CHAPTER 35
1629 Words
The room was quiet.
Too quiet.
Elise shifted under the covers, her brow creased as she turned her face into the pillow.
Her body felt stiff.
Her mind wasn’t fully awake, but something tugged at her.
The dream.
It had been one of those dreams, the kind that left your skin cold and your chest tight, even after you woke up.
She sat up slowly, rubbing her arms.
She had seen them again.
Feral wolves.
Not just one this time. Not like the WhiteMoon Ball.
There were many of them.
Their glowing red eyes, their torn black fur, their twisted snouts, teeth so sharp they looked like they could cut through stone.
And they were running.
No.
Hunting.
In the dream, Elise had been standing in a village.
One she didn’t recognize, but it felt familiar.
The sky was gray.
The wind was loud.
And the wolves were everywhere.
Tearing through homes.
Ripping into anything that moved.
The screams… thosevscreams wouldn’t leave her head.
“Elise.”
Her door creaked open.
She jumped slightly.
Kai stood there, hair messy like he hadn’t slept much either. “You okay?”
She didn’t speak right away. Just nodded. “Yeah… just a dream.”
He narrowed his eyes a little. “Another one?”
She hesitated. “Yeah. But this one felt… different.”
Kai stepped in fully, closing the door behind him. “Want to talk about it?”
“No.” She rubbed her forehead. “I just need air.”
Later that morning, the packhouse buzzed with tension.
A scout had come back, breathless and bleeding.
He said smoke was rising from a village near the eastern ridge.
Just a few hours from them.
“They came out of nowhere,” the scout said. “Huge wolves. Not like us, feral, wild like monsters.”
Elise froze when she heard it.
Her stomach turned.
She knew it.
She knew that dream wasn’t just a dream.
“They’re back,” she whispered.
The council called an emergency meeting.
Warriors were gathered.
Orders were shouted.
Elise stood near the hallway, listening behind a pillar.
She wasn’t called in.
She wasn’t invited.
Of course, she wasn’t.
Not anymore.
“She needs to stay out of this,” someone said.
“She’s unstable,” someone else added.
Even after losing her power, they still thought she was a risk. Like just being near her would bring trouble.
Kai walked past her at some point, fully suited in his Alpha gear—dark armor that wrapped tight around his chest, leather straps over his shoulders, boots heavy on the wood floor.
“You’re not coming,” he told her gently.
“But—”
“It’s not up for debate, Elise.”
She looked at him, and for a second, he looked back.
Like he didn’t want to say it.
But he still walked away.
Elise clenched her fists.
But of course, she didn’t stay behind.
She knew the path.
Knew the smell of the trees and the way the wind shifted when something wasn’t right.
She moved through the shadows, far behind the main group, her cloak pulled up.
When she saw the smoke in the sky, her heart sank.
The village was quiet when they arrived.
Too quiet.
No birds.
No wind.
No voices.
Just the crackling sound of dying flames and the soft creak of wood collapsing on itself.
Houses had been ripped apart like paper.
Doors were split in half.
Some buildings still smoked.
Blood stained the ground in places.
Deep claw marks tore through stone and walls.
It looked like a war zone.
“No survivors?” someone asked.
The warriors began spreading out.
Swords drawn.
Ears up.
Eyes scanning, in search for survivors.
Elise stayed back, hidden behind what was left of a small barn.
Her fingers trembled as she gripped the edge of a broken wall. She could barely breathe.
This was worse than the ball.
Much worse.
Suddenly, a sharp cry echoed through the ruins.
“Over here!”
The team rushed toward one of the burned-out houses.
Elise stayed low but followed from the side.
A young boy, maybe no older than twelve was pulled from beneath some debris.
His arm was severely injured, his eyes were wild with fear.
Dirt and ash covered his face.
He looked barely alive.
One of the healers tried to tend to him, but he grabbed the man’s collar suddenly and whispered out one word.
“They’re… hunting.”
His voice cracked.
“Not random… looking for someone…”
And then his body went limp.
He passed out.
Maybe from the pain.
Maybe from fear.
Maybe from both.
The warriors carried him back toward the group, urgency in their steps now.
