FATED TO BURN: DESTINED TO HEAL

Chapter 13 (The Ultimatum of the Council)

"You let what happen?"

Like a thunderclap, the voice echoed throughout the valley.

Silver robes brushed the floor like smoke as Alpha Thorne of the Werewolf High Council strode forward, his eyes blazing with rage.

Kael stood stiff, his lips pulled together, blood drying on his arm.

He remained silent.

Raven stood next to him as the five Council members filed into the clearing. They all exuded a dense aura that pressed like a wall of heat across her skin.

“You let your own pack fall,” Thorne snarled. And now a terrible mark has been awakened in our land, infants weep in caverns, and rogues run amok. Once

more.

Kael didn't recoil. Raven noticed as his jaw tightened, but his hands remained by his sides.

Dax moved forward and spoke firmly. "He wasn't to blame. They ambushed us. Additionally, there's more going on than—

Another Council member, a tall woman with gray hair in braids and glass-sharp eyes, yelled, "Silence, Delta." "You are not the person we called upon."

Raven whispered to Kael, "They arrived without warning."

He gave one nod. "They always do."

Now the five were in a line, around Kael like wolves on a hunt.

Thorne declared, "You have violated every law we have established." "You left your territory behind. You didn't keep the bloodline safe. You permitted the cursed youngster to come into contact with you.

"Cursed?" With a skip in his heart, Raven repeated.

They were discussing her.

A younger member of the Council, wearing green robes and exuding a sense of silent condemnation, walked forward. "Rules exist for a purpose. You are aware of what has to be done.

Kael's voice was loud but quiet as she gazed directly at them. "Take away my title if that's your goal. However, don't act like this is a legal matter.

Thorne's gaze grew strained. "Explain."

"In these woods, there's something worse than rogues," Kael remarked. "Something more ancient. Something that all of you have been concealing.

There were whispers among the Council. A glimmer of discomfort. A hint of identity.

However, nobody responded.

Not right away.

The woman with the gray hair then spoke once more. "Do you deny that you assisted the girl in triggering the Flame Curse?"

"No," Kael replied plainly.

"You've condemned us all, then."

Raven took a shaky step forward. Nothing was awakened by him. Yes, I did.

Furthermore, I had no idea what it was—

"But it reports to you," Thorne remarked. "It follows you."

"I didn't request it!"

But the man in the green robes said, "You were born for it." "The stars showed it to us. That is the reason you were concealed.

Raven blinked. "You... were aware of me?"

Quiet.

Her throat constricted as she gazed at them. "So why didn't you put an end to this?"

Thorne took another stride. Like gravity, his power pressed down.

"Because your power was meant to remain hidden." Up until now.

Kael stepped forward to protect her. "You'll have to go through me if your goal is to kill her."

Thorne's nose widened. "I'm still defending the injured."

Dax muttered a snarl to himself.

Kael never changed his position.

However, Thorne grinned.

"So, a trial," he said. "In three evenings. when the moon is full.

"What sort of trial is it?" Kael said in a hushed voice.

"One that decides your destiny... and hers."

The man in the green robes moved forward and unfolded a scroll that glistened with age-old enchantment.

The Flame-Bound needs to face the Alpha Blood Circle. She will be put to the test.

"What if she fails?" Dax inquired.

"She passes away."

Raven's heart stopped beating.

With a harsh voice, she inquired, "And if I pass?"

The gray-braided woman leaned forward. Then you might survive. However, Kael will be exiled. devoid of Alpha blood. Forever.

Kael remained silent.

Not once.

Raven faced him. "You anticipated this outcome."

He whispered, "I had a feeling." "The Council is intolerant."

"You're putting everything on the line for

me?"

He looked into her eyes.

"I would do it once more."

Her chest cracked.

Thorne stopped at the edge of the trees as the Council turned to go.

He said, "You have three days." The flame then makes a decision. Or we are all burned.

Then they vanished.

disappeared into the fog.

Raven looked over at Kael. "We must get ready. We must figure out how to win this

trial.

His response was, "I don't think we can beat it." "You manage to survive it."

