The Witch's Warning
877 Words
Chapter 12
Lena couldn’t sleep.
After Kael walked her back to the packhouse, his hand gently resting on the small of her back the entire way, her mind refused to rest. The confession about his past—the death of his former mate—haunted her thoughts. The way he looked at her now, like she was the key to saving him or dooming him all over again, made her chest ache with a strange combination of fear and longing.
The mark on her shoulder throbbed again. She winced, pulling her nightshirt down to glance at it. The edges glowed faintly with silver light—more vivid than ever before.
It was changing.
She was changing.
She pulled a hoodie over her shirt and quietly slipped out of her room. The packhouse was quiet, the hallways dimly lit. She tiptoed past sleeping warriors and padded down the spiral staircase until she stepped into the moonlit courtyard.
The pull hit her instantly.
Her feet moved before she could think, guiding her back into the forest. Her senses felt sharper tonight—each crunch of leaf beneath her step, each howl in the distance was more vivid than usual.
Something—or someone—was calling her.
She followed the tug through winding trails, past mossy rocks and whispering trees, until she found herself in a part of the forest she didn’t recognize. The air here felt heavier, colder. A strange mist clung to the ground.
And then she saw her.
A woman stood in the clearing, draped in a long black gown that fluttered in a wind that wasn’t there. Her pale hair flowed like silver fire, and her eyes shimmered like the surface of a frozen lake.
“You came,” the witch said, her voice as smooth and sharp as glass.
Lena took a step back. “You’re Eira.”
“I am,” the witch said. “And you are the one fate marked twice.”
Lena narrowed her eyes. “What do you want from me?”
Eira smiled. “To warn you. Because you’re running out of time.”
Lena’s heart pounded in her chest. “Warn me about what?”
“The curse isn’t just a chain around Kael’s neck,” Eira said, stepping closer. “It’s a leash around your soul. Each night you spend with him, each touch, each breath, brings you closer to the same fate as the last girl.”
Lena swallowed. “He told me about her.”
“Did he tell you how she begged for him to end her life before the bond drove her insane?” Eira asked softly.
Lena flinched.
“He won’t mean to hurt you,” the witch continued. “But the wolf doesn’t care about meaning. It only knows hunger. Need. Possession.”
A gust of wind rushed through the trees, making Lena’s hair whip around her face.
“You’re lying,” she whispered, even though a part of her wasn’t sure.
Eira's voice turned sharp. “When the next full moon rises, the bond will complete itself. And once it does, there is no turning back. Either you break the curse before then…” Her eyes darkened. “Or you become the curse.”
The ground pulsed beneath Lena’s feet. Her mark burned like fire.
“How do I break it?” she asked, desperation creeping into her voice.
Eira smiled, slow and cruel. “With blood. Always with blood.”
A sudden roar shook the clearing—deep, feral, familiar.
Kael.
He burst through the trees, already half-shifted, golden eyes glowing with fury. He launched toward Eira, claws bared—but the witch only laughed, vanishing into a mist of silver ash before he could touch her.
Kael turned to Lena, eyes wide. “Are you okay?”
“I—yes,” she breathed. “She found me. She—she said the curse is going to complete on the next full moon.”
Kael’s expression turned to stone. “You shouldn’t have been alone.”
“I felt her calling me,” Lena said. “Like something was pulling me.”
He grabbed her arms, not rough but urgent. “This is what I was afraid of. The bond is awakening. It's not just a connection between us. It’s a path she can use to get inside your head.”
Lena’s voice trembled. “She said either we break it... or I become the curse.”
Kael looked away, jaw clenched.
“She’s right, isn’t she?” Lena asked.
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “But I won’t let it happen. I’ll find a way. I swear it.”
Lena looked up at him, eyes locked on his. “Then stop trying to protect me from the truth. Let me fight this with you.”
Kael took a shaky breath, then nodded. “Tomorrow, I’ll take you to the hidden library. The answers might be there. The witches, the bloodlines, the curse’s origin—it all started long before us.”
Lena nodded, steeling herself. “Then let’s end it.”
Far above them, the moon flickered behind a cloud.
And deep beneath the roots of Mystwood, something ancient stirred.
The countdown had begun.
- Writer
