FATED TO BURN: DESTINED TO HEAL

Chapter 15 (Burned Memories)

Raven felt suffocated by the air. As though the planet were holding its breath, the forest seemed strangely quiet. Standing in the darkness, she stared at the distant dancing flames. Her heart beat, reverberating within her chest. She found it impossible to look away. She was unable to take her eyes off the beast that had previously lived with her.

The Fire Alpha.

“What do you see, Raven?” With a tone of emergency and worry, Kael's voice broke the Silent. Standing at her side with his hand on her arm, he had been noticing her attentively, his face looking pale. He touched her, but she didn't feel it.

Raven was breathing heavily.

"I—I see," Her speech tracked off as she was enveloped by a rush of past memories. She tried to push them away with her squeezed hands, but they came in like a storm, unstoppable.

The final evening she spent with Kael's pack. That night, everything had fallen apart.

Kael murmured in Raven's ears, "Come back to us."

That night seemed like it happened ages ago. She was younger and full of hope and fire. She summoned the yellow shine that hid the Silverfang area as the sun settled deep in the sky. The night of the full moon had been a moment for harmony and a celebration of the pack's unity.

Raven had been watching the pack gathering around the fire from the outskirts of the field, her fingertips tracking the elevation of the pasturage. The thought of being acknowledged as Kael's equal and being able to stand by his side at last had made her heart skip a beat.

Something had changed, though, that night.

Kael had said, "Raven," in a quiet, hesitant voice. That night, he had changed; something she didn't understand had darkened his eyes.

Grinning, she turned to him. "What is the matter?"

With a speech loaded with something she couldn't recognize, he whispered, "I need to talk to you."

With the trees murmuring and the shadows waving, he guided her away from the and toward the edge of the forest.

With her heart beating, she asked, "What's going on, Kael?"

With his back to her and his fists clutched at his sides, Kael had stopped. "Raven, this will not work. I can't be with you."

She felt the expression as if they were a physical hit.

"What do you mean by that?" As she moved in his pathway, her voice broke as she tried to interact with him and explain things to him. "We were destined to be together. You—"

"I can't!" he shouted, turning to face the sorrow in his golden eyes. "It's prohibited. They—the Alpha Council— He paused, turning his head away as though embarrassed.

Raven's heart started to break apart, fragment by fragment.

"Please tell me, Kael, what's going on?" Her hands were shaking, and she was hardly able to speak. "We have spent so much time together and have experienced everything together. You can't simply—

"I have no other option," Kael said, her voice stifled. "I never did." The laws, Raven. The Alpha's rules—the pack's rules. What you are prevents us from being together. Who you were

Raven's blood froze.

She continued, scarcely able to understand, "What was I?" "What are you saying?"

He held his jaw and stayed quiet for a while. He moved away from her eyes and stared at the floor. At last, his voice was loaded with repentance.

Raven, you're not your typical wolf. You are— He was hesitant. “The Alpha of Fire is your ancestor. You own more power than any of us do. It is too risky. The council and the pack both prohibit it.

The world shook beneath Raven's feet. As his words crashed down on her, the ground felt like it was moving away.

"You're lying," she whispered, but her mistrust blossomed like a dark flower inside her heart.

"I am not." He spoke strongly, but she couldn't help but notice the sadness in his eyes. It is required by law. And I've got to do it. This is not what I wanted, but I have no other option.

Her chest tightened as she took a step back, tears burning in her eyes. "That's it, then? Are you going to ignore me based only on who I am?

She moved away from Kael as he grabbed for her, gasping for air.

“No.” His eyes were in too much pain, and his voice broke. "Raven, you are loved. However, the pack has defined rules. I won't risk everything for you; I just can't.

Raven sensed the icy void leaking into her spirit. It was more than simply a rejection. It was a betrayal. He had received everything from her. All of it.

Now Kael—her Kael—was abandoning her after the Alpha Council had condemned her. For the group. for the regulations.

Raven turned and ran, giving it one last look. She was unable to remain. She was unable to continue staring at him.

The memory was as short-lived as it had been. Raven's breath caught as she was once more standing in the clearing, the scent of burning wood wafting through the air as the wind gathered around her. The present and the past became one.

“Raven?” Even though Kael's voice was quiet, it seemed like it had been there forever. With a bitter twist in her heart, she turned to face him.

She drew away when he reached for her hand. The feelings that came to the surface were too intense and unfiltered.

With sadness in his voice, Kael replied softly, "You didn't deserve that." Like you, Raven, I didn't want it. But I was at a loss.

Raven fought back the tears that welled up in her eyes. She was unable to be weak. No, not yet.

As she spoke, her voice wavered, "I thought we could move on, Kael." "I believed we could reconstruct... However, I honestly don't know who you are anymore.

For a brief time, Raven saw the young man she had once loved, and Kael's expression collapsed. The one that was full of hope and fire. The person who vowed to keep her safe at all times.

He muttered, "I had no choice but to do it." "There was nothing I could do."

Raven clenched his chest. "Kael, I was your choice."

The words were like a slap to him. As the force of her words set in, his face became pale. As two broken souls caught in the destruction of their story, they just stood there for a while, looking at each other.

Behind them, a loud voice resounded from the trees. As she turned around, Raven's heart beat immediately.

A figure came out of the darkness.

a female. tall, with gloomy eyes that glowed with evil. She wore all black, and her motions were nimble and dangerous.

She remarked in a low, mocking voice, "I think it's time you finally understood, Raven." "Your history is not yet complete. Furthermore, neither is mine.

Raven's gut churned in discomfort. There was something off about this woman, something dangerous.

The woman smiled, flashing blood-stained fangs before she could respond.

The woman remarked, "You never did find out what truly happened that night, did you?" as she stepped forward, her presence stifling and icy. "Kael didn't turn on you due to the law." You were betrayed by him because of me.