STRANGERS OF TWO WORLDS
2227 Words
The storm refused to end.
Rain crashed against the forest in relentless waves, soaking the earth until every step became a struggle.
Aria wrapped her arms around herself as another icy gust swept through the trees.
She shivered.
"This weather is insane..."
Behind her, Kael stood silently at the edge of the collapsed temple.
His silver eyes remained fixed on the mountain of stone that had become his prison.
For a thousand years...
That place had been his entire world.
Now even it was gone.
Aria watched him from the corner of her eye.
"You... okay?"
The question slipped out before she could stop herself.
Kael didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he knelt and picked up a small fragment of carved stone that had been thrown clear of the collapse.
His thumb brushed over the faded engraving.
"I remember placing this stone."
His voice was calm.
Almost distant.
"It marked the entrance to the royal sanctuary."
He turned it over once before setting it gently back onto the ground.
"There is no reason to carry relics of the past."
Aria wasn't sure what to say.
She had only lost the future she thought she would have.
Kael had lost an entire lifetime.
Finally, he rose to his feet.
"We should leave."
She nodded.
"Agreed."
Neither of them noticed the molten-red mark on the back of Aria's hand glow faintly beneath the rain.
---
The forest felt different after the temple's collapse.
The wind carried unfamiliar scents.
The trees were taller than those surrounding Silverfang territory.
Old.
Untouched.
Kael walked ahead with surprising confidence despite claiming he had been asleep for a thousand years.
Aria hurried to keep pace.
"Do you know where we're going?"
"No."
She blinked.
"No?"
"I am walking."
"Without a destination?"
"That is generally how one begins a journey."
She stared at the back of his head.
"You know..."
"You're very strange."
"I have noticed."
"I wasn't complimenting you."
"I know."
She sighed dramatically.
"This is going to be a long day."
---
After nearly an hour of walking, the rain began to ease.
The forest opened into a small clearing.
Kael stopped abruptly.
"What?"
Aria asked.
He crouched beside a series of footprints pressed into the wet earth.
"Wolves."
She smiled.
"Congratulations."
"You've discovered wolves in a forest."
He ignored the sarcasm.
He studied the tracks carefully.
"No."
He pointed to one of the prints.
"They're wrong."
Aria frowned.
"Wrong?"
"The gait."
"The spacing."
"The weight distribution."
He traced one print with his finger.
"These belong to werewolves."
"...Obviously."
"They run like beasts."
She crossed her arms.
"They are beasts."
Kael slowly looked up at her.
"No."
"They are people."
She opened her mouth.
Closed it again.
He continued studying the tracks.
"They've forgotten."
"Forgotten what?"
"Their balance."
"Their discipline."
"Their heritage."
He stood.
"In my time, young werewolves learned to think before they learned to fight."
Aria laughed.
"Well..."
"That definitely changed."
---
The clearing ended at the edge of a shallow stream swollen by the storm.
The current rushed violently between slippery rocks.
Aria frowned.
"We'll have to cross."
Kael nodded once.
She carefully stepped onto the nearest stone.
Immediately—
Her foot slipped.
She yelped as the rushing water swept her forward.
Before panic could fully set in—
A hand caught her wrist.
Strong.
Steady.
Kael pulled her effortlessly back onto solid ground.
"You should watch where you place your feet."
Aria snatched her hand away.
"I know that."
"Clearly."
She glared at him.
"I slipped."
"Yes."
"It happens."
"It did."
"You don't have to sound so pleased about it."
"I am not pleased."
"You sounded pleased."
"I sounded correct."
She stared at him for several long seconds.
"...You're impossible."
"So I've been told."
She blinked.
"You've been awake for less than an hour."
"It appears I make strong first impressions."
She sighed and walked forward.
---
By midday the rain had finally weakened to a drizzle.
Sunlight filtered weakly through the clouds.
Aria's stomach growled loudly.
Kael glanced sideways.
"You are hungry."
She looked away.
"No."
Her stomach growled again.
Louder.
Kael raised an eyebrow.
"It would appear your stomach disagrees."
She sighed.
"I haven't exactly had time to eat."
Without another word, Kael disappeared into the trees.
"Hey!"
She hurried after him.
"Where are you going?"
He didn't answer.
Several minutes later—
He returned carrying two rabbits.
Aria's eyes widened.
"...How?"
"They were slow."
"They were running."
"So was I."
She stared.
"You caught them with your bare hands?"
