Chapter Four
1079 Words
Asha
The night air was sharp, carrying the smell of pine and smoke from the fires still burning in the training fields. My arms ached from sparring earlier with one of Julian’s warriors, though sparring was too kind a word. They had been testing me, poking and circling like vultures waiting for me to fail.
I had been called a witch, a curse, a snake in human skin more times than I could count. Nothing new. But here, inside Julian’s stone hall, their stares were sharper than any blade. I felt it when I walked the corridors, when I reached for food at the long tables, even when I tried to sleep in the room he had given me.
I wanted to scream. I wanted to tell them that I never asked for this. That I never wanted to be tied to their Alpha. That my magic, this gift, had only ever brought me trouble.
But instead I swallowed it all down.
That evening, I sat by the window of my room, watching the moon climb higher. Its glow washed the valley in silver. Somewhere in the shadows, wolves howled. I knew they weren’t ours.
A chill worked its way through me. My magic stirred under my skin, restless. It always warned me before danger came close. It felt like a heartbeat that wasn’t mine.
I wrapped my shawl tighter around my shoulders, telling myself it was just nerves. But deep inside, I knew the world was shifting. Something darker was moving in the valley, something I couldn’t stop even if I tried.
And then there was Julian.
I didn’t know what to make of him. He was fire and stone, hard one moment and burning the next. He touched me like I belonged to him, but his eyes said I was only a tool. And yet, when I caught him watching me, something softer lived there too. Something he tried to bury.
I hated it. I hated that I noticed. I hated that my heart quickened when he drew near.
I should not care for him. He was a wolf. His kind had hunted mine for generations. But as I pressed my hand against the window, listening to the howls grow louder, I knew one truth.
If the shadows came for us tonight, Julian was the only shield I had.
---
Julian
I stood in the training yard long after the others had gone, breathing in the cold night air. My knuckles were raw from the wooden post I had been striking. No matter how hard I hit it, I couldn’t silence the storm inside me.
The pack was restless. I could feel it in their eyes, hear it in their whispers. Bringing a witch into my home, into my bloodline, was like pouring poison into their water. They would never accept her. Not fully.
But I had no choice.
The Council wanted me crushed. Rival packs circled like wolves around a wounded deer. My claim to Alpha was strong, but strength meant nothing without allies. Asha was my chance. Her magic could tilt the scales.
And yet, she was more than that.
I hated myself for thinking it. But when she walked through my hall, shoulders straight despite the glares, I felt something stir that I had long buried. Desire. Maybe even something deeper, though I dared not name it.
I could not afford weakness. An Alpha who let his heart rule him was no Alpha at all. My father had taught me that, and his father before him. Still, when I closed my eyes, I saw Asha by the firelight, her eyes bright as if holding back secrets the world could not carry.
I clenched my fists, pushing the thought away.
The wind shifted. My wolf rose inside me, ears pricking, teeth bared. Danger. The scent of blood touched the air.
I turned my gaze toward the valley. Shadows moved between the trees. Not ours. Never ours.
The Blackfangs.
A growl rumbled in my chest. They had come earlier than I expected.
---
*The Attack*
The first scream tore through the night like glass breaking.
I ran to the window of my chamber, heart hammering. Flames flared at the edge of the field. Figures rushed in from the tree line, their eyes glowing red with hunger.
The Blackfangs.
Julian’s pack scrambled to meet them, wolves shifting in flashes of silver and gray. The sound of snarling and tearing filled the air.
I pressed my hand against the window and felt the heat of battle rising. My magic burned inside me, begging to be set free.
Before I could move, the door burst open.
Julian stormed in, eyes wild, his shirt torn from shifting too fast. He looked like a god of war, his chest heaving, his teeth sharp.
“Asha,” he barked. “Stay close.”
“I can fight,” I said, my voice sharper than I meant. “My magic...”
“I said stay close.” His hand closed around my wrist, pulling me to him. His grip was strong, almost painful, but beneath it was something else. Fear.
For me.
We ran through the halls together. Warriors rushed past, some already bloodied, others howling as they leapt into the fray. The ground shook with the weight of wolves colliding.
When we reached the courtyard, the air was thick with smoke and blood. A Blackfang wolf lunged at one of Julian’s men, ripping into his shoulder. I threw my hand out before I could think.
The wolf flew back as if struck by an unseen force, slamming against the wall. My magic burned through me, hot and wild.
Every head turned. Julian’s pack froze, eyes wide with fear and awe.
Julian’s grip on me tightened. I thought he might pull me back, but instead he let go. His voice cut through the chaos.
“She fights with us!” he roared.
For a moment, the pack hesitated. Then another Blackfang wolf burst from the shadows, and the choice was made for them. The courtyard became a storm of teeth, claws, and fire.
Julian shifted beside me, his wolf massive, his fur black as midnight. He tore through enemies with a fury that shook the ground. And I, the witch they feared, stood at his side, hurling magic like lightning.
For the first time, we were not Alpha and witch. We were not enemies bound by a bargain. We were something else.
Together.
- Writer
