EPISODE 3 — The Dungeon of Howling Bones
The path to the pack dungeons wound down beneath the main hall—
a cold, narrow stone passage carved long before I was born,
long before most packs even existed.
Two warriors dragged me by the arms.
My wrists throbbed where the silver-thread rope burned my skin.
The scent of blood—my blood—dripped gently onto the stone steps.
I kept my head low.
Not because I was ashamed.
Because the shadows beneath my skin were restless.
Hungry.
Every time one of the warriors jerked the rope too hard…
every time I stumbled…
every time I heard steel clink against armor…
the voice inside me stirred.
"Break them.
Break them all."
I breathed slowly through my teeth, forcing the darkness down.
Just stay calm, Ash.
Just stay human.
But it was like trying to hold the ocean back with my bare hands.
The warrior on my left, Barrett—big, broad, with a permanent scowl—grunted as he shoved me forward.
"Hurry up, monster."
I ignored him.
The other warrior, Toren, muttered, "Should've killed him while we had the chance."
Barrett spat, "Alpha's too soft when it comes to Seren."
Toren snorted. "She's the only reason this thing is still breathing."
Thing.
I closed my eyes.
Another word I was used to hearing.
Another reminder I wasn't meant to exist.
But Seren's voice echoed faintly in my mind:
"You saved me…
You're still Ash."
I held onto that.
Barely.
We reached the bottom of the twisting stair and approached a massive iron door.
It was carved with wolves in different stages of shifting—
some rising to glory,
some collapsing into darkness.
Above the door, burned into the stone, were four ancient symbols.
I recognized none of them.
Barrett banged on the door. "Open up!"
A metal panel slid open and two pale eyes peered through.
The gatekeeper.
He looked at me—a long, measuring stare—then slammed the panel shut.
Metal scraped.
Locks turned.
Chains rattled.
The door opened with a long, groaning sigh.
Cold air flooded out.
Not just cold.
Dead.
The scent of stale blood hit first.
Then damp stone.
Then the faintest, sharpest trace of silver.
My wolf—whatever that dark thing was—bristled.
My skin prickled. Shadows trembled beneath the surface of my veins.
The gatekeeper stepped aside silently, avoiding eye contact.
No one spoke.
No one had to.
Everyone knew where I was going.
Barrett shoved me inside. Toren followed, dragging the rope rougher than necessary.
The heavy door shut behind us.
BOOM.
Darkness swallowed me instantly.
Only faint torches lit small circles on the walls,
barely enough to see more than ten steps ahead.
Cells lined both sides of the hall—
thick iron bars, runes etched along the frames to prevent shifting.
Whispers drifted from the dark corners.
"What is he?"
"Is that the prophecy child?"
"…looks like a stable rat to me…"
"…no one survives the Elder Lock…"
The shadows inside me perked up.
"Kill them all."
My jaw clenched.
"Shut up," I muttered under my breath.
Barrett jerked the rope. "What was that, monster?"
Before I could answer, Toren grabbed my hair and yanked my head back.
"Don't speak unless spoken to."
That was the mistake.
Small pain—small spark—
but it woke the monster.
Shadows burst across my back in a pulse.
My vision flickered silver.
Barrett stumbled. "What the—?!"
Toren dropped my hair, stumbling away from the surge of darkness leaking out of me.
I crouched low, chest heaving, shadows crawling across the floor like smoke.
The voice roared:
"TEAR THEM OPEN!"
No.
NO.
I squeezed my eyes shut, fighting it—fighting myself.
I wasn't going to hurt Seren's pack.
Not unless they gave me no choice.
My hands shook. "S-stop…"
Barrett's sword scraped free.
"Oh no," he said, backing away slowly. "Oh, no, no—this is why we should've killed him!"
Toren raised his spear. "He's gonna turn! Call the Alpha!"
Darkness swirled, rising higher.
I felt it dragging me under.
I felt the shift coming—
the wrong shift.
The monstrous one.
My bones tensed. My spine arched.
But then—
A hand touched my shoulder.
Warm.
Human.
Steady.
