Chapter Two – Eyes in the Forest
1263 Words
The morning after the wolf attack, Ember woke with bruises on her knees, dirt in her hair, and no idea how she’d made it back to her bedroom.
No dream, she told herself. No hallucination.
Lucien Thorne had fought a wolf.
With his bare hands.
And won.
Her fingers trembled as she touched the mirror. The silver hair from last night was still there, curled like a whisper.
At school, the world carried on like nothing had happened. No mention of the forest. No howls. No wolves.
Just silence.
And Lucien? He wasn’t in class. He wasn’t in the halls. He’d vanished like mist on a cold window.
“What did you do to piss him off already?” someone muttered behind her.
She turned. A tall, honey-blonde girl with glossy lips leaned against a locker, arms folded. Eyes too bright.
“Excuse me?” Ember frowned.
“You stared at him too long, right?” the girl said, smiling without warmth. “Lucien doesn’t like being watched.”
“Didn’t know that was a crime,” Ember replied.
“Oh, honey,” the girl purred. “In Wolfsden, everything’s a crime. You’re new. You’ll learn.”
Then she leaned closer. “Especially when it comes to the cursed ones.”
Ember blinked. “What did you say?”
The girl was already walking away, heels clicking, hips swaying.
That night, Ember couldn’t sleep. The scar on her thigh burned like fire, and every shadow outside her window seemed to twitch. A wind rattled the trees, not wind. Breathing.
She grabbed her coat and slipped outside.
The woods whispered to her.
She followed the path leading down to the river, the old bridge groaning under her boots. The moon was a blade behind the clouds, slicing through bare branches. Her breath fogged as she walked, heart thrumming.
Something was calling her.
Not in words. Not in sound.
But she felt it in her blood.
Then she saw him.
Lucien. Shirtless. Standing in the river, waist-deep, steam rising from his skin like smoke. Muscles taut, back covered in black ink tattoos that moved when he did.
“Are you stalking me?” he said without turning.
Ember froze. “No. I… I couldn’t sleep.”
His voice was quiet. “You should’ve stayed home.”
“You saved me.”
He turned now. Water clung to his chest. A deep scar curved over his ribs. His eyes silver storms locked on hers.
“I didn’t do it for you,” he said flatly.
Liar, she thought.
“You fought a wolf.”
“You think that was a wolf?” he asked, stepping closer. “That thing wanted more than blood.”
“What was it, then?”
He stared at her. Then said, “A warning.”
“From who?”
Lucien walked past her. His bare feet made no sound. Ember turned to follow, but his voice stopped her.
“Don’t.” His jaw clenched. “I’m not safe either, Ember.”
She stepped closer. “You could’ve let it kill me. But you didn’t.”
Lucien’s eyes flicked to her lips. For a moment, he looked like he might say something, anything, but instead, he vanished into the trees.
Ember was left alone, breathless, heart racing.
And then she heard it again.
The howl.
But this one was closer. Louder.
Right behind her.
She ran.
Branches clawed at her face. Her breath came in ragged bursts. She didn’t know where she was going, only that something was chasing her now, something that wanted her dead.
Then
Snap.
She tripped and fell hard, hands scraping over roots. When she turned, she saw the figure. Not a wolf. A man.
No something in-between.
Taller than any man should be. Fur-covered arms. Elongated jaw. Glowing red eyes. Not silver like Lucien’s.
Rogue.
It growled, stepping closer.
Ember scrambled back, heart screaming in her chest. Then, CRACK! a shadow burst from the trees, silver-eyed and brutal.
Lucien.
He tackled the rogue, teeth bared, both beasts crashing into the underbrush. Snarls. Blood. Claws.
Ember could only watch, frozen.
Lucien was losing.
The rogue bit into his shoulder. Lucien howled not in pain, but rage.
And then
A scream ripped from Ember’s throat, not just hers… not human. It echoed unnaturally, a frequency that rattled the trees. The rogue faltered.
Lucien pounced. Tore its throat.
Silence fell.
Lucien staggered back, panting, blood running down his arm. His eyes still glowing met Ember’s.
“What… the hell was that?” she whispered, still on the ground.
Lucien didn’t answer.
Because Ember was glowing.
A faint blue shimmer, barely there but Lucien saw it.
He stepped back, like she’d burned him.
“You screamed,” he whispered. “But that wasn’t human.”
Neither of them moved.
Then Lucien muttered, “You shouldn’t be glowing.”
“What am I?” Ember asked.
His answer was raw.
“Mine.”
Before Ember could react, a silver dart shot out from the trees and embedded into Lucien’s shoulder. He roared in pain, eyes flicking around.
“Run!” he growled, collapsing to one knee. “They found you!”
From the trees, glowing eyes, at least six pairs began to emerge.
And Ember realized:
The Shadowfang Pack was real.
And they were coming for her.
Ember rushed to his side, grabbing his arm. “Lucien what’s happening?”
“They found you,” he growled through clenched teeth. “They must’ve tracked your scent after the scream.”
“Scream?” she echoed.
He looked up at her with a strange mix of awe and terror in his silver eyes. “That wasn’t a scream, Ember. That was… power. Old power.”
Something rustled behind them.
Lucien shoved her back with what strength he had left. “Run. Don’t stop. No matter what you hear.”
But she didn’t run.
She turned toward the forest and that’s when she saw them.
Eyes.
Dozens of them.
Low to the ground, hidden between the trunks, gleaming like torches in the dark. But they weren’t just watching.
They were closing in.
The trees creaked under their weight.
Branches cracked.
Leaves shifted in unnatural stillness.
Then a shape stepped into the moonlight tall, lean, clad in a black coat stitched with fur. His eyes were the color of blood under glass.
A cold voice slithered through the clearing.
“Hello, little lunar flame.”
Ember’s blood turned to ice.
The man gave a small, mocking bow. “My name is Malrik. I’ve been looking for you for a very… very long time.”
Lucien tried to stand. His claws extended, but his body betrayed him, the dart’s venom still thick in his blood.
Malrik smirked. “Relax, Cursed Alpha. I won’t kill her. She’s far too valuable for that.”
His gaze slid back to Ember.
“You’re the spark that can set the whole world ablaze.”
Ember’s feet moved without thinking, placing herself between Lucien and the stranger. “You’re not taking him.”
Malrik raised a brow. “Him? Oh, sweet girl. He’s not the one we came for.”
She staggered as a sudden pulse of heat burst through her mark, flaring beneath her skin like fire.
“You’re waking up,” Malrik said, voice almost reverent. “Just like the prophecy promised.”
Lucien struggled to his feet, growling.
Malrik took a single step back. “We’ll meet again, Ember Lockhart. You carry more than you know. And when the full moon rises, you’ll come looking for me.”
- Writer
