Chapter 4: The Heir Awakens
1415 Words
Run.
The word echoed through my mind louder than my own heartbeat.
Branches whipped against my face as I stumbled deeper into the forest. Roots curled beneath my feet like grasping fingers, threatening to send me crashing to the ground with every desperate step. My lungs burned, each breath scraping painfully against my throat.
Behind me…
The roar came again.
Not the roar of a wolf.
Not a bear.
Something older.
Something that sounded as though the earth itself had found a voice.
I didn’t look back.
I couldn’t.
The tiny wooden wolf raced ahead of me with impossible speed, its silver eyes glowing through the darkness. Every few strides it glanced over its shoulder, making sure I was following.
“Hurry!” it barked.
“They’re coming!”
I had stopped questioning why a wooden carving could speak.
After everything that had happened tonight…
Nothing felt impossible anymore.
Far behind me, alarm horns echoed across Blackwood.
One.
Two.
Three.
Emergency summons.
The entire pack had been thrown into chaos.
Warriors flooded the ceremonial grounds, swords drawn as they formed a protective circle around the shattered Moonstone.
Elder Margot dropped to her knees before the broken relic.
Her wrinkled hands trembled as she picked up one glowing shard.
“It cannot be…”
High Priest Orion’s face had lost every trace of color.
“The seal…”
His voice barely rose above a whisper.
“It has broken.”
Commander Darius spun toward the warriors.
“Search every corner of the forest!”
His eyes blazed with fury.
“Find that Omega!”
Several warriors hesitated.
“My Commander…” one of them said cautiously. “Shouldn’t we investigate the Moonstone first?”
Darius rounded on him.
“I gave you an order!”
The warrior immediately lowered his head.
“Yes, Commander.”
Within seconds, dozens of wolves shifted and disappeared into the forest.
Only Kael remained standing before the shattered Moonstone.
Silent.
Watching.
A strange uneasiness settled in his chest.
The moment Seraphina had fled…
The air itself had changed.
For the first time in years…
His wolf stirred uneasily.
I couldn’t run anymore.
My legs gave out beneath me.
I collapsed beside a narrow stream, gasping for breath.
The icy water rushed over smooth stones, reflecting the moonlight like scattered silver.
The wooden wolf stopped several feet ahead.
It turned toward me.
“You must keep moving.”
“I can’t…”
My voice cracked.
“I’ve got nothing left.”
“You do.”
Its glowing eyes narrowed.
“You simply haven’t found it yet.”
I laughed bitterly.
“What exactly do I have?”
“My pack threw me away.”
“My mate rejected me.”
“My wolf is gone.”
“My home is gone.”
“I have nothing.”
The wooden wolf stared at me for a long moment.
Then…
It surprised me.
“No.”
“You have everything.”
Confusion knitted my brows together.
“What does that even mean?”
Instead of answering…
The tiny wolf looked toward the stream.
“Look.”
I followed its gaze.
At first…
I saw only my reflection.
A frightened girl covered in mud and dried blood.
Then…
The water rippled.
Not because of the current.
Because my reflection…
Smiled.
I froze.
I hadn’t smiled.
Slowly…
My reflection raised a hand.
I hadn’t moved.
Ice spread through my veins.
The girl in the water tilted her head.
Her silver eyes glowed brighter than the moon above.
Then she spoke.
“You’ve cried long enough.”
I stumbled backward.
The reflection remained inside the water.
Watching me.
“You…”
My lips trembled.
“Who are you?”
A soft smile touched her face.
“Someone who has waited a thousand years.”
The stream erupted.
Silver water spiraled into the air, forming countless glowing threads that danced around me like living moonlight.
The wooden wolf bowed its head.
“My Queen.”
Queen?
I looked wildly between the two of them.
“No…”
“You have the wrong person.”
“I’ve never ruled anything.”
“I couldn’t even protect myself.”
The woman inside the water looked almost… saddened.
“They convinced you that weakness was your name.”
“They lied.”
Before I could ask another question…
Her image shattered.