No one said anything, but the look on everyone’s faces said it all.
This wasn’t just an attack.
It was a message.
Elise stepped back into the trees, breathing hard.
She didn’t know what scared her more—that the wolves were back…
Or that they were searching for something.
Or someone.
And this time, it wasn’t her, maybe.
But it was someone close.
They rode back in silence.
The boy was unconscious, laid carefully in the back of one of the wagons with two healers by his side.
His breathing was shallow, his lips pale.
Every few minutes, someone checked for a pulse—just to be sure.
Elise stayed hidden the entire ride.
She didn’t speak.
Didn’t move much.
Just stared at the smoke rising behind them in the distance.
Her mind kept going back to his words.
“They’re hunting…”
Her chest tightened with every step the horses took, every creak of the wheels beneath her. If the feral wolves weren’t just attacking at random, then what did that mean?
What were they after?
Back at the packhouse, chaos had already started to brew.
News spread faster than wildfire.
A nearby village, destroyed.
Survivors? Barely.
Witnesses? Almost none.
The council was already gathered before the warriors even returned fully.
Elder Kion stood by the window, looking out.
Kai slammed his hand on the table.
“We can’t keep ignoring this.
This wasn’t just a rogue attack—this was planned.”
“And you think jumping to conclusions will help us?” one of the older councilwomen asked.
“I think pretending it’s nothing will get more people killed.”
“They were searching for someone,” one of the warriors added.
“The boy said it.”
There was a long pause.
Then Kion finally spoke.
“We don’t know who they’re after. So we don’t spread panic. We don’t announce anything until we know more.”
Kai’s jaw tensed. “And how do you suggest we find out, Elder?”
“That’s your job, Alpha.”
The words were cold.
Almost mocking.
Elise listened from the hallway again, pressed against the wall.
She hadn’t gone to her room.
Couldn’t.
Not when something in her gut told her this was far from over.
She turned away and headed downstairs, her mind spinning.
She didn’t go to her room.
She went to the courtyard.
Chilly wind brushed across her cheeks.
The sun was going down slowly.
That soft orange light made everything feel calm, even though inside her, a storm was brewing.
That was when she saw him—Jace.
A young warrior.
Funny. Smart. Brave.
He was always one of the few who spoke kindly to her, even before the whole drama.
He trained beside her sometimes.
Even made her laugh once or twice.
He didn’t see her at first.
He was pacing alone, muttering to himself.
Elise stepped forward. “You okay?”
He turned, surprised.
Then nodded slowly. “Yeah. Just… can’t shake off what I saw today.”
She looked down. “You went to the village?”
“Yeah. I was part of the second team. Clean-up crew.”
“What was it like?”
“Worse than anything I imagined. It wasn’t just killing for fun. It was… organized. Controlled. Like they were following instructions.”
That sent a shiver down her spine.
She stepped closer, lowering her voice. “Be careful, Jace. Something tells me this isn’t over.”
He gave a small nod. “I know. But I’m not scared of them.”
“You should be.”
They locked eyes for a second.
“Thanks, Elise,” he said. “You’re one of the few people who actually cares.”
She didn’t reply.
Just smiled a little, then turned and walked away.
But something about that moment stuck with her.
And in her heart, she had a feeling someone close was next, or maybe everyone of them.
That night, she couldn’t sleep.
She climbed to the rooftop of the packhouse.
A small, forgotten space above the training hall.
No one went there.
The stars were out, bright and clear, like little pinholes poked into the night sky.
She sat on the edge, legs dangling, arms wrapped around her knees.
Everything felt too big.
Too loud inside her head.
The smell of blood from the village.
The sound of the boy’s voice.
The way the council brushed everything off like it was nothing more than a fire drill.
She tilted her head up.
“Why now?” she whispered to the sky. “Why come back now? Why after I’ve lost everything?”
Her fingers pressed into her palms.
She could feel the anger building again.
But it wasn’t the same kind of anger that clouded her vision or made her reckless.
This one was clearer.
Sharper.
The feral wolves hadn’t just returned.
They were hunting for someone.
And the real question wasn’t why—
It was who.
And Elise was going to find out.
- Writer
