The dream started like an opened wound. Cold, red, and endless.The air sparkled hot but not like fire… like something older and darker. The sky split in two… half light, half blood. A red moon hung in the sky vibrating like a heart that refused to stop.Sera stood barefoot on black sand. Each step burned, but she couldn't move.The air was filled with whispers, thousands of voices calling her names in ways that scared her.Then there was silence. Only one voice remained. "Seraphina."It came from the light or maybe from the dark. She couldn't tell.The sound crawled under her skin, too close and familiar.She turned, and there he was.A man stood in the middle of a shattered circle drawn in ash and light.Fire wrapped around him, each one glowed brighter the more he struggled. His eyes were the same as the moon above them.He didn't look human, he didn't look real, but he felt real enough to make her body tremble."Who are you?" She whispered even though she wasn't sure if her mouth moved. He gave a small broken smile. "You already know.""I don't.""You do," the chains rattled, and light glowed from the wounds on his wrists. "You've carried my blood since birth. You've carried my curse. The words hit her, her body reacted before her mind could. Her mark burned… the same mark that tore her skin last night. It glowed now, brighter and alive, matching the lines from his chains. "What are you talking about?" She gasped, folding her arm. "What curse."He looked at her the way someone looks at something lost for a long time. "They buried me under the moon. They sealed me here. But you…" his breath broke. "You opened the door."Her surroundings glowed… one second there was fire, the next there was storm. She couldn't breathe. "I didn't do anything…""You dreamed."The light around him glowed brighter, bright enough to sting. His voice deepened, echoing everywhere at once. "Dreams are doors. You've been walking between them without knowing."She stumbled back. "Stop… please…"He took a step toward her, and the chains rattled. Sparks glowed from the ground, hitting her skin like fireflies."Find me," he said. "Before he does.""Before who…"The world cracked open, the moon fell, and the chains snapped.And for a moment she saw his face clearly… it was sharp, terrifying, and beautiful.Under the light, the truth nearly hit her. He had her eyes.The ground opened beneath her feet. She fell through color and smoke, through whispers that screamed her name and another name buried inside. Seraphina. Seph. Blood of Malachai. She woke with a gasp that tore through her throat. Her mark burned, her sheets were damp with sweat. And for a second, she didn't remember where she was.The walls of Duskfall kept pressing close as it rained against the glass, and her pulse still racing from a dream that felt too real.Her hand trembled as he reached for the mark on her wrist.It pulsed once, then twice, like something alive inside her skin.Then the scent hit her… smoke, pine, and something darker. The Alpha's scent. And from beyond the door, she felt it. That same pull she had felt from the river and the same weight.He was close to her.
****************************************************His scent hit her before he reached her. It filled the room like smoke waiting to disperse.The door opened without a sound, he didn't knock. Alphas never do. Raven stepped in… on a black shirt, cold eyes and water still dripping from his hair. The storm followed him inside relentlessly. His eyes went straight to her wrist. The mark glowed faintly under the bed covers. Her pulse jumped, she pulled her hand back immediately but it was too late."You moved," he said.His voice wasn't loud, but it made her tremble. "I…I had a dream," she whispered."Dreams don't leave burns."He moved closer, every step heavy and quiet. His presence filled the room until there was nowhere to hide. The air thinned between them.The mark glowed again. Bright, alive, pulsing with the same sound of his heartbeat. She could feel it. That was the most terrifying part. He stopped beside her bed and for a moment, neither of them spoke. They only breathed. Hers was uneven, his was too steady. "What are you?" He asked. She swallowed hard. "I don't know.""Liar."The word came out hard. He moved closer, his hand landed near her blanket but not touching. Her skin felt hot. "I should throw you out of my borders," he said. "But when I try…" his jaw clenched. "The bond burns."Her breath caught. Bond?"He didn't answer. Outside, thunder rolled. Inside, his wolf gleamed in his eyes.. like gold. She saw the moment he almost lost control and the moment he forced himself to step back."Eveline says you're harmless," he said flatly. "But I don't believe her.""She saved me.""I didn't ask her to."Then there was a heavy silence, the kind that hurts to breathe through. Then the door opened again. Eveline entered, calm but tensed, her healer robe was damp from the rain. "Alpha," she said softly. "You're frightening her.""I should.""She's barely conscious.""She's dangerous.""I'm responsible for her," Eveline cut in. "And for whatever that mark is doing to the both of you."He stared at her for a moment and then at Sera again. Something passes between them. Something unspeakable.Finally, he turned away. "You keep her close, Healer," he said. "If she slips once, she's mine to deal with."He walks out and the door slammed behind him.Then there was silence again. Only the sound of rain and Sera's heartbeat was still racing.Eveline sighed. "He's not wrong, you know.""What's happening to me?"Eveline sat on the edge of the bed, her eyes were softer now, but tired. "You and the Alpha share something. I don't know what it is yet. But the mark… it's a bond of bond. Or a curse.""Curse," Sera whispered. "He said that too.""Who?""In my dream," she hesitated. "There was a man chained in light. He said I opened a door."Eveline froze just for a moment, then she masked it with a small smile. "Dreams talk nonsense, child.""I don't feel like it's nonsense."Eveline brushed hair from Sera's forehead. "Then maybe you should keep your dream from spilling into the world."Sera frowned. "What do you mean?""You'll train with me," Eveline said with a firm tone. "At dawn. No arguments.""Train?""You carry something wild and unsteady inside you and I can't let the Alpha sense it again, not until we understand it."Sera hesitated. "And if I refuse?"Eveline smiled softly. "Then you'll burn this whole down without meaning to. Including him."The words stuck there. Soft and heavy and impossible to ignore.Eveline stood up. "Sleep. You'll need it."She turned to leave but before she reached the door, Sera spoke again. "Eveline?""Yes?""What if he's right? What if I'm dangerous?"Eveline paused, her hand on the doorframe. "Then learn to control it before someone else controls you."The door shut quietly behind her.Sera stared at the ceiling as her pulse still echoed to that of the Alpha's. The mark pulsed once, twice, as if it heard everything. She pressed her palm to it and the pain flashed white. Her breath caught, she bit down a scream.Somewhere far off, a wolf howled.She didn't know if it came the forest or from him.