The water returned to normal.
The forest fell silent.
Only my pounding heartbeat remained.
Miles away…
Kael stood inside the Alpha Hall.
The celebration had vanished.
Broken goblets littered the floor.
Lanterns had gone dark.
Fear had replaced laughter.
Selena reached for his arm.
“Kael…”
“We should announce that everything is under control.”
He didn’t answer.
His attention remained fixed on the silver shard lying on the council table.
It pulsed once.
Then…
It floated.
Every elder in the room gasped.
The shard slowly rotated in the air before pointing toward the northern forest.
Toward Seraphina.
High Priest Orion inhaled sharply.
“It is seeking someone.”
Kael frowned.
“What does that mean?”
The old priest looked at him with frightened eyes.
“It means…”
“The Moonstone still recognizes its rightful master.”
Silence crashed over the hall.
Selena’s face paled.
Commander Darius’ fists tightened.
Kael’s expression darkened.
“No.”
His voice was firm.
“She was only an Omega.”
Orion slowly shook his head.
“The Moonstone has never recognized rank.”
“It only recognizes truth.”
The night grew colder.
The wooden wolf resumed walking.
I followed.
Questions crowded my mind.
Who was the woman in the stream?
Why had the wolf called me Queen?
Why had the Moonstone shattered?
Nothing made sense anymore.
The forest became strangely quiet.
Too quiet.
No insects.
No birds.
Even the wind had disappeared.
The wooden wolf suddenly stopped.
Its ears flattened.
“Oh no…”
“What?”
It didn’t answer.
Instead…
It growled.
Deep.
Warning.
Then I heard it.
Crunch.
A branch snapped behind me.
Another.
Then another.
Something was moving through the trees.
Heavy.
Slow.
Deliberate.
I spun around.
Nothing.
Only darkness.
Another crunch echoed to my left.
Then my right.
We weren’t alone.
“They’ve found us?” I whispered.
The wooden wolf shook its head.
“I wish it were only hunters.”
A low growl rolled through the forest.
The same growl that had shaken the earth.
Except now…
It was much closer.
The trees began trembling.
Leaves drifted from the branches without a breeze.
Something enormous moved between the shadows.
I caught only a glimpse.
Two massive silver eyes.
Watching.
Waiting.
Then they vanished.
“Run!”
The wooden wolf shouted.
I didn’t hesitate.
We sprinted through the forest.
Behind us…
The footsteps became thunder.
Trees cracked.
Birds exploded into the sky.
Whatever chased us wasn’t trying to hide anymore.
It wanted us to know it was coming.
My foot caught on a root.
I cried out as I tumbled down a steep embankment.
The world spun.
Sharp rocks tore through my sleeves.
Finally…
I slammed into the base of an enormous stone arch hidden beneath hanging vines.
The impact knocked the air from my lungs.
The wooden wolf leaped beside me.
Its glowing eyes widened.
“No…”
“What?”
It stared at the ancient archway.
Weathered symbols covered its surface.
Silver light slowly spread through every carved line.
“The sanctuary…”
“It has awakened.”
The ground shook again.
The giant creature emerged from the trees.
At first…
I couldn’t understand what I was seeing.
It stood nearly fifteen feet tall.
Its body resembled a wolf…
Yet its skin looked like cracked black stone.
Silver light leaked through the cracks like molten moonlight.
Its eyes burned with endless hunger.
It wasn’t alive.
It wasn’t dead.
It was something in between.
The creature lowered its enormous head.
Its glowing gaze locked onto me.
Then…
To my horror…
It knelt.
Not to attack.
To bow.
A voice unlike anything I had ever heard echoed through the clearing.
“I have found you…”
The ancient stone arch burst open with blinding silver light.
Wind roared around us.
The wooden wolf barked urgently.
“Step inside!”
I hesitated for one fatal second.
The creature slowly lifted its head.
Its glowing eyes narrowed.
Then it spoke five words that turned every drop of blood in my body to ice.
“The Heir of Ash has returned.”
The light swallowed me whole.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD