CHAPTER ONE:The Girl Without A Wolf
874 Words
The villagers believed the forest belonged to monsters.
Lyra Ashbourne believed it was the only place where she could breathe.
The first rays of dawn filtered through the towering pines as she slipped quietly between the trees, a woven basket hanging from her arm. The scent of damp earth and wild herbs filled the air, washing away the whispers that always followed her in the village.
"She's cursed."
"She was abandoned for a reason."
"Don't let your children get too close."
After twenty-three years, she had learned to ignore them.
Or at least pretend she did.
She knelt beside a patch of moonleaf flowers, carefully cutting only the blossoms that had fully opened. Old Mara, the village healer, always said the strongest medicine came from plants gathered before sunrise.
Lyra smiled faintly.
"If only healing people were as easy as picking flowers."
A sudden rustle broke the silence.
She froze.
The forest had gone unnaturally still.
Even the birds had stopped singing.
Her fingers instinctively wrapped around the small hunting knife fastened to her belt.
Another rustle.
Closer this time.
Her heartbeat quickened.
A pair of golden eyes appeared between the trees.
Then another.
And another.
Three wolves stepped into the clearing.
Massive.
Far larger than any ordinary wolf.
Their silver-gray fur shimmered beneath the morning light, and every muscle in their bodies radiated strength.
Lyra slowly backed away.
"Easy..." she whispered.
"I'm not here to hurt you."
The largest wolf lowered its head and sniffed the air.
Instead of attacking...
It whimpered.
The other two immediately lowered themselves onto their front legs.
Almost...
As if bowing.
Lyra frowned.
"What are you doing?"
The wolves stared at her with something she had never seen before.
Recognition.
Respect.
Then, without warning, all three turned and disappeared into the forest.
Within seconds...
They were gone.
Lyra stood rooted to the spot.
"What in the world was that?"
A cold breeze swept through the clearing.
Her wrist suddenly burned.
She gasped.
The silver mark hidden beneath the cloth wrapping around her left wrist glowed brightly beneath the fabric.
Pain shot through her arm.
She quickly pulled the cloth tighter.
"Not now..."
The mark had appeared when she was five years old.
No one knew where it came from.
Every full moon it glowed.
Every year it became brighter.
And every year...
The dreams became more vivid.
Dreams of silver castles.
Howling wolves.
A man whose face she could never see.
A voice calling her name.
"Come home..."
She had never told anyone.
Some secrets were safer buried.
---
Miles away...
Beyond the Frostfang Mountains...
The capital of the Silver Moon Pack was awakening.
Massive stone walls surrounded the city, while banners bearing a silver crescent danced in the wind.
Thousands of wolves had gathered from every kingdom.
The Moon Ascension Ceremony would begin tomorrow night.
Inside the royal training grounds, swords clashed.
Prince Kael Draven disarmed his opponent in a single strike.
The sword spun through the air before burying itself in the dirt.
His opponent fell to one knee, breathing heavily.
"I surrender."
Kael lowered his blade.
"Again."
The young warrior looked horrified.
"My prince... we've fought twelve times."
"You've lost twelve times."
Kael's voice remained calm.
"Stand."
Around them, dozens of elite warriors watched in silence.
No one dared speak.
Kael was only twenty-seven.
Yet no one questioned that he would become the next Alpha.
Not because of his bloodline.
Because he had earned it.
A familiar voice interrupted the training.
"Still trying to break your soldiers before breakfast?"
Kael turned.
His younger sister, Princess Selene, approached with an amused smile.
"The Council is waiting."
Kael sheathed his sword.
"They can wait another minute."
"They've already waited an hour."
For the first time that morning...
Kael smiled.
A tiny one.
Almost invisible.
"You should have started with that."
---
Inside the council chamber, seven elders stood around an enormous stone map.
As Kael entered, every conversation stopped.
Elder Rowan spoke first.
"The ceremony is tomorrow."
"I know."
"Have you considered what happens if the Moon Goddess reveals your mate?"
Kael answered without hesitation.
"Then I will honor the bond."
"And if she is weak?"
"I will make her strong."
"And if she refuses?"
Kael's silver eyes hardened.
"Then I will respect her choice."
The elders exchanged surprised glances.
One finally nodded.
"You truly are your father's son."
Before anyone could speak again...
The chamber shook.
A deep rumble echoed beneath the palace.
Dust drifted from the ceiling.
Every candle went out.
The room fell into darkness.
Then...
Far beneath the kingdom...
Something stirred.
Not in the palace.
Not in the mountains.
But deep below the earth.
A voice, ancient and almost forgotten, whispered through the darkness.
"...she lives."
The glowing cracks surrounding an enormous prison widened by the width of a single finger.
For the first time in one thousand years...
One of the Hollow King's chains had begun to c***k.
Far away, in the quiet village beyond the forests, Lyra clutched her burning wrist and looked toward the silver moon rising before sunset.
She didn't know why...
But for the first time in her life...
She felt as though someone was watching her.
Someone who had been waiting for a very, very long time.
- Writer
