WALL OF THE WOLFES

CHAPTER 2 — WHAT THE FIRE TOOK

Aiko didn’t remember when the screams started.

Only that they never really stopped.

Even now—

standing beneath the broken wall, dust still clinging to her skin, her heartbeat refusing to slow—

the sound crawled back into her ears.

Faint at first.

Then louder.

Closer.

Like it had been waiting for her.

Her fingers trembled.

And suddenly—

she wasn’t there anymore.

---

She was small again.

Too small.

Barefoot against cold wooden floors, the night air slipping through the cracks of their old house.

“Aiko… stay here.”

Her mother’s voice.

Soft—but urgent.

Different from usual.

Aiko clutched the edge of her sleeve. “Mama… what’s happening?”

No answer.

Just footsteps.

Pacing.

Then—

a loud bang outside.

Aiko flinched.

Voices followed. Shouting. Harsh. Unfamiliar.

Men.

Her mother rushed back into the room, dropping to her knees in front of her.

Those eyes—

usually so warm—

were filled with something Aiko had never seen before.

Fear.

Deep, suffocating fear.

“Listen to me,” her mother whispered, gripping her shoulders tightly. “No matter what happens… you do not come out. Do you understand?”

Aiko’s lips trembled. “But—”

“Aiko.”

Her name came out sharper this time.

Not angry.

Desperate.

“…Yes,” Aiko whispered.

Her mother exhaled, just slightly.

Then pulled her into a tight embrace.

Too tight.

Like she didn’t want to let go.

Aiko buried her face into her shoulder.

And for a second—

everything felt safe.

Then—

the door shattered open.

Aiko screamed.

Heavy footsteps stormed inside. The air changed instantly—cold, violent.

Her mother pushed her back.

“Stay hidden!” she shouted.

Aiko stumbled, falling behind a wooden chest near the corner.

She covered her mouth, trying to stay quiet.

Trying to be brave.

Through the small gap—

she saw them.

Men in dark uniforms.

Faces unreadable.

Weapons in their hands.

“We found her,” one of them said.

Her mother stood between them and Aiko.

“You’re not taking her,” she said, voice shaking but firm.

Aiko’s chest tightened.

Taking… who?

“Aiko Takahashi,” another man spoke, stepping forward. “Subject confirmed.”

Subject?

Aiko didn’t understand.

She didn’t understand anything.

Her mother’s hand slowly tightened into a fist.

“She’s just a child.”

“She’s not ‘just’ anything.”

Silence.

Then—

movement.

Too fast.

Aiko saw her mother lunge forward.

Heard something crash.

A shout.

Then—

a sound she would never forget.

Aiko’s body froze.

Her breathing stopped.

Her mother—

fell.

The world went quiet.

Too quiet.

Aiko bit down on her hand to stop herself from screaming.

Tears blurred her vision as she watched—

helpless—

as the men moved closer.

One of them knelt beside her mother.

“Dispose of her,” he said coldly.

Dispose.

Like she meant nothing.

Like she was nothing.

Aiko’s vision darkened.

Something inside her chest twisted—tight, painful, burning.

Her ears rang.

Her heart pounded louder.

Faster.

Harder.

And then—

something changed.

The air shifted.

The men paused.

“…Do you feel that?” one of them murmured.

Aiko didn’t understand.

But she felt it.

A strange warmth spreading through her veins.

Her fingers curled against the floor.

Her nails digging into the wood.

Her breathing… different.

Sharp.

Uneven.

Her vision flickered—

just for a second—

And the world looked… clearer.

Sharper.

Wrong.

“Aiko…?”

A voice.

Weak.

Broken.

Her mother.

Still alive.

Aiko’s head snapped up.

Through blurred tears, she met her mother’s gaze.

And in that moment—

fear returned to her mother’s eyes.

Not for herself.

For Aiko.

“No…” she whispered. “Not now…”

The men turned toward the sound.

Toward Aiko.

“Target located.”

Footsteps approached.

Slow.

Certain.

Aiko couldn’t move.

Her body wouldn’t listen.

The warmth inside her turned into heat.

Burning.

Consuming.

Something was rising inside her—

something she couldn’t control.

“Bring her in alive,” one of them ordered.

Alive.

Aiko’s breath hitched.

Her vision flickered again—

and for a split second—

she saw them differently.

Heard their heartbeats.

Smelled the metal.

The fear.

The blood.

Then—

darkness.

---

“Aiko.”

The voice snapped her back.

Sharp.

Real.

Aiko gasped, stumbling slightly as the present crashed into her.

The broken wall.

The cold air.

The silence.

Her chest rose and fell rapidly.

Her hands were shaking.

That memory—

she hadn’t remembered it like this before.

Not this clearly.

Not this… real.

“…Subject.”

The word echoed in her mind.

Her gaze slowly lifted toward the gap in the wall.

Toward the darkness beyond.

Toward where the wolf had disappeared.

Her heartbeat steadied.

But something inside her—

had changed.

“…What am I?”

The question slipped out, barely a whisper.

No answer came.

Only the wind—

and the distant, haunting sound of a wolf’s howl.

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