Chapter3
1194 Words
The silence didn’t sound like peace, it sounded like a warning. That was the first thing Liana noticed. Not even the wind moved through the trees. It was like the whole world had gone still, just to listen. She stood at the cave’s edge, her arms crossed over her chest. The early morning air touched her skin, but it wasn’t the cold that sent a shiver through her. Something had changed.
Maelis had woken her before sunrise, handed her a staff, and told her, “You’ll train outside today.” Liana had stepped out without a word, just like she’d done the last few mornings. But this time felt different. Off. Her wolf, usually silent in the background, stirred.
Something’s watching, it said.
Liana turned slowly, scanning the trees. Nothing moved. Still, the hair on her neck stood up.
“Maelis?” she called, keeping her voice calm.
No answer.
She didn’t panic. Maelis often disappeared during training to watch from afar. But today, the silence pressed in like hands on her shoulders.
Then she saw it. Just between two trees. A shape. Too tall to be human. Too still to be animal. Liana blinked. Gone.
Her wolf growled low inside her. Not loud, but tense.
That thing isn’t one of us, it said.
Liana stepped back until her heels touched the edge of the cave entrance. She didn’t run, but her whole body screamed to run. She turned quickly and went inside.
Maelis was already by the fire, her pale eyes fixed on Liana.
“You saw it, didn’t you?” she asked.
Liana gave a small nod, breathing harder than she meant to. “It was tall. Not a wolf. It didn’t move like one.”
Maelis stirred the fire with her staff. “That’s not one of Kael’s men. That’s older.”
“Older?” Liana echoed.
“There are things in these woods that haven’t been named in generations. Spirits. Shadows. Creatures that walk between here and the Otherworld.”
“Why was it watching me?” Liana asked.
Maelis looked into the flames. “Because it knows who you are. And what you’ll become.”
Training started earlier than usual that day. Maelis led her to a wide stone clearing near the base of the cliffs. The sky was still pale, the air sharp. Liana stood barefoot, bruises already forming from yesterday’s lessons.
Maelis handed her a strip of black cloth.
“You can’t learn to see until you stop depending on your eyes.”
“I can’t fight blind,” Liana said.
“You can’t survive distracted either.”
Liana hesitated, then tied the cloth around her eyes. The world went black. She breathed in, slow and careful.
“Now what?”
“Listen. Let your wolf guide you.”
Liana waited. The first strike came from behind. Maelis’s staff cracked against her shoulder. Liana stumbled but didn’t fall.
“Focus.”
Liana gritted her teeth. She turned toward the sound, arms raised in defense. Another strike. She managed to block it just enough to take the edge off. Again, again. Fall. Stand. Block. Miss. Bleed.
By noon, sweat had soaked her shirt, sticking it to her skin. Her arms trembled. Her legs ached. She finally collapsed onto the grass, gasping.
Maelis didn’t speak at first. She filled a clay cup with water and handed it to her.
“You’re not that scared girl from the woods anymore,” she said.
Liana drank, breathless. “I still feel like her.”
“But you’re not. You’re changing.”
Liana looked at her hands. They still shook, but less than before.
“Why do I feel like the wolf is holding back?”
“Because she’s watching you,” Maelis said. “Waiting to see if you’ll accept her.”
“I thought I already did.”
“Not fully.”
That night, Liana stood alone outside the cave. The stars blinked overhead. The air was cold again. Her body hurt. But her mind was louder than the pain. She thought of her mother. Her death. Kael. His rejection. And the bond. She pressed her hand against her chest. The pain wasn’t physical anymore. It was deeper. Like a hollow that wouldn’t fill.
Her wolf stirred.
He feels it too.
“I don’t care.”
You do.
“I shouldn’t.”
But you do.
Far across the valley, in the Nightfall Pack, Kael punched the mirror in his room. Glass shattered on the floor. Blood dripped from his knuckles, but he didn’t care. His wolf started howling again, clawing at the walls inside of his mind. He hadn’t closed his eyes in two nights. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw silver flashes. Heard her scream. Felt something break inside him. He walked to the window, blood trailing from his hand. Cold air hit his face. Still not enough.
“She’s gone,” he muttered.
His wolf growled.
No.
“She’s gone.”
She’s alive.
Kael gripped the frame, breathing hard. He hated how right it felt.
The next morning, Maelis woke Liana early.
“Come,” she said. “There’s something I need to show you.”
They walked deep into the tunnels behind the cave. The air changed the farther they went. Colder. Denser. Maelis stopped in front of a tall stone wall covered in names.
“The Seers before you,” she said.
Liana stepped closer. Each name was carved by hand, some glowing faintly, others faded. She reached a name halfway down the wall scratched out violently.
“What happened to her?”
Maelis didn’t answer.
“Who was she?”
“A mistake.”
“Did she die?”
“Worse.”
Liana shivered as a chill ran down her spine. She moved her hand away from the wall.
That night, she dreamed again. Her mother stood in a burning forest. Blood stained her dress. Her voice was calm.
“Don’t trust everyone who offers you help. Not even those who saved you.”
Liana reached for her, but fire separated them.
She woke up suddenly, gasping for air. The fire in the cave had burned low. She got up quietly and stepped outside. The stars blinked. The trees looked peaceful.
Then she heard it. A whisper.
“Liana…”
She froze.
“Who’s there?” she called.
No answer.
Her wolf growled low in her mind. She stepped into the forest. Every step felt heavier. The air grew colder. She followed the voice.
Then a figure collapsed in front of her.
Liana screamed.
Blood soaked his side. His face was bruised and dirt-covered. She dropped to her knees.
“No,” she whispered. “This can’t be.”
It was Riel. One of the boys from her old pack. He had disappeared months before the raid. Now he was here. Barely breathing.
His eyes opened for a second.
“He’s coming,” he gasped. “He knows what you are…”
Then his body went limp.
Liana looked up. The trees around her had started to shift. Leaves rustled. The wind hadn’t returned. But something else had. Something that had no name.
- Writer
