The morning sun filtered through the dense canopy, casting dappled shadows across the clearing where Blake had chosen to train. The wolves of his pack moved silently among the trees, alert but calm, their movements precise, almost ritualistic. The hunters he had permitted to accompany them moved more cautiously, their footsteps light and respectful, their eyes constantly shifting between the pack and the towering Alpha.
Alder Rowan stood beside Blake, the ancient Codex of Returning Paths open in front of them on a flat stone. The leather cover pulsed faintly, almost like a heartbeat, and Blake could feel it before he saw it—like a presence pressing against his mind, waiting to be acknowledged.
"You're ready," Alder said, his voice steady, carrying the weight of years of study and secrets too dangerous to share with anyone else.
Blake flexed his claws, the tension in his muscles coiled like a spring. "Ready to what?"
"To understand," Alder said. "To truly grasp what this book can teach you. Not just shifting between forms… but command over what your nature carries."
Blake's amber eyes narrowed. "Command? I already control my wolf form. My pack obeys me. My strength… is unmatched."
Alder shook his head. "Not what you think. Strength alone does not define mastery. The Codex teaches balance. It teaches… potential beyond instinct. Power you didn't know was in you."
Blake's pulse quickened. "Explain."
Alder took a deep breath. "Magic, in the sense that humans once understood it, exists because some beings remember that the world is malleable. You are one of those beings. Your body is a vessel between states. Your mind… has been hardened by survival. The Codex will unlock channels you never knew existed."
Blake's eyes flickered with a mixture of excitement and wariness. "Channels?"
"Yes," Alder said, closing his eyes briefly. "Energy flows through everything—trees, stones, water, fire. Your form amplifies that energy. Your bond with the pack, your connection to the forest, your wolf instincts… all of it is a conduit. The Codex teaches you how to channel it."
Blake crouched slightly, claws pressing into the stone, tail lashing slowly. "So… I can manipulate this energy?"
"Not just manipulate," Alder said, voice soft but firm. "You can shape it. Focus it. Bend it to intention. For protection, for defense… perhaps even for creation. But it comes with discipline."
Blake tilted his head. "And if I fail?"
"Then," Alder said, "you feel it. Not just physically, but spiritually. The forest does not forgive mistakes lightly."
Blake's gaze swept over the pack, then the hunters. "I'm not afraid of failing."
Alder's lips curved faintly. "We shall see."
He motioned to the Codex. "Sit. Focus. Begin with the first exercise."
Blake lowered himself onto the stone beside the book, muscles taut but relaxed. He reached a hand out and touched the Codex, the symbols shifting faintly beneath his fingertips. The book was warm, alive, and it seemed to hum in resonance with his heartbeat.
Alder's voice guided him. "Close your eyes. Breathe. Imagine yourself as both human and wolf simultaneously. Not one after the other… together, in balance. Do not fight the forms. Merge them."
Blake inhaled deeply, the forest air filling his lungs. He felt the fur along his back ripple as he relaxed. His senses sharpened—every sound, every movement, every heartbeat around him magnified. He could hear the hunters' careful breaths, the subtle shifts of the wolves, the distant rustle of leaves, the faint drip of water somewhere deeper in the forest.
Alder continued. "Now… feel the energy. The forest, your pack, your instincts. Let it flow through you. Do not control it—guide it. Let the Codex speak through you."
Blake's pulse thrummed with a resonance he had never felt before. The air around him seemed to hum. His claws glowed faintly with a shadowed light, his breath misting as if the forest itself exhaled through him. Energy rippled along his spine, moving into his limbs, his senses, his thoughts.
Alder's voice was calm but insistent. "Focus on the intent. Protection. Strength. Awareness. Channel it into the world around you."
Blake's body shifted subtly. He didn't change form—at least, not entirely—but he felt… different. He could sense each leaf, each stone, each wolf, and each hunter in the clearing. He felt the pack as one organism, a pulse of life and awareness connected to him, feeding into him.
Alder smiled faintly. "Good. Now direct that energy outward. Shape it. Form a shield, a barrier, a circle around your pack. Visualize it, then let the intention carry it."
Blake exhaled, focusing. The air before him shimmered faintly, like heat waves on a summer road. A pulse radiated outward, and the wolves shifted instinctively to align themselves with it. The hunters felt the change too—a subtle pressure, a sense of safety, of being watched over.
Blake opened his eyes. "I can feel them. Every one of them. Not just my pack… them too. I can protect them without touching them."
"Yes," Alder said, nodding. "This is only the beginning. Control your intent, and you can manipulate energy, movement, and perception around you. Not in a brute-force way… but in a nuanced, precise way."
Blake allowed himself a faint smirk. "So, I could… redirect attacks. Protect hunters. Defend territory. Without even moving?"
"Potentially," Alder said, "if your concentration is unwavering. And if your mind remains balanced. Distraction or anger… can cause the energy to backfire. Or worse."
