Chapter 17
1016 Words
The door shuts behind Devon, leaving silence in its wake. I press my palm to my chest, trying to slow the frantic rhythm of my heart. A prophecy. Fire. Chosen. It all swirls inside me like smoke refusing to clear.
I don’t know how long I lie there before footsteps echo down the hall again. The scent that drifts through the air isn’t Devon’s it’s strange, ancient, sharp like herbs burning. The door creaks open without a knock.
I sit up. “Devon said"
The words die in my throat.
A woman steps inside, cloaked in deep blue fabric embroidered with silver threads that shimmer like starlight. Her eyes are clouded white, yet they track me unerringly.
“I don’t open doors for strangers,” I whisper, though my voice trembles.
“You didn’t.” Her voice is low, rasped with age, yet it thrums with power. “The door opened for me.”
The air in the room shifts, thicker, charged like the moment before a storm. I realize instantly who she must be.
“The Seer,” I breathe.
Her lips curve faintly, though her expression remains solemn. She walks closer without hesitation, her cane tapping softly against the floor. When she’s only a step away, she lifts her hand.
I want to recoil, but something roots me in place. Her palm hovers just above my head. Heat flares not painful this time, but warm, steady, like a hearth fire wrapping around me. Her blind eyes widen as if she can see me more clearly than anyone else ever has.
And then she gasps.
Her body shudders violently, her cane clattering to the ground. A white light bursts from her eyes, spilling into the room, and her voice echoes like three people are speaking at once.
“The fire rises. The chosen flame walks among us. Blood shall burn, shadows shall fall, and the mate of fire will either unite or ruin the pack.”
The air trembles with her words. I can’t breathe. She’s talking about me.
The vision doesn’t stop there. Her voice grows louder, commanding.
“The child of no wolf, the cursed one, shall carry Selene’s spark. Betrayed by kin, broken by fate, yet chosen. Her fire will cleanse or consume. Beware the one who seeks to twist her path.”
Silence crashes back as suddenly as it had broken. The Seer collapses forward, and I rush to catch her. For a moment, it feels like fire licks up my arms but it doesn’t hurt. It feels… natural, like a piece of me recognizing her touch.
Her breaths come ragged, but her hand grips mine with surprising strength. She whispers so only I can hear:
“You are the prophecy, child. And you must know… Devon’s mother foresaw you. Long before you were born.”
I freeze. “His mother?”
She nods faintly. “She was a Seer too, though she hid it well. To everyone else, she spoke of vague omens. But to her son, she spoke of you. A girl without a wolf. Fire instead of fur. She told him you would come.”
Tears sting my eyes. I don’t know whether to feel terrified or honored or both. “But… why me? I’m nothing.”
Her pale eyes bore into me, fierce despite their blindness. “Because you survived what should have destroyed you. Because weakness does not define you fire does. Selene does not choose at random.”
The door bursts open. Devon storms in, eyes wild, chest heaving. “What the hell is going on?”
He rushes to my side, pulling me behind him instinctively, though the Seer doesn’t flinch. His hands tremble as they skim over me, checking for burns, wounds anything.
“Devon,” I whisper, clutching his arm. “She had a vision. About me.”
He stiffens, turning to the old woman with suspicion. “Speak plainly.”
The Seer straightens, dignity radiating despite her frail body. “The prophecy your mother carried in her bones has come alive. The girl she saw the fire-bearer is here. Adriana is the flame Selene promised.”
Devon’s face hardens, a war of disbelief and recognition battling in his eyes. Slowly, he sinks to his knees before the Seer, voice low. “My mother… she told me stories. I thought they were nothing more than fables.”
“They were never fables,” the Seer says. “They were warnings.”
He looks at me then, eyes wide, vulnerable. “Addy… she knew you. She spoke of you.” His voice breaks. “And I was too blind to see it until now.”
The Seer places her frail hand over both of ours. Her skin is cool, grounding. “The prophecy has been spoken. Adriana’s fire will either save us or doom us. Which path she walks will depend on how she is guided. Protect her, Alpha. For if she falls, so will you all.”
Her words settle in the air like a brand. Devon tightens his grip on my hand, his jaw firming with resolve.
“She won’t fall,” he vows, voice like steel. “Not while I breathe.”
The Seer studies him for a long, silent moment before nodding. Then she bends to retrieve her cane and slowly makes her way toward the door. Before she leaves, she pauses and looks back, not at Devon, but at me.
“Beware those who smile with soft lips and poison hearts. Betrayal will come from where you least expect it.”
Her warning slices through me sharper than any blade. And then she’s gone, her presence lingering like smoke.
Devon pulls me into his arms, his chest rising and falling like he’s holding back the weight of the world. His lips press against my hair, lingering.
“You’re mine, Addy. Prophecy or not I won’t let anyone take you from me.”
For the first time, I believe him. But deep down, a shadow of fear remains. Because if the prophecy is true… my fire could destroy everything.
- Writer
