Episode 6 — The Black Wolf
1407 Words
The northern bell continued to ring.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Then it stopped.
The silence that followed felt worse than the sound.
Father Matthias remained on his knees in the snow, staring toward the forest.
“What is the Black Wolf?” he asked.
Matthias didn't answer.
Silas grabbed his coat and pulled him to his feet.
“I asked you a question.”
“You shouldn't have come back.”
“I didn't come back for your approval.”
Matthias looked at him with fear in his eyes.
“You don't understand what you are.”
Silas froze.
“What did you say?”
The priest looked toward the trees.
“You were never supposed to survive that night.”
Silas tightened his grip.
“Then tell me why I did.”
Matthias opened his mouth.
A growl interrupted him.
It came from directly behind them.
Silas turned.
Nothing.
Only the graveyard.
Only the rain.
Only the dark trees beyond the stone wall.
Matthias whispered, “It's here.”
Silas stepped toward the forest.
“Then let it come.”
“Silas, no!”
Silas ignored him.
He walked between the trees.
The darkness swallowed him.
Matthias remained behind.
He crossed himself.
“Forgive me.”
Silas followed the tracks.
Four enormous paw prints appeared in the mud.
They were fresh.
He moved deeper into the forest.
The trees became thicker.
The village lights disappeared behind him.
Then he heard breathing.
Slow.
Heavy.
Close.
Silas stopped.
A low growl came from his left.
He turned.
Nothing.
Another growl came from the right.
Silas slowly reached for his knife.
“Come out.”
Silence.
Then a large black shape moved between the trees.
Silas caught only a glimpse.
Dark fur.
Massive shoulders.
Eyes reflecting the moonlight.
It disappeared.
Silas followed.
The creature moved faster.
Branches struck his face.
He kept going.
Then the forest suddenly opened into a clearing.
The wolf stood in the center.
It was enormous.
Much larger than any natural wolf.
Its fur was completely black.
Its eyes were pale silver.
Silas stared at it.
The creature stared back.
Neither moved.
Silas slowly lowered his knife.
“You've been following me.”
The wolf tilted its head.
Silas stepped closer.
“Why?”
The wolf growled.
Something inside Silas answered.
His chest tightened.
His heartbeat accelerated.
His fingers began to tremble.
The silver pendant beneath his shirt became hot against his skin.
Silas dropped to one knee.
He gritted his teeth.
“No.”
The sensation spread through his body.
His vision blurred.
His hearing became painfully sharp.
He could hear the rain striking leaves hundreds of feet away.
He could smell the animal.
The wet earth.
The blood beneath the trees.
And something else.
Fear.
Human fear.
Silas looked up.
The wolf was no longer in front of him.
It stood behind him.
Silas spun around.
The creature stared at him.
Then it turned toward a narrow path leading deeper into the forest.
It began walking.
Silas followed.
The wolf led him to an abandoned cabin.
The door was broken.
The roof had collapsed on one side.
Silas entered.
Inside, dust covered everything.
A fireplace stood against the wall.
An old wooden table sat beneath a window.
Silas looked around.
Something felt familiar.
He walked toward the fireplace.
A symbol had been carved into the stone.
The silver wolf.
Beneath it were seven names.
Silas read them.
Viktor Rask.
Edmund Vale.
Garrick Holt.
Matthias Crowe.
The fourth name had been scratched out.
The fifth was almost unreadable.
The sixth had been burned away.
The seventh had been completely removed.
Silas stared at the list.
“The council.”
A sound came from behind him.
The wolf was gone.
In its place lay an old wooden box.
Silas opened it.
Inside was a bundle of papers.
Photographs.
And a bloodstained necklace.
Silas recognized it immediately.
His father's.
He picked it up with trembling fingers.
“No…”
A photograph slipped from the box.
Silas picked it up.
It showed seven men standing around a stone altar.
One of them was Viktor.
Another was Matthias.
