DREADED WOLF PRINCE

Chapter Five: The Prince in the Mist

The fog outside had thickened, curling around the edges of the old manor like living smoke. Inside the cellar, Evelyn and Mrs. Granger remained hidden, barely breathing as footsteps creaked above them. Heavy. Deliberate. The kind that didn’t belong to a man or at least not just a man.

Evelyn gripped the prophecy pages tighter, her hands trembling. Every instinct in her body screamed that something was changing. The air itself buzzed with energy. Not fear exactly—something older. Wiser. And stronger.

Then it stopped.

The footsteps. The scratching. The silence that followed was almost worse.

Mrs. Granger leaned closer to Evelyn, her voice barely a whisper. “He’s near.”

“You mean the wolves?” Evelyn asked.

Mrs. Granger shook her head slowly. “No. Him. Dorian.”

The name settled into Evelyn’s chest like a stone. She’d seen it written in one of the papers—Dorian Elden, heir of fire and fang. She hadn’t said it aloud until now. But hearing Mrs. Granger say it made everything feel more real. The prince wasn’t just legend anymore. He was out there. Breathing. Watching. Maybe even waiting.

Evelyn rose to her feet, unable to sit still any longer. “If he’s alive, why hasn’t he come forward?”

“Because he’s more wolf than man now,” Mrs. Granger said softly. “He was raised in the wild. The forest shaped him. Protected him. But it also changed him.”

“Changed how?”

Mrs. Granger hesitated, then stood as well. “When the forest chose to save him, it didn’t do it out of mercy. It did it because he belongs to it. His bloodline is ancient, tied to a time before humans ruled these lands. The Eldens weren’t just nobility—they were guardians of a force most people never believed existed.”

Evelyn turned toward the cellar stairs, her heart beating faster with every word. “What kind of force?”

“The raw power of nature. Of the elements. Of life and death. The power that keeps balance between the seen and unseen.” She looked at Evelyn closely. “Dorian was born with it—but when his family was slaughtered, the forest took what was left and hid it in him.”

Evelyn stepped toward the stairs, but something stopped her. A chill rolled over her skin.

Then she heard it.

Not a growl this time.

A voice.

Soft. Male. Echoing through the walls like wind through branches. It wasn’t angry. It wasn’t harsh. It was calling.

Her name.

“Evelyn…”

She spun around, eyes wide. “Did you hear that?”

Mrs. Granger’s expression darkened. “Yes. He’s found you.”

The fear Evelyn expected didn’t come. Instead, there was a strange calm. Like her body recognized something her mind didn’t. As if a part of her had been waiting for this moment without knowing why.

“I have to see him,” Evelyn said, surprising even herself.

Mrs. Granger stepped in front of her. “It’s not safe. He doesn’t remember who he is. He doesn’t know what side he’s on.”

“I don’t care,” Evelyn replied. “I need answers. And I think… he needs them too.”

Mrs. Granger hesitated, then slowly nodded. “Fine. But if you go to him, you go alone.”

Evelyn nodded, swallowing hard. She climbed the cellar stairs slowly, every creak of the wood underfoot a reminder that there was no turning back.

The manor was quiet when she emerged. Too quiet. She stepped out into the hallway, her eyes scanning the shadows. The fog pressed against the windows, curling at the edges of the broken glass like a living thing.

Then she saw it.

A figure, tall and still, standing just outside the broken front door. The fog swirled around him like smoke clinging to skin. His shoulders were broad, his hair wild and dark. He didn’t move. He simply waited.

Evelyn stepped closer.

And then he turned.

His eyes were unlike anything she’d ever seen—silver, glowing faintly, like moonlight reflecting off still water. They weren’t human. But they weren’t entirely wolf either.

“Are you…” She stopped herself. The words felt too heavy. Too real.

The man didn’t answer at first. His gaze held hers, piercing and unreadable.

Then he spoke.

“I remember fire,” he said, voice low, deep. “And screaming. And teeth. But not who I was.”

Evelyn swallowed the lump in her throat. “Your name is Dorian Elden. You were born in that manor. You’re the last of the Elden bloodline.”

Dorian’s eyes flickered. A muscle in his jaw tensed. “Elden…”

“You were taken as a child. The wolves saved you. The forest raised you. But you’re not just wolf. You’re more than that.”

He stepped forward slowly, the fog parting around him. Evelyn didn’t move.

“I’ve had dreams,” Dorian said. “Of flames. Of a woman’s scream. Of blood in the snow. Every time I try to remember, it burns.”

“It’s your past,” Evelyn said gently. “And your future. There’s a prophecy. It says you’ll return. That your blood will awaken something. Something old.”

Dorian stopped a few feet away. “And if I do… what happens?”

“I don’t know,” Evelyn admitted. “But there are people who want to stop you. People who fear what you are. The forest is waking up because of you.”

Dorian looked past her, toward the manor. Toward the place where his family died. “I feel it,” he murmured. “Like the trees are speaking. Like the wind is watching.”

“Because they are,” Evelyn said. “You were meant to come back.”

He looked at her again. There was something human in his eyes now. Something broken. And something ancient.

“Then show me,” he said. “Show me who I was.”

Evelyn nodded, her heart racing. She didn’t know what would happen next. She didn’t know what Dorian truly was or what he might become.

But she knew this was just the beginning.

Behind them, deep in the forest, something howled. Not in rage. Not in pain.

In recognition.