Shadows And Fire
1201 Words
Episode Three
Shadows and Fire
The forest didn’t feel the same anymore.
It didn’t just surround Hollow Creek — it pulsed through it. Through me.
Every step I took was sharper now, every sound magnified. The distant flutter of wings, the soft drip of water onto moss, even the heartbeat of the deer hiding deeper in the trees — I felt them all as if they belonged to me.
It should’ve terrified me. But instead, there was a strange, burning thrill under my skin.
---
The Pull
I sat in the back of the diner that morning, pretending to sip my coffee while watching the town through the window.
The stranger from the night before — the one with amber eyes and a grin like a knife — haunted every thought. His words echoed in my head, laced with something sharp and promising:
“We’ll meet again, little wolf.”
“Aria?”
I jolted at the sound of Lucas’s voice. He was leaning against the booth, casual in that way that didn’t look casual at all. His storm-gray eyes swept over me, sharp, assessing.
“You shouldn’t be here,” he said quietly.
“It’s a public diner,” I shot back, lifting my cup. “Not exactly enemy territory.”
He didn’t smile. “It’s not safe. Not after last night.”
I stared at him, frustration bubbling in my chest. “Then maybe you should stop talking in riddles and actually explain what’s happening to me.”
His gaze darkened, and for a moment, something wild flickered in his eyes. “You’re changing,” he said finally, voice low. “And once the change starts, there’s no going back.”
---
The Mark
That night, I stood in front of the mirror, staring at the faint crescent-shaped mark on my collarbone. It glowed faintly now, a soft pulse like a heartbeat.
My fingertips brushed over it, and the hum under my skin sharpened, hot and electric, like the forest itself was calling my name.
I didn’t sleep.
I couldn’t.
---
Training
By the next morning, Lucas was waiting.
“Come on,” he said without preamble, tossing me a dark hoodie.
“Where are we going?” I asked, pulling it on.
“Somewhere quiet. You need to learn how to control it before someone else finds you.”
I followed him into the woods, my pulse racing with every step. The deeper we went, the more alive I felt — like the air itself recognized me.
We stopped in a wide clearing, sunlight streaming through the trees in broken shafts.
“Close your eyes,” Lucas said, stepping behind me.
I hesitated. “Why?”
“Because you’re too busy looking at the world,” he said, voice steady, calm. “You need to feel it instead. Listen to it. Trust it.”
I closed my eyes.
At first, all I heard was the rustle of leaves and my own heartbeat. Then, slowly, the world unfolded — the soft scrape of claws against bark, the flutter of wings overhead, the steady rhythm of Lucas’s pulse standing too close behind me.
“You feel that?” he asked softly.
I nodded, my voice barely above a whisper. “Everything.”
“Good,” he said, and for the first time, there was something like pride in his voice.
---
The Bond
The training sessions became our ritual.
Every day after school, we’d disappear into the woods, and Lucas would push me harder — teaching me to sharpen my senses, to run faster, to trust my instincts.
And with every lesson, the space between us grew smaller.
Sometimes I’d catch him watching me, his golden eyes dark and unreadable. Sometimes his hand would brush mine, just for a second, enough to send sparks rushing through my skin.
But it wasn’t just that. There was a weight to the way he looked at me — as if he knew something I didn’t, something that scared even him.
---
The Threat
By the third night, the forest wasn’t quiet anymore.
I’d gone for a run along the river trail when the scent hit me — sharp, acrid, wrong. My skin prickled, every nerve on edge.
And then I heard it.
The growl.
Low. Hungry. Closer than it should’ve been.
I froze, my pulse thundering.
A shadow moved between the trees, too fast to track. Then another.
“Aria.”
The voice was soft, mocking, dripping with something dark.
I spun around, heart hammering.
The stranger stepped into the clearing, his amber eyes glowing like fire in the dim light.
“Told you we’d meet again,” he said, smiling that same sharp smile.
My body tensed. “What do you want?”
“What’s mine,” he said simply, stepping closer. “You. You don’t even understand what you are yet, do you?”
Before I could answer, the world exploded into chaos.
A silver blur crashed through the trees, slamming into the stranger with bone-crushing force.
Lucas.
---
The Fight
They moved like lightning, two shadows tearing through the clearing in a blur of claws and teeth.
The sound was deafening — snarls, growls, the sickening crack of bone on bone.
I stumbled back, my hands shaking, the hum in my blood roaring louder, hotter.
When the stranger pinned Lucas to the ground, something inside me snapped.
I screamed.
The sound tore from my throat, raw and guttural, vibrating through the air like a shockwave.
Everything stilled.
The stranger froze, his amber eyes locking on me, wide with something sharp — surprise, maybe even fear.
“You don’t even know what you are,” he whispered, before disappearing into the shadows like smoke.
---
Aftermath
Lucas shifted back slowly, his chest heaving, blood streaking his skin.
“You shouldn’t have been out here,” he said, voice hoarse but steady.
“I was— I didn’t—” My words tumbled over themselves.
He stepped closer, his gaze burning into mine. “You’re stronger than you think, Aria. But that also means you’re more dangerous than you realize.”
I swallowed hard, my pulse still thundering. “What did he mean? What am I?”
His jaw tightened. “Not tonight. You need rest.”
“No,” I said, my voice sharp. “No more half-answers, Lucas. Tell me.”
For a long moment, he just stared at me, his golden eyes unreadable. Then, finally, he said:
“You’re not just changing, Aria. You were chosen. And that makes you a target.”
---
The Awakening
That night, I didn’t sleep.
I sat by my window, staring out at the dark line of trees that marked the edge of the forest.
The hum was constant now, deep and steady, like a second heartbeat.
I could feel the pull — the call of something ancient and wild — and for the first time, I didn’t try to fight it.
I closed my eyes and let the sound of the forest fill me. The wind, the rustle of leaves, the soft, distant howl that rose like a song in the night.
And beneath it all, a whisper.
“Wake up.”
- Writer
