”
Mira stepped forward. “Let them go, Tessa. Whatever pain you’ve carried I didn’t cause it.”
Tessa’s smile dropped.
“No, but your birth did. You killed my mother, Mira. Indirectly or not. Your mother burned everything down and I watched my pack collapse for you. For the cursed heir. I lost everything.”
“And so you became the thing that broke us all.”
“No.” Tessa raised her hand.
The air cracked.
A spell hit the ground, forming a glowing circle.
“I became the thing that will fix us.”
A roar shook the trees.
Lucan shifted massive, monstrous, bone plates along his spine. Not a wolf. Not anymore.
Mira backed up.
“Kade!” she shouted.
But he was already mid-shift black fur bursting from his skin, teeth flashing.
And then it was chaos.
Fangs met flesh. Fire roared. Screams pierced the air.
Mira’s power surged darkness unfurling from her hands as she launched spells, burning sigils into the air. Wolves lunged at her and dropped like ash.
Tessa circled her, chanting. The altar glowed blood-red.
“You’re too late,” she hissed.
“What are you doing?”
Tessa lifted a dagger. “Calling him.”
“Who?”
“The true Alpha of Death.”
Lightning split the sky.
The earth cracked.
And from the altar’s shadow rose a beast so ancient, Mira’s blood screamed in her veins.
Horned. Fanged. Wrapped in chains.
The Original Wolf.
The first cursed creature.
Mira fell to her knees, gasping as a force ripped through her soul.
Tessa screamed, laughing. “He’s here, Mira. The one your mother sealed with her dying breath. And now… I’ve unsealed him with yours.”
She sliced her palm and Mira’s chest exploded in pain.
Blood bond.
It had already begun.
- Writer
