The Crimson Oath

Chapter 4

Chapter Four: Fugitives of the Vale

POV: Seraphina Vale.

"I was no longer just rejected. I was now a bait to be chased after. And to survive, I had to become something the pack was scared of."

The cell door slammed behind me for the last time.

Beams of moonlight pierced through the narrow gap in the wall above as Nathan pressed the hidden rune embedded in the stone. The old walls hissed as the enchantment gave way, revealing a staircase covered in dust and old air.

"Follow this path. Don’t stop," Nathan whispered. "He’s waiting for you."

“He?” I asked, my pulse racing. “Who is waiting for me?”

“His name is Rowan.”

I blinked. “Kael’s Beta?”

Nathan nodded once. “He doesn’t serve Kael. His service to Kael has been a game. Rowan is a faithful servant to your mother.”

Questions furred my mind, but there was no time to spill them out.

Footsteps echoed down the hall above us. The elders were close. Maybe Kael was there too. I didn’t want to know what he’d do if he found me escaping.

I gritted my teeth and stepped into the tunnel, each footfall echoing with purpose and precision.

Rowan was waiting at the edge of the forest, leaning against a black horse, hood drawn low over his face. The wind tousled his dark hair and scattered leaves around his boots. Even in the half-dark, he radiated power—a silent storm biding its time.

“I thought you weren’t coming,” he said, barely glancing at me.

“I almost didn’t,” I muttered. “Just wanted to respect the old woman.”

“Then you’re an idiot.”

I bristled. “Excuse me? Are you here to insult me or help me.”

“You’re currently the most wanted she-wolf in Silvercrest right now, Seraphina. And not because you’re dangerous.” His gaze met mine—dark, flat. “It’s because you’re important. You hold something that so many are looking for.”

“That’s their business,” I hissed.

“Very soon, you would know if it’s your business or not.” His voice wasn’t budging.

We shifted, riding fast and silent into the woods, taking the old eastern trail Nathan had marked for us on the glowing map. Trees loomed like silent witnesses. The full moon hung heavy overhead, watching, waiting.

By the time the sun began to rise, my thighs were sore, my mind spinning, and the sigil on my collarbone burned with energy I couldn’t control.

“We’re close to the Forbidden Border,” Rowan said.

“And……” My eyes staring at him tiredly.

“….And the fact you’re about entering a place we thought had become a myth.”

We camped by a stream as the moonlight set, beneath a canopy of tall Iroko. I sat close to the fire, watching the moon stand in its height. Rowan sharpened a blade nearby, but his attention kept drifting toward me.

“Why did you help me?” I asked.

He hesitated for a moment. “I was a humble servant to your mother before the massacre.”

My heart stopped as my eyes locked his. “What was she like?” I asked quietly, but in impatience.

Rowan’s jaw clenched. His voice dropped to a gravelly whisper. “Your mother was a fierce and beautiful woman. One thing I loved about her was her bravery towards kings. She didn’t just rule. She commanded. And you…” he chuckled.

“You have her eyes, Seraphina. Her strength. And the same fire.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat. My throat felt too small for the emotions choking me. “What fire,” a flick smile tugged at my lips.

“Someone should tell me that the all hard Seraphina isn’t blushing by my words.” Rowan teased.

“Stop it, Rowan,” I said, parting his arms.

“She is really blushing,” he said, picking up the blanket to cover my shivering body. “I think you should be sleeping, Sera. Remember tomorrow is a long day.”

That night, I dreamed of fire.

Of wolves howling as a great city burned. My mother—her face half-shadowed—stood at the heart of it all, cloaked in crimson, wielding silver blades dripping with starlight.

“You are the Luna Reborn,” she whispered to me.

“They will rise, both those you hate and those you love.”

“Betrayal is inevitable my daughter. Be strong Sera. Be strong.”

“Take what rightly belongs to you.”

I jolted awake, covered in sweat.

And that’s when I heard it. Feral growling.

I turned to see Rowan fast asleep.

The growling was low and animalistic as it became more feral as time passed.

I turned—and from the tree line, they emerged.

They were shadow wolves.

Grotesque creatures, with patchy fur, black veins crawling across their bodies like vines. Their eyes glowed a sickly green. And they weren’t breathing, which meant they weren’t living beings.

“Rowan!” I screamed, my fingers twitching involuntarily in fear.

He was already moving.

His blades flashed as he lunged, slicing through the first one.

“Run, Sera!” he yelled. “Get to the border! Now!”

But I didn’t run. I stood my ground as one lunged at me.

For a moment, time seem to slow.

My wolf surged. “Let me out.”

The voice was hers. Mine. Ours.

I screamed—and the world answered.

A pulse of crimson light burst from my chest, hurling the shadow creature back like a rag doll. It slammed into a tree and crumbled into ash.

I stood panting, my heart pounding hard against my ribcage. My eyes burned with unnatural heat. My claws were half-formed, my fangs bared.

Rowan stared at me. “What was that?” he breathed.

I shook my head. “I don’t know. Even Seraphina is confused right now”

But I felt something very powerful and mysterious has been unlocked inside me. Something that didn’t want to be caged anymore.

********

We crossed the veil just before dawn.

The Forbidden Border wasn’t marked by stone or wall—it was a shimmer in the air, a ripple of magic I could feel against my skin. Cold. Timeless.

Rowan drew his blade, darting his eyes back and forth. “Whatever those things were, they’re not following.”

I stepped through the veil.

The world beyond it was a different one entirely. Greener. Wilder. The trees stood taller, older. The sky was softer. The air tasted like memory.

And then I heard a twig snap.

I turned.

A boy stepped out from behind the trees, arms crossed. He looked no older than me—maybe nineteen—but his eyes….

His eyes were the same as mine. His hair was silver, like smoke under moonlight. His jaw was sharp, and his wolf’s presence clung to him like a second skin.

“Who—?” I started.

He tilted his head, smirking like he’d waited his whole life for this moment. “Took you long enough,” he said.

Then he stepped forward, spreading his arms wide open for a hug, and with a voice as familiar as my own, he whispered—“Sister.”