chapter: 4
1144 Words
The room smelled like old magic. Not the bright kind Mila remembered from childhood rituals, This was heavier, It pressed against her lungs and made the air buzz under her skin.
The elder stood still as stone, her pale eyes fixed on Mila with unsettling focus, her face was lined with age, but nothing about her looked weak, she radiated the kind of power that didn’t need to be flaunted, It simply existed.
Alexander guided Mila closer, “stand here,” he said, leading her to the rune circle etched into the floor, the markings pulsed faintly beneath her feet, Mila swallowed hard. “What is this place?”
“An awakening chamber,” the elder said “built for wolves whose power doesn’t follow the usual path.”
Mila’s stomach tightened, “my power is bound, There’s nothing special about it.”
The elder arched a brow, “child, if your power weren’t special, no one would have gone to such lengths to cage it," a tremor worked its way through her hands.
Alexander stepped beside her, “we’re not breaking the spell today, only loosening it enough for your wolf to breathe.”
Breathe, her wolf hadn’t done that in years,
The elder raised her hands, “stay still, and don’t fight the pain.”
Mila tried to relax, but tension coiled in every muscle, her heart hammered as the elder began chanting words in an old dialect she didn’t recognize, the air thickened, the runes glowed, and a faint vibration hummed through the stone.
Her chest tightened. The tether inside her pulsed hard, like it was waking up angry, the elder’s voice rose.
Mila gasped as heat shot through her ribs, It clawed down her spine, her knees buckled, but Alexander caught her before she fell, “It’s alright,” he murmured “stay with me.”
The pain sharpened. Not like a cut, more like something inside her was being pried open after years of being welded shut.
The elder stepped closer, she pressed her palm against Mila’s sternum right over the bind.
“Show me,” she whispered, Mila’s breath ripped out of her, her vision flickered white.
And then she heard it, a sound she’d almost forgotten.
A faint growl, weak, strangled, her wolf, her eyes filled with tears.
The elder’s expression changed instantly, her gaze shot to Alexander.
“It isn’t a simple bind,” she said, “this is ancient Feral magic, a suppression seal.”
Alexander stiffened, “why would anyone use that on her?”
“A suppression seal is only used when a wolf’s true form is too dangerous to reveal,” the elder said, “If her wolf had shifted freely, it could have exposed something the caster wanted buried.”
Mila shook her head, “dangerous? no, I killed my parents because I lost control...”
“That isn’t what happened,” the elder cut in, “suppression causes instability, It twists the shift, It forces the wolf to lash out blindly.”
Mila froze, “You’re saying… it wasn’t my fault?”
“Your wolf acted under a spell designed to restrict it,” the elder said, “You weren’t the killer that night, You were the weapon.”
The floor seemed to drop out from under her,
No, It couldn’t be true, her entire life had been built on guilt, punishment, shame, If none of it was real, then what was left of her?
Alexander’s jaw tightened, “whoever cast it knew exactly what they were doing.”
“More importantly,” the elder said, “they had authority over her, a suppression seal can’t be applied without access to the wolf’s spirit.”
Mila’s voice cracked, “who could do that?”
The elder looked at her with a slow, grim understanding.
“An alpha. Or someone with an alpha’s blood,”
Her breath stopped, Alpha blood, her brother.
Alexander took a step closer, his voice low, “Did Isaiah ever touch your wolf? Perform any rituals with you alone? anything at all after your first shift?”
Mila struggled to think, “he… he said he wanted to help me, he said I was unstable, he told me to trust him.”
“And you did,” the elder murmured, “that gave him access," Alexander’s eyes darkened, “he bound her to rewrite the story.”
Mila’s thoughts whirled, “but why? why would he lie about our parents?” neither the elder nor Alexander answered.
Because neither needed to, something colder hung in the air, something none of them wanted to say out loud yet.
Alexander’s hand hovered near her shoulder again, not quite touching, “we’ll get the truth, I swear it.”
The elder lifted her hands again, “I can loosen the seal. but it will hurt her," Mila closed her eyes, “Do it," Alexander’s voice sharpened, “Not if it risks her life.”
The elder shot him a look, “You brought her here, You knew the price of answers,"
Alexander didn’t back down, “she doesn’t need to suffer for your curiosity.”
“This isn’t curiosity,” the elder snapped, “this is survival, If her wolf stays caged, the seal will eventually crush her spirit, she’ll become hollow, Mindless.”
Mila’s fingers trembled, she didn’t want pain, She didn’t want another punishment disguised as salvation, but hollow? mindless? no, she couldn’t go back to being nothing.
She lifted her chin, “I’m ready," Alexander cursed under his breath, but he didn’t stop her,
The elder placed both palms over the bind, the runes flared.
Mila screamed as something inside her tore,
A ripping sensation, sharp and deep,
Followed by a blast of cold air that forced her lungs open.
Her wolf howled, not loud, not free, but awake,
The elder staggered back, “that’s all I can do for now.”
Alexander caught Mila as she collapsed, her vision swam, the pain lingered, but under it something warm flickered, a heartbeat not her own.
Her wolf’s heartbeat, Alexander lifted her easily, “You’re done for today.”
The elder nodded, sweat dampening her temples, “The seal will fight back, expect backlash in the next few days," “Backlash?” Mila whispered, dizzy.
The elder’s voice was quiet now, “Dreams. Instinct spikes. Uncontrolled reactions, your wolf will try to rise.”
Mila’s pulse stuttered, “and when it does,” the elder said, “you’ll see the truth that was taken from you.”
Alexander met the elder’s eyes, “and the person responsible won’t stay hidden for long.”
As Alexander carried her from the chamber, Mila felt the first true crack in the bind.
And beneath it, something dark and powerful stirred, something that had been waiting six long years to be awakened.
- Writer