And the entire world…
stilled.
The shadows recoiled instantly like they were burned.
The voice inside me hissed but quieted.
My eyes snapped open.
Seren stood behind me.
Breathing hard.
Hair messy from running.
Face pale.
But determined.
"Let him go," she said, glaring at the warriors. "He's not attacking. You provoked him."
Barrett stuttered, "H-He almost shifted—"
"No," Seren said firmly. "He fought it."
Toren swallowed. "…Alpha Ronin told us to—"
"Alpha Ronin is not here," Seren shot back. "I am. Release him."
Neither man moved.
So she added, voice low and sharp:
"That is an order from the Alpha's heir."
Both warriors froze.
It took them several seconds, but finally…
they obeyed.
Barrett cut the rope around my wrists.
Silver-thread fibers fell to the floor, still smoking.
My skin burned, but I didn't react.
I was too busy trying to understand one thing:
Why did she come after me?
She should've stayed in the safety of the pack house.
She should've listened to her father.
Instead… she stood between me and two armed warriors like she wasn't afraid of anything.
Not even the monster inside me.
Her gaze softened as she turned to me.
"Ash… are you okay?"
My voice came out broken. "Why are you here?"
"Because you shouldn't go into the Elder Lock alone."
Barrett choked. "You're going IN with him?!"
Seren ignored him.
She stepped closer, lowering her voice.
"Ash, I know what my father said. I know what the prophecy says. I know what everyone believes about you."
She swallowed hard.
"But I saw you fight it. I saw you protect me. And I know you're not a monster."
The shadows inside me trembled.
For the first time in my life…
they didn't quiet out of fear.
They quieted in confusion.
Like they didn't understand why a human—a wolf—would stand beside a thing like me.
But then—
BOOM.
A deeper door slammed open from farther down the dungeon.
A cold, ancient voice echoed through the hall.
"Bring the Two-Souled wolf forward."
Barrett and Toren flinched.
Seren grabbed my forearm tightly.
"That's the Elder," she whispered. "The one who knows more about your kind than anyone else."
"Knows more about the monster, you mean," Toren muttered.
Seren shot him a glare that silenced him instantly.
I took a slow breath.
And we walked forward.
Down the hall.
Past the cells.
Past the whispering prisoners.
Toward the deeper chamber.
Toward the Elder Lock.
Toward answers I wasn't sure I wanted.
The next door towered over us—
silver runes glowing faintly,
stone etched with ancient warnings.
The Elder stood before it.
Tall.
Hooded.
Eyes hidden behind a blindfold made of wolfskin.
His voice was quiet, but it thrummed through the stone.
"Two souls burn inside this vessel," he murmured.
"One of light… one of god-born shadow."
He lifted his head toward me.
"You have lived twenty years beyond the prophecy's decree. Impossible."
Seren stepped in front of me quickly.
"You can't hurt him."
The Elder tilted his head.
"I do not wish to hurt him."
He pointed at the door.
"I wish to reveal what he is."
The shadows inside me hissed.
Seren's grip tightened.
"Whatever you find," she said fiercely, "he is not alone."
The Elder turned slowly toward her.
"And whatever he becomes, girl…"
His voice rumbled like thunder.
"…you will not be able to save him."
My blood ran cold.
The Elder placed his palm on the silver-etched stone.
The runes glowed brighter.
The door unlocked with a deep, ancient groan.
Inside…
A massive circular chamber spiraled downward like a pit.
Chains hung from the ceiling.
Symbols burned into the stone floor.
Walls etched in wolf-language older than any living Alpha.
Shadows crawled along the ground in patterns that felt too familiar.
My heart pounded.
This place…
felt like home.
And like death.
The Elder gestured.
"Enter, Two-Souled Wolf."
Seren stepped closer, whispering urgently.
"Ash… don't let them control you. Don't let them define you."
I looked at her.
Her blue eyes trembled—but her voice didn't.
"You're still Ash," she whispered.
"No matter what they say."
I nodded.
Barely.
Then I stepped into the Elder Lock.
The door slammed shut behind me.
And the darkness roared to life.