Dax muttered an expletive. "We require allies. A person who has witnessed the Circle. Who has confronted them?

Kael gave a nod. "We visit the remains. Tonight.

However, the Council—

"They won't anticipate it."

Raven saw something odd as they turned to grab supplies in the cave.

Smoke.

slim. Red. Curling like fingers across the grass.

Then a brand, throbbing like fire, appeared on Kael's neck.

He faltered.

Raven apprehended him. "Kael?"

He rolled his eyes back.

His jaw dropped.

And through him came a voice that was not his.

The voice snarled, "They're coming."

"Who?" Raven muttered.

Kael's body was confiscated.

Once more, the mark flashed.

Three terrifying words were whispered by the voice, which was cold, ancient, and inhuman:

Kael fell to the ground.

As though the air had been drawn straight out of him, his chest heaved.

Raven crouched next to him and held his shoulders. "Can you hear me, Kael?"

He felt a burning sensation on his flesh. Something worse than a fever. Something else.

Like burning embers, the red stain on his neck gradually disappeared.

Wide-eyed and nervous, Dax lurked behind them. "What on earth just took place? That was not his voice.

After gasping and coughing, Kael was able to sit up at last.

"I saw them," he remarked in a raspy voice.

"Who?" Raven inquired.

"The Elders." buried under the Blackroot hills. They are awakening.

Raven stopped.

She recalled her mother's late-night whispered stories. There are stories of creatures that were older than wolves. more powerful. Most people forget it, while others fear it.

"You mean that there are actual Elders?" Dax inquired. "I believed that to be merely a myth."

Kael gently shook his head.

"They are authentic. Even worse, they have a connection to her.

His words weighed Raven down like a stone on her chest.

"What are they hoping to get out of me?"

Kael gazed at her.

"They want you to make a decision. Between blood and fire.

As though nature itself were reacting to what had just been said, the wind howled through the trees.

Whispering to himself, "We're running out of time," Dax took a step back.

Unsteady but determined, Kael stood up.

"The Council trial serves as a diversion." What's rising beneath us is the true threat. If they fully awaken...

He didn't complete.

He didn't have to.

Despite the storm in her chest, Raven stood and spoke steadily. The Blackroot Mountains are our next destination. Tonight.

Kael gave her a stern look. "You're not prepared."

"If I keep running, I'll never be ready."

Dax gave a nod. She is correct. We'll travel as far as we can under the moonlight, take a break, and then resume our journey at daybreak.

After a moment of hesitation, Kael nodded

sharply.

"I am aware of a route."

They brought only the necessities, such as food, drink, and firearms.

Kael stood by himself beside the tree line, gazing at the silver moon before they departed.

Raven approached him.

"Are you alright?"

To her surprise, he said, "I'm scared."

"You don't appear afraid."

"I'm better than most at hiding it."

Raven lightly brushed his arm.

"You don't need to shield me from every danger."

With gentle eyes, Kael turned to face her.

"But I'd like to."

They were silent.

Warm.

heavy.

Unspoken.

Then the ground shook under their feet.

One shock.

Sharp.

False.

Dax whirled. "What on earth was that?"

Through the trees came a scream.

Not human.

Not a wolf.

Something... old.

There was another tremor, this one more powerful. The trees trembled. Birds flew up and down the canopy.

Then, like lightning, a c***k splintered the sky, although there was no storm.

And from that fissure...

A black fog poured down.

Not a cigarette.

Not mist.

Mist that moved like living things, shimmering like obsidian.

Kael yelled, “Get moving! Now!”

However, it was too late.

In a flash, the mist circled them as it slithered over the clearing.

It encircled Kael's ankle.

It struck again, this time sticking to Raven's breast, but he yelled and tore free.

She let out a scream.

It was chilly.

So chilly.

similar like drowning in darkness.

Then there was silence.

The fog froze.

stopped.

and said the single word, "Return."

Raven rolled his eyes back.

She fell.

She was about to hit the ground when Kael grabbed her.

"Raven!"

Her entire body trembled.

A voice other than her own came out of her mouth.

Low.

inhuman.

final.

"Someone has claimed the Flame. The Reckoning then starts.