Blake flexed his claws, feeling the subtle charge coursing through him. "I'm ready."
Alder guided him through the next few exercises: shaping energy into protective walls, focusing it into precise bursts for hunting, blending human and wolf perception simultaneously. Blake's control grew rapidly, astonishing even Alder. The Alpha's instincts were already heightened beyond most beings, and the Codex merely amplified them.
Hours passed, the sun climbing higher, yet Blake's focus remained unbroken. Sweat slicked his fur, but he felt alive in a way that no battle had ever granted him. The forest seemed to hum with recognition, every tree, stone, and wolf resonating with his efforts.
By late afternoon, Blake leaned back against the stone, breathing heavily. Alder observed him carefully. "You have done well," he said. "Beyond what I expected for a first session."
Blake chuckled softly. "It's… powerful. I can feel things I never noticed before. Hear things I didn't know I could hear. Sense energy… life… intention. It's overwhelming."
"Good," Alder said. "You need to feel it fully before mastery begins. Overwhelm teaches humility."
Blake exhaled slowly, gazing at the forest. His mind drifted to memories he rarely allowed himself to touch—memories of his parents, of the snow where he had been abandoned, of the faces that had turned away from him.
He turned his amber eyes to Alder. "Tell me…" he said, voice quiet. "Was there… any reason for them? My mother, my father… why they left me?"
Alder's expression tightened slightly. He had expected this question eventually. He closed the Codex and set it on his lap, as if preparing for a conversation that required care.
"It's not simple," Alder began. "And some truths are harder than survival itself. Your parents… they were bound by forces beyond ordinary understanding. Families, alliances, debts… obligations you could not possibly comprehend at your age. And yet…" Alder paused, his gaze meeting Blake's, steady and unwavering, "their decision to abandon you was one they believed… necessary. Whether it was fear, strategy, or protection, I do not know entirely. But I do know this: it was not a reflection of your worth."
Blake clenched his jaw. "Not a reflection of my worth," he repeated. "And yet, it shaped everything. Made me this…" He gestured to his massive wolf form, muscles tense, fur black as night. "Everything I am, every fight I've survived, every life I've taken and spared… it started there. In the snow. Alone."
"Yes," Alder said gently. "And that is why you are capable of what you are now. That is why you have mastered this forest, the pack, and the energy flowing through you. Your past shaped you, yes… but it did not define the limit of what you could become."
Blake exhaled slowly, gaze dropping to the Codex again. "If they left me… if they never came back… then… why does a part of me still wonder what might have been?"
"Because," Alder said softly, "humanity never fully disappears, even when masked by wolf and fury. That longing… that question… it is the tether between what you were and what you might yet become. And it is not weakness. It is balance."
Blake's tail swished slowly. "Balance," he murmured. "I've chased power, fear, and vengeance… but maybe this is what I was missing. Understanding, control… and… knowledge of who I am, beyond rage."
"Yes," Alder said. "And the Codex is the tool. The guide. It cannot decide for you. Only show you the path."
Blake rose, towering over Alder as he did every human. "Then teach me. Teach me everything. Magic, energy, perception… I want to master it all."
Alder smiled faintly, standing as well. "Patience," he said. "Mastery takes time. And discipline. But you are capable. That much… is clear."
Blake exhaled, the forest air filling his lungs. "Then I will not fail. I will learn. I will become… everything I am meant to be. Not just a monster. Not just a protector. Something more."
Alder nodded. "And someday, perhaps, you will understand your parents… why they made the choices they did. But for now, focus on this. On mastery. On what you can control. The rest… will come in time."
Blake's amber eyes softened slightly. "I want to know, Alder. I want to understand. Even if it hurts. Even if it's… unforgivable."
"You will," Alder said. "But not today. Today, you learn power. Tomorrow… perhaps, clarity. And when the time comes, you will face your past with strength, not fear."
Blake nodded slowly, turning back to the Codex. The ancient symbols seemed to glow faintly in acknowledgment. He extended a clawed hand, touching the pages once more. The energy pulsed into him, steady, controlled, alive.
For the first time, he felt it fully: the power to shape, to guide, to protect, and to become. Human. Wolf. Both. Something beyond either. And yet, the questions lingered, soft but persistent, in the corners of his mind.
He turned to Alder one final time. "Then… we begin."
"Yes," Alder said. "And remember—control, balance, and respect. For the forest. For the pack. For yourself."
Blake exhaled deeply, flexing his claws and letting the forest's energy flow through him. "And for my parents?" he asked quietly.
Alder's expression softened, grave and knowing. "One day, Blake. One day, the answers will come."
And with that, the forest seemed to pause, the pack stirring around him, the Codex humming, and Blake Black—the boy once abandoned, the Alpha now alive with power—began the long, precise path toward mastery, knowledge, and perhaps… understanding of the past he had longed to face.