Chapter 14 The Mark Of The Forbidden
1595 Words
The forest was unnaturally silent as I followed Aria toward the eastern border. Not even the wind dared to move through the trees. Every instinct in me was on high alert, my wolf pacing inside my chest, restless, uneasy.
Whatever had killed Ravik’s wolf… it wasn’t ordinary.
Aria kept glancing back at me as she jogged ahead, her breathing sharp. “Selene, you have to see it yourself. I’ve never seen anything like this.”
“Slow down,” I ordered, though my voice trembled with the same urgency burning through her. “Tell me everything you noticed before I get there.”
She swallowed. “There was no struggle. No claw marks. No bite. No signs of a fight.”
My steps faltered for a second.
No fight?
No wolf—rogue or trained—goes down without a fight.
“What killed him then?” I muttered.
Aria didn’t answer.
We emerged at the border clearing. Several warriors stood around the body in a tense circle. The smell of blood hit me instantly—sharp, metallic, too strong. I pushed past the warriors, and my breath caught in my throat.
The wolf’s body was sprawled across the ground, eyes wide open, frozen in terror. But his throat—his throat wasn’t torn. It was burned.
Blackened. Seared. As if something hot had sliced straight through the flesh.
I crouched beside him, inspecting closer.
The wound was precise, a straight line, blistered around the edges. No tooth could leave that. No claw. No natural weapon.
Aria whispered, “It looks like fire. But the wolf wasn’t burned anywhere else.”
I touched the edge lightly. Still warm.
Warm.
“Everyone step back,” I commanded.
Warriors moved instantly. I closed my eyes, inhaling slowly, opening my senses. The world sharpened—scents, sounds, energy. The earth itself whispered.
And there it was: a faint trace of something old. Ancient. Forbidden.
Magic.
My eyes snapped open.
This wasn’t just a rogue. This wasn’t Ravik. This was someone else. Something else.
Orion approached quietly. “Alpha, we should burn the body. Before anyone else sees it.”
“No,” I said firmly. “Not yet. This is evidence.”
“Selene…” he lowered his voice, “magic hasn’t been used in centuries. It was wiped out. No witch survived the last purge.”
“That’s what we were told,” I said coldly. “But someone lied.”
Or maybe someone survived.
A shiver raced down my spine.
My father once told me stories about witches—wolves born with fire in their blood. Wolves who could shape light, shadow, flame. Wolves hunted for their power until they were believed extinct.
But if even one remained…
Orion crossed his arms. “If a witch wolf is out there, Ravik might be trying to recruit them. Or kill them.”
“Or they’re hunting me,” I said.
He stiffened. “Why you?”
Because I was a female Alpha.
Because I carried power that made enemies desperate.
Because someone out there knew how to break packs—by cutting down their leader.
I stood slowly. “Orion, double border surveillance. No one travels alone, not even for patrol.”
“Yes, Alpha.”
“And find any trace of the witch’s scent. I want to know exactly where they came from—and where they went.”
Orion nodded and spread the order through mind-link. Warriors moved instantly, fanning out through the trees.
Aria approached me again. “Selene… do you think this is connected to Liam?”
I paused.
Everything inside me screamed yes.
He had been attacked right before reaching my borders. Nearly killed. Ravik’s wolves had hunted him like prey.
But what if someone else had been after him too?
What if Liam wasn’t just any outsider?
I exhaled slowly. “We’ll find out.”
Aria nodded and hurried off.
I remained alone with the body for a moment longer, studying the wound again. My wolf snarled uneasily.
Fire, she whispered. Old fire. Dangerous fire.
“Yeah,” I murmured. “I know.”
The forest suddenly shifted behind me—a branch cracked, footsteps light but fast. I swung around instantly.
Liam.
He stumbled through the trees, clutching a cloak around himself, pale but on his feet.
My heart lurched. “Liam! What the hell are you doing out of bed?”
He didn’t answer at first. His gaze moved past me to the burned wolf, and his eyes widened with fear.
“No,” he whispered. “Not here… not again.”