He looked genuinely puzzled.
"...Should I have used someone else's?"
Aria burst into laughter.
This time she didn't try to stop herself.
Kael tilted his head.
"I fail to understand why that was amusing."
"You..."
She struggled to breathe between laughs.
"...You're funny."
"I assure you..."
"My intention was to obtain food."
"Mission accomplished."
She wiped a tear from her eye.
"I'll give you that."
---
A short while later, Kael had built a small fire beneath an overhanging rock.
The rain continued to fall beyond their shelter, but for the first time since leaving the temple, they were warm.
Aria watched him turn the rabbits over the flames with practiced ease.
"You've done that before."
"Many times."
"You cooked for yourself?"
"I cooked for soldiers."
She looked surprised.
"A king cooked?"
Kael looked up.
"Why wouldn't he?"
"I don't know."
"I just thought..."
"...Kings had servants."
"They did."
"But a ruler who cannot survive without servants is unfit to lead them."
He handed her the first portion.
"Eat."
She accepted it quietly.
For several moments...
The only sound between them was the crackling fire.
Finally, Aria looked at him.
"So..."
"If you're really this Lycan King..."
"What happened?"
Kael stared into the flames.
The warmth reflected in his silver eyes.
His expression slowly hardened.
"...We were betrayed."
Silence fell after he spoke those words.
The fire crackled softly between them.
Rain drummed against the rocks overhead.
For several minutes, neither of them spoke.
Aria picked absentmindedly at the roasted rabbit while stealing occasional glances at Kael.
He sat with his back perfectly straight, his silver eyes fixed on the dancing flames.
Even resting...
He looked like a king.
Finally, Aria broke the silence.
"You said you were betrayed."
Kael remained quiet.
She thought he wasn't going to answer.
Then he spoke.
"I trusted the wrong people."
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
"There had been unrest among the northern clans for years. I believed it was fear."
"It was ambition."
He turned the piece of meat in his hand.
"They smiled while swearing loyalty."
"They drank from my table."
"They fought beside me."
"And when they realized they could not defeat me..."
"They chose another path."
Aria frowned.
"The Crimson Eye?"
Kael nodded once.
"It was never meant to imprison."
"It was created to contain power."
"They turned it into a weapon."
"They drew strength from something far greater than themselves..."
His eyes drifted toward the rain.
"...and they used it to bind me."
Aria was about to ask another question when he suddenly looked at her.
"You still believe I am insane."
She smiled sheepishly.
"A little."
"A little?"
"You did tell me you've been asleep for a thousand years."
"A fair observation."
"And you also said Lycans are real."
"They are."
"I still think they're bedtime stories."
Kael sighed.
"It appears history has not been kind to my people."
---
The fire burned lower.
Kael reached for another piece of wood.
As he did, his hand suddenly stopped.
His head lifted.
His eyes narrowed.
Aria immediately noticed.
"What?"
He didn't answer.
Instead...
He slowly stood.
"What is it?"
Kael looked into the forest.
"There are wolves."
Aria smiled.
"I know."
"No."
His expression hardened.
"They're hunting."
Her smile faded.
"You can tell that?"
"I can smell them."
He closed his eyes briefly.
"There are eight..."
"No."
He frowned.
"...Ten."
Aria's heart skipped a beat.
"From my pack?"
"I do not know."
"They're still far away."
She stood as well.
"If it's Silverfang, they're probably looking for me."
Kael turned toward her.
"Would they welcome me?"
She hesitated.
"...Honestly?"
"No."
"I didn't think so."
---
Miles away...
The Silverfang Pack was in chaos.
Rain soaked the training grounds as warriors hurried back and forth carrying torches.
Inside the Alpha Hall...
Damon paced impatiently.
"Still nothing?"
One of the scouts lowered his head.
"No, Alpha Damon."
Damon clenched his jaw.
"She couldn't have disappeared."
"Search again."
The scout nodded.
"Yes, Alpha."
As he hurried away, another voice spoke from behind.
"I don't think you're worried about her."
Damon turned.
Lena leaned casually against one of the wooden pillars.
Her beautiful face wore its usual sympathetic smile.
Only Damon failed to notice the satisfaction hidden behind it.
"I am worried."
Lena tilted her head.
"Really?"
"You rejected her in front of the entire pack yesterday."
"You called her weak."
"You humiliated her."
She stepped closer.
"So tell me..."
"What exactly changed overnight?"
