The Road To Sanctum
663 Words
Chapter 7
By dawn, Lena and Kael were already deep in the forest, following a path that hadn’t been walked in decades.
They traveled on foot—silently, cautiously. Kael hadn’t said more than a few words since they left the village. He moved like a ghost, blending into the shadows, eyes always scanning the trees ahead.
Lena kept pace behind him, her body still sore from the partial shift and magic outburst the night before. Her wrist tingled where the moon mark lay hidden beneath her sleeve.
She was tired, aching—and full of questions.
“Where exactly are we going?” she finally asked.
Kael didn’t stop walking. “The Sanctum.”
“You said that already,” she pressed. “But what is it?”
Kael glanced back. “A place built by the first wolves. It’s where we take those who are... touched by the moon’s deeper magic. Those who can’t control it.”
“So it’s a prison.”
“It’s a sanctuary,” he corrected. “And the only place you’ll be safe. From others. From yourself.”
She folded her arms as she walked. “You sound like you’ve taken someone there before.”
His jaw tightened. “I have.”
The air grew colder as they climbed higher into the mountain forest. Pines closed in thick around them, and birds fell silent. The path narrowed to a steep trail of ancient stones, half-swallowed by moss and time.
Then Kael stopped.
“We rest here.”
They settled in a small clearing beneath a ring of crooked trees. Kael lit a small, smokeless fire and handed Lena a strip of dried meat.
She chewed quietly, watching the firelight flicker across his face.
“Tell me about her,” Lena said softly. “The one before me. Your first mate.”
Kael’s eyes didn’t lift. “That’s not your concern.”
“It is if her ghost is the reason you won’t look at me the same way you did that night.”
Silence stretched between them like a blade.
Finally, Kael spoke.
“Her name was Rhea. She was bold, powerful. Everyone believed the mark on her shoulder was the sign of the prophecy.”
Lena’s breath caught. “She had the mark?”
“A false one,” he said. “A birthmark twisted by ambition. She believed she was destined to lead the packs into a new era. But when the bond didn’t form... she grew bitter. Angry. She made a pact with the Hollow Fang—our enemies. They promised her power in exchange for blood.”
“What happened?”
Kael’s eyes turned hollow. “She tried to kill the Oracle. She nearly succeeded. I stopped her.”
Lena didn’t ask how.
She already knew.
Kael stood, turning his back to the fire. “That’s why I don’t care what fate says. Prophecy. Marks. Magic. All they do is get people killed.”
Lena rose and crossed to him. She placed a hand gently on his shoulder. “I’m not Rhea. I don’t want power. I just want to know who I am. Why I was chosen.”
Kael turned slowly. For a moment, the tension between them shifted. The air buzzed with something unspoken—raw, electric, inevitable.
His hand rose to touch her cheek.
Then a noise broke the moment.
A snap of twigs. Movement in the trees.
Kael’s head snapped toward the sound. His wolf senses flared. “We’re not alone.”
A shape darted between trees. Fast. Too fast to be human.
Lena backed away instinctively.
“Get behind me,” Kael growled, shifting mid-motion into his massive wolf form.
But it wasn’t a rogue that stepped into the clearing.
It was a girl—barefoot, cloaked in gray, with silver eyes just like Lena’s.
She looked no older than sixteen, yet her gaze held centuries.
She smiled at Lena.
“I’ve been waiting for you.”
- Writer
