Rain hissed down in sheets, steam rising from the forest floor where cold met warmth. Eira worked quickly by the flickering firelight in the cave, grinding dried hawthorn bark and yarrow with trembling fingers. Kael lay unconscious behind her, his breath shallow but steady. Every few moments, she glanced toward the cave entrance. The shadow of that figure watching them from the trees haunted her like smoke behind her eyes.
She had felt it—someone was there. Someone who knew.
Eira dipped her fingers in a salve of burnt comfrey and wolfsbane. She shouldn't be able to touch wolfsbane without pain, but ever since the mark had awakened, it no longer burned her. That terrified her more than the stranger did.
Outside, the storm began to ease. But the wind carried something new with it. The scent of sulfur.
She stood, instinct tightening every muscle in her body. That wasn't natural. That wasn't weather. That was—
"Looking for me, witchling?" The voice slid into the cave like oil. A man stood at the entrance, cloaked in mist. His features were partially hidden, but his eyes gleamed like molten amber. Not wolf. Not pack. Something older.
Eira stepped back. Her heart stuttered. "Who are you?"
The figure took one step forward. Then another. "You marked the Alpha of the North under a blood moon. Do you know what you've done?"
She lifted a small blade from her belt. Not to fight—to stall. "Answer me."
He grinned. "You've brought the curse back, little flame. You've ignited the tether that binds the Firstbloods. The Heart of the Alpha, the Flame of the Forgotten. And now, they'll all be hunting you."
"Firstbloods?" she whispered. "That's just a myth."
The stranger gave a low, rasping chuckle. "Tell yourself that when the mountain burns."
Behind her, Kael stirred with a grunt, still weak but coming around. His eyes opened just in time to see the figure advancing.
"Eira—" he tried to rise, but collapsed with a growl.
The figure flicked a hand. Smoke coiled inward, thick and choking. The fire sputtered out.
"You should've let him die," the stranger hissed. "Now you'll both burn."
Eira raised the blade. The stranger knocked it from her grasp effortlessly.
"Don't worry," he whispered near her ear. "Your death will mean something. The world remembers power like yours."
And then—
The mark on her arm lit up again. A brilliant flare of gold surged out, striking the stranger full in the chest. He staggered back, cloak smoldering, eyes wide with shock.
Kael rose on one knee, growling. "You won't touch her."
The stranger snarled, twisted in the smoke—and vanished into it.
Silence fell. The scent of sulfur faded. The cave felt heavier, darker, as if something sacred had been tainted.
Eira fell to her knees, shaking. Kael crawled toward her.
"What just happened?" he asked.
"I don't know," she whispered. "But he knew what the mark meant."
Kael touched her wrist gently. "We need answers. You need to come back to the pack."
She jerked away. "They'll kill me."
"Not if I claim you," he said.
She stared at him. "What?"
"If I say you're mine, they won't touch you."
"You can't just—"
"I can," he said. "And I will. Because whatever's coming for us… it started with you. And I need to know why."
She stood. The blade still smoked where it had hit the cave floor.
"I'm not your possession, Kael."
"No," he said, rising slowly. "You're something worse. You're my fate."
They both looked out into the night. Unseen beyond the trees, five figures knelt in a burning circle—watching the cave, waiting for dawn.
The Firstbloods had awoken.
As they stood there, frozen in the moment, Eira felt a sense of foreboding wash over her. She knew that their lives would never be the same, that the mark on her arm was just the beginning of a journey that would take them to the very edges of their world.
And she knew that she would have to face whatever lay ahead, with Kael by her side.
But as they stood there, the darkness seemed to be closing in around them. The air was thick with tension, and the silence was oppressive.
It was as if the very forest itself was holding its breath, waiting to see what would happen next.
Eira knew that she would have to be brave if she was going to survive this. She had always been a fighter, but this was different. This was about more than just her own life. It was about the fate of the pack, and the fate of the world.
As she stood there, frozen in the moment, she felt a sense of determination rising up within her. She would not back down. She would not give up. She would fight, with every ounce of strength she had.
Kael's eyes locked onto hers, and she saw the same determination reflected back at her. He knew that they were in this together, now. And he was ready to face whatever lay ahead.
"We need to get out of here," he said, his voice low and urgent. "We can't stay here. It's not safe."
Eira nodded, her mind racing. She knew that he was right. They couldn't stay here, not now that the Firstbloods had awoken.
As they made their way out of the cave, Eira felt a sense of trepidation. She knew that they were walking into danger, that the Firstbloods would be coming for them.
But she also knew that she couldn't let fear control her. She had to be strong, for herself and for Kael.
As they emerged from the cave, the darkness seemed to swallow them whole. The forest was quiet, the only sound the distant howling of wolves.
Eira's heart skipped a beat. She knew that sound. It was the call of the pack.
And then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw them. A group of wolves, their eyes glowing in the dark.
Kael's hand closed around hers, his fingers intertwining with hers. "It's okay," he said. "They're with me."
Eira's heart calmed slightly. She knew that she was in good hands, at least for now.
But as they walked through the forest, surrounded by the pack, Eira couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched. That the Firstbloods were waiting for them, their eyes fixed on them like predators.
And she knew that their journey was far from over. They had just begun to face the dangers that lay ahead.
As they walked, the trees seemed to loom over them, casting long shadows in the moonlight. Eira felt a sense of unease, as if they were being herded towards some unknown fate.
But she refused to give in to fear. She knew that she had to be strong, for herself and for Kael.
And so, she walked on, her heart pounding in her chest, her senses on high alert.
For she knew that their survival depended on it.