I stepped toward him, grabbing his arms. “Liam. Look at me. Do you know what did this?”
He swallowed hard. Too hard. His pulse raced beneath my fingers.
“Liam,” I repeated, lowering my voice, “talk.”
He met my eyes—and for the first time since I found him, he looked terrified.
“I’ve seen this before, Selene.”
My breath stilled.
“Where?” I demanded.
He hesitated, glancing at the body again. His hands trembled.
“In my old pack,” he said. “Before it was destroyed.”
Destroyed. The word struck me like lightning.
“By Ravik?” I asked carefully.
Liam shook his head.
“No,” he whispered. “By a witch wolf.”
Everything stopped.
The trees. The air. My heartbeat.
“Selene,” Liam continued, voice tight, “the same burn mark… the same scent… the same fear. I know it. The witches didn’t die out. One survived. And they’re hunting again.”
I stared at him, my mind racing, piecing together what I didn’t want to believe.
“Liam,” I said softly, “why didn’t you tell me this before?”
He looked away. “Because if I did… you wouldn’t have let me stay.”
I took a slow, steadying breath. “Why would a witch wolf attack your pack?”
His jaw tightened.
“Because of me.”
I froze.
“What do you mean because of you?” I demanded.
He looked up, silver eyes shimmering with something ancient—something powerful.
“The witch wolf wasn’t after the pack,” he said. “He was after me.”
My heart thudded hard. “Why you? What are you?”
Liam stepped closer, lowering his voice.
“I’m not just a wolf, Selene.”
I felt the truth in my bones.
But he wasn’t done.
“My mother was wolf,” he said. “My father… wasn’t.”
A chill washed over me. “He was a witch.”
Liam nodded slowly. “Half of me carries magic. Half of me carries the wolf. I don’t fully belong to either side.”
My breath hitched.
A hybrid.
I had only heard of such a thing in legends. A wolf who carried elemental magic—the kind of magic that could burn through flesh, tear through packs, destroy kingdoms.
A wolf who could be used as a weapon.
No wonder Ravik wanted him dead.
No wonder someone else was hunting him.
I stepped back, trying to breathe evenly. “Liam… you should have told me.”
“I was afraid,” he whispered. “Every pack I’ve ever been in has turned on me. They tried to kill me before the witch could find me. I thought you would too.”
I stared at him in silence.
A part of me wanted to scream. Another wanted to pull him into my arms. Another still wanted answers he didn’t know how to give.
Finally, I spoke.
“You’re safe here.”
He shook his head. “No. I’m the reason your pack is in danger.”
“Liam—”
“I should leave.”
Pain stabbed through me, sharp as claws. The thought of him leaving—of our mate bond tearing apart—made my wolf howl in agony.
“No,” I growled. “You’re not going anywhere.”
“Selene—”
“I’m your Alpha.” I stepped closer until our breaths mingled. “And you’re my mate. Anyone who wants to hurt you will have to go through me.”
His eyes softened, but fear lingered there. “You don’t understand how dangerous this is. The witch… he’s ruthless. He’s relentless. He killed my entire pack just to get to me. He will kill yours too.”
A spark of rage ignited in my chest. “Let him try.”
Liam’s eyes widened—at my fury, at my resolve, at the way my wolf rose to the surface, ready to protect what was ours.
Then he stepped back. “Selene… there’s something else you need to know.”
My stomach dropped.
“What?”
His throat bobbed as he swallowed.
“The witch who killed my pack…”
He exhaled shakily, voice trembling.
“He’s not just hunting me. He’s coming for you too.”
My heart stopped.
Liam continued, voice barely a whisper.
“He wants the throne of the northern territories. And he wants a queen powerful enough to stand beside him.”
I froze, my blood turning to ice.
Ravik wanted my land.
But the witch…
The witch wanted me.
I forced my voice steady. “And what does he want with you?”
Liam closed his eyes.
“I’m his blood.”
The world crashed around me.
Half-witch. Half-wolf.
Liam wasn’t just being hunted.
He was born into a war.
And now that war had come to my doorstep.
- Writer
