The Girl In The Mist
814 Words
Chapter 8
Lena stared at the silver-eyed girl in the gray cloak, every instinct in her body screaming that this wasn’t a normal child.
The girl’s presence chilled the air. Even the birds stopped singing.
Kael, still in his wolf form, growled low and stepped protectively in front of Lena, his massive body tense and ready to strike.
The girl tilted her head. “Relax, Alpha. If I meant harm, you’d already be dead.”
Lena stepped forward, placing a hand on Kael’s fur to steady him. “Who are you?”
The girl smiled. “Names have power. But you may call me Eira.”
“Eira,” Lena echoed, cautious. “Why were you waiting for me?”
“Because the moon marked you. Because your awakening has already begun.” Her silver eyes gleamed with eerie calm. “And because I’m the only one who can help you survive it.”
Kael shifted back, his breath misting in the cold air. “We’re taking her to the Sanctum. She doesn’t need you.”
Eira chuckled softly. “The Sanctum is a cage for wolves afraid of what they don’t understand. It cannot teach her what I can.”
Lena narrowed her eyes. “What exactly is it that you can teach me?”
Eira stepped closer, her cloak brushing the moss-covered ground. “You are more than a wolf. More than a cursed mate. There is magic in your blood—ancient magic. Not of the packs, but of the Moonborn.”
Lena’s heartbeat quickened. “I’ve never heard of that.”
“No one has,” Kael muttered. “Because they were wiped out centuries ago.”
Eira met his gaze calmly. “Not all of them.”
The air around them grew tense, the forest holding its breath.
Lena took a step toward Eira, drawn by something she couldn’t explain. “What are the Moonborn?”
Eira reached into her cloak and pulled out a stone pendant etched with the same crescent that glowed on Lena’s wrist. “We were once the bridge between wolves and the moon goddess. Guardians of balance. But we were hunted. Feared. Until we vanished.”
“You think I’m one of you?” Lena asked.
Eira nodded. “Not just one of us. The last. The prophecy didn’t lie, Lena. But the packs misunderstood it. You weren’t meant to destroy them. You were meant to restore what they lost.”
Kael stepped between them again. “Enough. You’re trying to manipulate her.”
Eira turned her eyes to him. “I’m trying to prepare her. Because if she continues on this path—surrounded by fear, buried in lies—then yes, Kael... she will destroy everything.”
Lena felt the ground shift beneath her feet—figuratively, and literally.
The forest trembled.
Suddenly, a gust of wind howled through the trees, and a low rumble rolled beneath the earth. Lena’s mark flared with light, pain lancing up her arm.
Eira’s face turned grim. “They found her.”
“Who?” Kael barked.
Before Eira could answer, black shapes moved in the distance—fast, unnatural, crawling like shadows.
The Hollow Fang.
Eira hissed. “Too late.”
Kael grabbed Lena’s hand. “Run!”
They bolted into the trees, Lena struggling to keep up, magic thrumming in her blood. Behind them, dark laughter echoed, and the scent of ash and blood filled the air.
The Hollow Fang wolves were different—twisted by dark spells, their bodies distorted, their eyes glowing crimson. They didn’t howl. They hunted in silence.
As Lena ran, her legs felt lighter, faster. Her vision sharpened. She could feel Kael’s heartbeat next to hers, syncing in rhythm, pulling her forward like a tether.
Eira appeared beside them without sound, gliding through the forest.
“You have to fight, Lena!”
“I don’t know how!” she shouted.
“Yes, you do. Let go. Stop trying to be what they expect. Be what you are.”
A rogue leapt toward her from the trees—jaws wide, claws gleaming.
Lena turned, raised her hand—
And unleashed a burst of light so bright the forest turned white.
The creature screamed as it disintegrated midair.
Kael tackled another, ripping its throat out in wolf form.
Eira chanted in a strange tongue, forming a barrier of glowing symbols that halted more of the creatures.
When it was over, the clearing lay scorched. Smoke rose from burned earth. The Hollow Fang fled, yelping like beaten dogs.
Lena stood in the center of it all, breathing hard, her hair crackling with faint static. Her mark pulsed steadily, no longer hiding.
Kael approached her cautiously, his wolf eyes full of awe and fear.
Eira looked at her with quiet reverence. “The moon has chosen, Lena. Now the world must follow.”
- Writer