Damon looked away.
"She's still part of Silverfang."
Lena smiled softly.
"So it's about the pack's reputation."
He didn't answer.
She already knew.
If Aria died after being publicly rejected...
Other packs would whisper.
They would call Damon reckless.
A careless Alpha.
His pride couldn't allow that.
Lena hid her smile.
Perfect.
Everything was unfolding exactly as she'd hoped.
---
Back in the forest...
Kael suddenly looked toward Aria's hand.
"The mark."
She instinctively hid it.
"What about it?"
"It has changed."
She looked down.
The molten-red symbol glowed brighter than before.
Tiny crimson lines now spread slightly beyond its edges before fading again.
"It wasn't doing that earlier..."
Kael stepped closer.
"May I?"
She hesitated.
Then slowly extended her hand.
He studied the mark carefully.
Without touching it.
"It is changing."
"Changing?"
"The bond is strengthening."
"I don't like the sound of that."
"Neither do I."
She blinked.
"You don't?"
He shook his head.
"The King's Mark has never been recorded outside the royal bloodline."
"I know what it was intended to do."
"But this..."
He frowned.
"...this has never happened."
"So neither of us knows what it means?"
"It would appear so."
She released a long sigh.
"Great."
"So we're both completely lost."
Kael looked at her.
"For once..."
"We agree."
---
As evening approached...
The rain finally stopped.
Golden light filtered through the trees.
Birds cautiously returned to the forest.
Aria smiled.
"It finally feels normal."
Kael slowly turned in a full circle.
He studied everything.
The trees.
The sky.
The mountains beyond.
"It is beautiful."
She nodded.
"It is."
"...But unfamiliar."
His expression became distant.
"The rivers have moved."
"The mountains are smaller."
"The forest is older."
She laughed.
"You can tell all that?"
"I planted some of these trees."
She stopped walking.
"...You what?"
He looked at one enormous oak nearby.
"When it was young..."
"It reached only my shoulder."
Aria stared at the towering tree.
It stretched nearly a hundred feet into the sky.
She slowly looked back at him.
"You really have been gone a long time..."
He nodded quietly.
"A lifetime."
---
They reached the crest of a hill just as the setting sun painted the horizon gold.
Smoke rose in the distance.
Aria's eyes widened.
"The pack..."
Kael followed her gaze.
"So that is where you live."
She nodded.
Relief washed over her face.
"I'm home."
She took a few steps forward.
Then stopped.
Kael remained where he was.
He made no attempt to follow.
"Aren't you coming?"
He looked toward the distant settlement.
"I have no desire to start a war on my first day awake."
She frowned.
"You think they'd attack you?"
"You told me Lycans are myths."
"You also told me werewolves rule this land."
He smiled faintly.
"I suspect the appearance of one such myth would not be warmly received."
"...Probably not."
Silence settled between them.
For the first time since meeting...
Neither knew what to say.
Finally, Kael spoke.
"You should return."
"What about you?"
"I have survived alone before."
"I shall do so again."
She looked down at the mark on her hand.
"It doesn't feel right..."
He tilted his head.
"What doesn't?"
"Just leaving."
"You saved my life."
"Twice."
"And somehow we're..."
She looked at the glowing symbol.
"...connected."
Kael's gaze softened.
"The bond brought our paths together."
"What we choose to do with it..."
"Is still our decision."
She nodded slowly.
"I guess..."
She took one last look at him.
"...I'll see you again."
Kael looked toward the setting sun.
"I believe..."
"...that is inevitable."
Aria smiled despite herself.
Then she turned and began walking toward Silverfang.
After only a few steps...
She stopped.
Something felt...
Wrong.
The forest had become completely silent.
No birds.
No insects.
No wind.
Kael noticed it at the same moment.
His expression changed instantly.
"Aria."
She turned.
"What?"
His voice became dangerously calm.
"...Do not move."
A low growl echoed through the trees.
Not from one direction.
From every direction.
Golden eyes appeared in the shadows.
Then another pair.
Then another.
They weren't Silverfang warriors.
These wolves were larger.
Leaner.
Their fur was almost black.
Each wore strange iron collars around their necks.
Kael's eyes narrowed.
"I know those collars..."
Aria's pulse quickened.
"Who are they?"
Kael slowly stepped in front of her.
His silver markings began glowing faintly beneath his skin.
"I was hoping..."
He said quietly,
"...never to see them again."
- Writer
