The Red-Eyed Hunters
914 Words
The figures stepped out of the darkness.
One.
Two.
Ten.
Twenty.
More emerged from between the trees.
Their eyes glowed crimson beneath the moonlight.
Every one of them wore black armor etched with strange silver markings.
Their faces were expressionless.
Empty.
Like living corpses.
A chill ran down my spine.
They weren't wolves.
At least not entirely.
Something about them felt wrong.
Unnatural.
Kael slowly rose to his feet.
The warmth from the campfire vanished instantly.
The atmosphere became tense.
Dangerous.
The leader of the strangers stepped forward.
A tall woman with long white hair and glowing red eyes.
Her gaze landed on me immediately.
Not Kael.
Me.
"At last."
Her voice was soft.
Almost gentle.
Which somehow made it worse.
My wolf growled.
Danger.
I didn't need the warning.
The woman smiled.
"As beautiful as he described."
My stomach tightened.
"He?"
The woman's smile widened.
"The King."
The words hit me like ice water.
The Sleeping King.
The immortal ruler from the prophecy.
The one who had spoken inside my mind.
Kael moved in front of me.
Completely blocking her view.
"Leave."
The command carried enough authority to shake the air.
The woman laughed.
A surprisingly pleasant sound.
"Still protective after all these years."
Kael's eyes narrowed.
"You know me."
"I know of you."
Her expression darkened.
"The jailer."
The title surprised me.
Jailer?
Before I could ask what that meant, the woman raised a hand.
The hunters behind her immediately dropped to one knee.
Every single one.
Their obedience was absolute.
Terrifyingly absolute.
The woman looked past Kael.
Directly at me.
"Our king requests your presence."
"No."
Kael answered before I could speak.
The woman sighed dramatically.
"I wasn't asking you."
The forest became silent.
The tension was unbearable.
Then she smiled at me again.
"Come willingly."
"And no one has to die."
I stared at her.
Was she serious?
Did she honestly think I would just walk over?
Apparently she did.
Because her smile never faltered.
"Who are you?" I asked.
The woman bowed slightly.
"My name is Seraphina."
The gesture seemed oddly formal.
Almost respectful.
"I serve the First King."
The title made my blood run cold.
The First King.
The immortal.
The monster.
Whatever he truly was.
Seraphina's red eyes softened.
Unexpectedly.
"You've inherited her eyes."
I froze.
"What?"
For a brief moment, genuine sadness crossed her face.
"Your mother's."
My heart skipped a beat.
"You knew my mother?"
Kael immediately stepped forward.
"Enough."
His voice was deadly.
Seraphina's expression hardened.
"No."
For the first time, anger flashed in her crimson eyes.
"You've hidden the truth long enough."
I looked between them.
Again.
Secrets.
Everyone had secrets.
And I was tired of it.
"What truth?"
Neither answered.
My frustration grew.
Then Seraphina did something unexpected.
She reached into her cloak.
Kael instantly tensed.
The hunters rose slightly.
Ready for battle.
But Seraphina simply removed an object.
A photograph.
Old.
Worn.
She tossed it toward me.
I caught it instinctively.
The moment I looked at it, my breath stopped.
The photograph showed three people.
A silver-eyed woman.
A golden-eyed man.
And a small child.
A little girl.
Me.
My hands trembled.
"No..."
The woman in the photograph was unmistakable.
My mother.
The silver eyes.
The dark hair.
The same face from the visions.
But it wasn't her that shocked me.
It was the man standing beside her.
My eyes widened.
Because I recognized him.
Everyone would recognize him.
The golden eyes.
The black hair.
The powerful presence.
The man in the photograph looked exactly like—
"Kael."
Silence.
I slowly lifted my gaze.
The Lycan King stood perfectly still.
Too still.
My pulse thundered.
The photograph slipped slightly in my grasp.
"Why are you in this picture?"
Nobody spoke.
Not Kael.
Not Seraphina.
Not even my wolf.
The silence was answer enough.
A terrible realization formed in my mind.
Impossible.
Ridiculous.
Yet suddenly, it made sense.
The way Kael had reacted when he first saw me.
The way he recognized the pendant.
The way he protected me.
The way my mother seemed familiar to him.
I swallowed hard.
"Did you know my parents?"
Kael closed his eyes briefly.
As though bracing himself.
Then he answered.
"Yes."
One word.
One devastating word.
My heart pounded.
"How?"
When Kael opened his eyes again, there was pain in them.
Real pain.
The kind that comes from old wounds.
"I loved them."
The answer stunned me.
Before I could ask another question, Seraphina smiled.
A victorious smile.
"There it is."
Kael's expression instantly darkened.
The woman spread her arms.
"Now she understands."
"No."
Kael's voice became ice.
"She doesn't."
And judging by the confusion exploding inside my head—
He was absolutely right.
I understood nothing.
Only that somehow—
The Lycan King had known my parents.
For years.
Maybe decades.
And he had never told me.
Suddenly, Seraphina's smile vanished.
Her head tilted slightly.
As though listening to something distant.
Then her eyes widened.
The reaction shocked everyone.
Even Kael.
"What is it?" one hunter asked.
Seraphina looked north.
Toward the mountains.
Fear appeared on her face.
Genuine fear.
Then she whispered two words.
"Too late."
The ground shook.
A deep rumble echoed across the horizon.
Trees swayed violently.
Birds exploded into the sky.
Something enormous had happened.
Something powerful.
Seraphina slowly smiled.
Not at us.
At the distant mountains.
"The first seal has broken."
Every color drained from Kael's face.
And for the very first time—
The Lycan King looked afraid.
- Writer
