Gone
1213 Words
The forest watched.
Not waiting.
Remembering.
We didn’t speak for a while after that.
Our steps fell into the same rhythm as before, but something had shifted. I could feel it in the way the air touched my skin, in the way the silence pressed a little closer than usual. Familiar things didn’t feel as steady anymore.
Silas stayed near me, not too close, not too far. Just enough that I could feel him there without turning.
“You’re thinking again,” he said softly.
I let out a small breath. “I don’t think I ever stopped.”
“That bad?”
“I don’t know what I’m supposed to be right now,” I admitted. “Everything feels like it’s changing and no one’s saying anything.”
He didn’t interrupt. He never did.
I slowed my steps slightly. “I don’t think I can go back there yet.”
“The pack?”
I nodded.
“They’re watching me differently now. Like they’re waiting for something. Or like they already know something I don’t.”
Silas was quiet for a moment, then said, “Then don’t go back. Not yet.”
I glanced at him. “It’s not that simple.”
“It can be,” he said. “If you let it.”
I held his gaze for a second longer than I meant to.
“Where would I go?” I asked.
“There’s a place,” he said. “Past the northern line. No patrols. No noise. Just open sky.”
Something in my chest tightened at that.
“Just us?”
“Just us.”
I didn’t think about it too long. If I did, I might have talked myself out of it.
“Okay.”
We changed direction without another word.
The deeper we went, the quieter it became. The usual sounds of the forest faded until it felt like we had stepped into something untouched. The air grew colder, sharper, but it didn’t bother me the way it should have.
If anything, it felt clearer.
Like I could finally breathe.
The trees began to thin, slowly at first, then all at once.
And then the sky opened.
I stopped.
It stretched endlessly above us, dark and alive in a way I couldn’t explain. For a second, everything felt still.
Then the light appeared.
Soft at first. A faint ribbon of green slipping across the darkness. Then more followed. Violet, gold, shifting and blending like something breathing.
My chest tightened.
“…Silas,” I whispered. “Do you see that?”
He looked up, then back at me.
“I see it.”
I stepped forward without thinking. “It feels like…”
I pressed my hand lightly against my chest.
“Like it’s calling me.”
He didn’t answer right away.
We moved toward a flat stretch of stone and sat down. The cold seeped through instantly, grounding me in a way I didn’t realize I needed.
Silas sat beside me, closer than before.
I leaned into him without thinking, my head resting lightly against his shoulder.
He stilled for a second, then relaxed.
“You’re shaking,” he said.
“I’m not cold.”
“I know.”
His voice was quieter now.
I turned slightly, looking at him. He was already looking at me.
There was something different in his expression. Not confusion. Not fear.
Just awareness.
Like he knew something was coming, even if he didn’t understand what.
My hand found his.
This time, he didn’t hesitate. His fingers closed around mine naturally, like it had always been that way.
The bond between us stirred. Warm at first.
Then deeper.
Stronger.
My breath slowed, my focus narrowing until it was just this moment. Just him.
“I don’t want to think,” I said softly.
“Then don’t.”
For a second, everything felt steady again.
Then it changed.
Fast.
My body tensed, fingers tightening around his as a sharp surge shot through my chest.
“Silas…” my voice broke. “Something’s wrong.”
He was already moving closer. “Talk to me. What is it?”
“I don’t know. It’s not like before.”
The light above us shifted.
Not drifting anymore.
Pulling.
The colors stretched and bent, collapsing inward like the sky itself was focusing on one point.
On me.
My breath turned uneven. Heat rushed through my veins, sharp and unfamiliar. My wolf stirred instantly, reacting to it, but it didn’t rise alone.
Something else rose with it.
Something deeper.
Something I didn’t recognize.
My body arched slightly as another wave hit. I gasped, gripping his arm harder.
“Stay with me,” he said, his voice tighter now. “Look at me.”
“I can’t,” I whispered. “Everything feels wrong.”
But it wasn’t wrong.
That was the worst part.
It felt like it was meant to happen.
“Silas… it’s not just my wolf.”
He went still. “What do you mean?”
“I mean I don’t recognize it.”
Another surge tore through me, stronger this time. I cried out, my body trembling as the energy burned through me. It didn’t feel wild.
It felt controlled.
Ancient.
Like something that had always been there was finally waking up.
“Your eyes,” he said suddenly, his voice low.
I blinked, my vision sharpening in a way that felt unnatural.
“Silas… what do they look like?”
He hesitated.
“…one is gold,” he said slowly. “Like your wolf.”
My chest tightened.
“And the other?”
“Blue,” he said. “But not normal blue.”
I swallowed hard.
I could feel it.
Both sides of me.
My wolf. Strong. Familiar.
And something else.
Cold. bright. endless.
They weren’t fighting.
They were both there.
Alive.
“I can’t stop it,” I whispered. “It’s getting stronger.”
The air around us stilled completely. Even the wind dropped, like everything had paused.
Watching.
The lights above collapsed inward again, brighter this time.
I felt it before it happened.
Something pulling.
Something claiming.
My body tensed as the energy surged through me again, stronger than before. It felt like every part of me was being rewritten.
“Silas—”
He pulled me closer without hesitation, holding me steady.
“I don’t know what this is,” he said, his voice rough, “but you’re not going through it alone. I’ve got you.”
I clung to him, because he was the only thing that felt real.
But it was getting harder.
My strength was slipping.
The energy that had risen so violently suddenly collapsed inward, like everything inside me had burned too bright all at once.
My vision dimmed.
The world tilted.
“Stay with me,” he said quickly. “Don’t do that. Stay with me.”
“I’m trying,” I whispered.
But my body didn’t listen anymore.
The darkness crept in, fast and heavy.
The last thing I saw was him.
The fear in his eyes.
Not of me.
For me.
“I’m right here,” he said, softer now. “I’m not going anywhere.”
I wanted to answer.
But I couldn’t.
Everything went still.
And then I was gone.
- Writer