And standing between them was Elias Vane.
Silas stared at the photograph.
His father wasn't a victim.
He had been part of the council.
Silas's breathing stopped.
“Why?”
A voice came from the doorway.
“Because your father wasn't what you were told.”
Silas turned.
Mara Vane stood outside.
Her face was older than he remembered.
But he recognized her immediately.
“Mara.”
She stepped into the cabin.
“You remember me.”
Silas stared at her.
“How could I forget?”
Mara looked at the photograph.
“You weren't supposed to find this.”
Silas held up his father's necklace.
“You knew.”
“Yes.”
“You knew my father was alive?”
Mara hesitated.
“I knew he survived the fire.”
“Where is he?”
“I don't know.”
Silas stepped closer.
“Don't lie.”
“I'm not.”
“Then tell me what happened.”
Mara looked toward the broken window.
“Your father was part of the Blackpine Council.”
“I know.”
“He wanted to leave.”
“Why?”
“Because the council had discovered something beneath the mountain.”
Silas frowned.
“What?”
Mara whispered:
“The wolf.”
Silas looked toward the forest.
“The Black Wolf?”
Mara nodded.
“It isn't an animal.”
“What is it?”
“I don't know.”
Silas stared at her.
“You know more than you're telling me.”
Mara's eyes filled with fear.
“Your father tried to destroy it.”
“Then why did Viktor stop him?”
“Because Viktor wanted its power.”
Silas's expression hardened.
“And the fire?”
Mara looked down.
“The council turned against your father.”
“Did they kill my mother?”
“No.”
“Then who did?”
Mara hesitated.
“You did.”
Silas froze.
“What?”
Mara's voice trembled.
“You were seventeen. The wolf had already marked you.”
Silas stepped backward.
“That isn't possible.”
“Your father knew the curse had passed to you.”
Silas touched the silver pendant.
Mara continued.
“He tried to take you away from Blackpine.”
“And Viktor?”
“He stopped him.”
Silas closed his eyes.
Memories came rushing back.
Fire.
Screaming.
His father's hands.
A wolf howling outside.
His mother's voice.
And something else.
A voice inside his own head.
Run.
Kill them.
Silas opened his eyes.
“Why did my father leave me?”
Mara shook her head.
“He didn't.”
Silas stared at her.
“He went into the forest to find the wolf.”
“And?”
“He never came back.”
Silas looked toward the doorway.
The Black Wolf stood outside.
Watching him.
Mara saw it.
Her face went pale.
“Silas…”
The wolf stepped forward.
Mara backed away.
“It followed you.”
Silas didn't move.
The creature entered the cabin.
It walked past Mara.
Past the table.
And stopped directly in front of Silas.
Silas looked into its silver eyes.
Suddenly, a voice echoed inside his mind.
Not human.
Ancient.
Cold.
Blood remembers.
Silas staggered backward.
The wolf vanished.
The cabin was empty.
Mara rushed toward him.
“What happened?”
Silas looked at his hands.
Black veins had appeared briefly beneath his skin.
Then disappeared.
He looked at Mara.
“What am I?”
She stared at him.
“You're a Vane.”
“That isn't an answer.”
Mara's voice broke.
“No.”
She shook her head.
“It isn't.”
Silas waited.
Mara whispered:
“You are the last blood of the Black Wolf.”
Outside the cabin, someone watched through the trees.
Viktor Rask.
He had followed them.
He saw Silas standing inside the cabin.
Alive.
Changed.
Viktor's face hardened.
He turned to the man beside him.
“Tell the others.”
The man nodded.
“What should we do?”
Viktor looked toward the cabin.
“Prepare the ritual.”
“And Silas?”
Viktor smiled.
“Don't kill him.”
The man looked confused.
“Why?”
Viktor's eyes reflected the moonlight.
“Because we don't need the wolf dead.”
He looked toward Silas.
“We need the wolf awake.”
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