The Last Heart Wolf

The first thing I noticed was the blood. Not the smell. Not the screams. The blood. Dark red streaks painted the stone platform in the center of the courtyard, glistening beneath silver moonlight like something alive. Fresh. Warm. Thick enough to drip through the cracks between the ancient stones. Another execution. Another night pretending I couldn’t hear the dead. I tightened my grip around the edge of my black cloak as the crowd pushed closer to the platform. Wolves from every rank of the Nightbane Pack filled the courtyard, their voices buzzing with excitement. Excitement. As if a man’s death was entertainment. “The Alpha King arrived.” The whisper moved through the crowd like fire. Instantly, silence spread across the courtyard. My stomach twisted. I kept my head down as the guards slammed the prisoner onto his knees in the center of the platform. Chains rattled violently against stone while he struggled, blood running from the corner of his mouth. He couldn’t have been older than thirty. His eyes darted wildly across the crowd. Terrified. Desperate. I knew that look. I had seen it too many times. “Selene.” I flinched at the sound of Elder Miriam’s sharp voice beside me. “You will begin singing when the execution starts.” I swallowed hard and nodded. That was my role in the pack. The Execution Singer. A cursed girl with a cursed voice. The wolves believed my singing calmed dying souls and guided them peacefully into the afterlife. They didn’t know the truth. My voice didn’t calm the dying. It connected me to them. Every execution became torture. Because moments before death… I heard their thoughts. Their final regrets. Their fear. Their secrets. The first time it happened, I was thirteen years old. I heard a dying wolf beg his wife for forgiveness inside my head while his body burned alive before me. I vomited afterward and locked myself in my room for three days. Now I was twenty-two. And still trapped in this nightmare. A loud boom echoed across the courtyard as the palace gates opened. The crowd immediately dropped to their knees. Even the air seemed to freeze. I slowly looked up. And saw him. Alpha King Kael Noctis. Fear crawled down my spine instantly. He walked through the crowd like darkness itself had taken human form. Tall. Massive. Emotionless. Black clothes clung to his broad frame, silver markings stitched across the collar like ancient moon symbols. His face looked carved from stone—cold, sharp, completely unreadable. But his eyes… Goddess. Those eyes. Empty. Not calm. Not emotionless. Empty. Like someone had hollowed him out from the inside and left only the monster behind. The stories about him spread across every territory: The Alpha King who could no longer feel the mate bond. The King who slaughtered rogue packs without mercy. The King whose wolf was slowly becoming feral. Some believed he was cursed by the Moon Goddess herself. Others believed he had become something worse than a wolf. I believed both. Kael stepped onto the platform without sparing the prisoner a glance. The guards immediately lowered their heads. Nobody looked directly at the Alpha King for long. Nobody except the prisoner. “You lied to them,” the chained man spat suddenly. Murmurs spread through the crowd. The guards struck him hard across the face. “Silence!” one of them barked. But the prisoner started laughing. Not normal laughter. Mad laughter. The kind that made my skin crawl. Kael finally looked at him. The courtyard became deathly still. “You stand accused of treason,” Kael said calmly. His voice was low. Controlled. Terrifying. “You spread false prophecies through the southern territories. You created panic among the packs.” The prisoner grinned through bloody teeth. “Because they deserve the truth.” Kael’s expression never changed. “You will die for your crimes.” The prisoner suddenly turned his head toward the crowd. Toward me. And smiled. My blood went cold. No. No no no— Please don’t look at me. Not tonight. Not again. “Execution Singer,” the prisoner rasped. Several wolves glanced toward me instantly. I lowered my gaze. “Sing for me.” My throat tightened painfully. Elder Miriam shoved me forward before I could hesitate. The crowd parted as I stepped toward the platform, my boots scraping softly against stone. I hated this part. I hated the silence before death. I hated knowing what came next. I climbed the stairs slowly, stopping several feet away from the prisoner. Up close, he looked even worse. Bruises covered his face. Blood soaked his torn clothes. But his eyes remained strangely calm. Almost excited. Why? Why wasn’t he afraid? The guards forced him lower onto his knees. Kael stood beside him like death waiting patiently. “Begin,” Elder Miriam ordered. I closed my eyes briefly. Then I sang. Softly at first. A haunting melody my mother once taught me before she died. The moment the sound left my lips, the courtyard fell completely silent. Even the wind seemed to stop. And then it happened. The connection. Pain slammed into my chest violently. The prisoner’s emotions flooded into me: fear— rage— grief— desperation— I nearly stumbled. Not now. Please not now— The prisoner’s thoughts suddenly crashed into my mind. The Heart Wolf lives. My voice almost broke. My eyes snapped open. The prisoner was staring directly at me. Still smiling. The Alpha King is lying. My pulse pounded painfully. What? She has returned. The prisoner’s breathing became uneven as panic exploded inside me. No. I didn’t understand. What was the Heart Wolf? Who had returned? The prisoner’s thoughts became louder. More frantic. He knows. He’s afraid of her. The moon is dying— A guard raised the execution blade. The prisoner’s smile widened. Run, little wolf. The blade came down. Blood sprayed across the platform. The crowd roared. And the prisoner’s final thought ripped through my skull like a scream. He can feel you. The connection shattered. I gasped sharply, nearly collapsing. My heart hammered violently inside my chest while the world blurred around me. Something was wrong. Very wrong. The crowd’s cheers sounded distant now. Muted. My breathing turned shallow. Because someone was staring at me. I looked up slowly. Kael. The Alpha King was watching me. Not casually. Not with curiosity. With hunger. My pulse stopped. His expression remained cold, but something terrifying burned beneath his eyes now. Something alive. Something wolfish. The air around him suddenly changed. The crowd felt it too. Several wolves stepped back nervously. Kael moved before I could react. One second he stood across the platform. The next— His hand wrapped around my wrist. I sucked in a sharp breath. The moment his skin touched mine— Pain exploded through my chest. Not physical pain. Something deeper. Ancient. My knees nearly buckled as emotions crashed into me violently. Rage. Loneliness. Madness. And beneath all of it… Relief. Kael froze too. For the first time since I had seen him enter the courtyard… emotion cracked across his face. Shock. Real shock. His grip tightened around my wrist. The entire courtyard had gone silent again. Every wolf stared at us. I could hear my own heartbeat pounding frantically— Then another heartbeat answered it. Not mine. His. Kael’s eyes widened slightly. As if he could hear it too. And deep inside my mind… something growled. Not human. Not mine. His wolf whispered one single word. Mine.