The night burned with silence.
The forest was still — too still. Not even the wind dared whisper through the trees.
Somewhere beyond the veil of mist, the river glowed faintly with reflected moonlight, broken only by ripples that shouldn't have been there.
Selene stood at the edge of the ruins, her pulse loud in her ears. The pendant against her chest was warm again — faint but steady, like the memory of a heartbeat she'd once known too well.
Behind her, Tarin and the others kept watch, their weapons drawn, eyes scanning the darkness.
"Still nothing," Tarin muttered. "Maybe it was just—"
A sound cut through his words.
A slow, deliberate crunch of footsteps on wet leaves.
The wolves turned instantly. Torches flared, weapons gleamed. Selene didn't move. She knew that sound — the rhythm, the weight, the calm confidence wrapped in power.
Her throat went dry.
From between the trees, a figure emerged — tall, broad-shouldered, half-draped in shadow. The mist curled around him like it feared to touch him. His steps were heavy, but not clumsy — measured. Controlled.
Then the moonlight touched his face.
Selene's heart stopped.
Kael.
But not the Kael she remembered.
This was a man pulled from the edge of something eternal. His skin carried faint streaks of silver that glowed like cracks in armor. His eyes — once gray — now shimmered like molten metal, flickering between wolf and human. His aura was raw power, but beneath it… a fracture. Something ancient slept within him now.
He stood at the clearing's edge, watching her. No words. Just silence thick enough to choke on.
Selene took a step forward. "Kael…"
His gaze softened for a moment — just a flicker of recognition — before a shadow crossed it again.
"I heard you," he said, his voice low, gravelly. "Through the dark. You called me back."
Tarin exhaled shakily. "He's alive. He's actually—"
Kael's eyes snapped toward him, sharp and cold. The air tightened. Even Tarin, brave as he was, stepped back.
Selene swallowed hard. "Kael, it's me. You're safe now."
He looked at her — through her — as though trying to remember what safety felt like.
Then he blinked slowly and whispered, almost to himself, "Safe… That word feels strange."
His body trembled slightly. The silver veins under his skin pulsed, reacting to something unseen. He grabbed his chest, wincing.
"Kael!" Selene ran to him, catching his arm. The contact jolted both of them — a surge of heat, energy, and emotion flooding through. For a moment, everything around them disappeared — no wolves, no forest, no ruins. Just them, suspended between past and present.
"I felt you die," she whispered. "And now…"
Kael's hand brushed her cheek, trembling. "Now I can't tell if I'm alive or still dreaming of you."
Her tears came uninvited.
But then — the ground shook.
A sudden gust tore through the clearing, and Kael's eyes flared brighter. Shadows burst from the trees, crawling like smoke given form. The wolves readied themselves as whispers filled the air — ancient, distorted voices speaking in a tongue none of them understood.
Tarin shouted, "They followed him back!"
Selene turned to Kael. "What did you bring with you?"
Kael's jaw clenched. "The curse wasn't broken when I crossed back. I didn't come alone."
From the mist, figures began to form — tall, disjointed shapes, neither human nor beast. Their bodies flickered like reflections in shattered glass. The Shadowborne — creatures of the old world, guardians of the veil.
Selene reached for her blade. "Then we finish what fate started."
Kael smirked faintly, a shadow of his old self. "Still fearless, I see."
"Always," she shot back.
The shadows screamed, rushing toward them.
And the clearing erupted in chaos.
Kael moved like liquid steel, faster than thought, his claws tearing through darkness as light flared from his strikes. Selene fought beside him, their movements perfectly in sync — the way they once were.
But each time Kael struck, the silver veins along his body grew brighter… and the pain etched deeper into his face.
"Kael, stop!" Selene shouted over the noise. "You're burning yourself out!"
He didn't stop. Couldn't. The energy inside him — the Resonance — had no off switch. It was consuming him, using him as a vessel for something far beyond mortal or wolf.
When the last shadow dissolved into mist, Kael fell to his knees, gasping, silver blood dripping from his hands.
Selene caught him before he hit the ground. "Hey, look at me. You're here. You're back."
He stared up at her, half-smiling. "Back… but not the same."
"What happened to you?" she whispered.
His eyes dimmed, a storm of pain behind them. "When the curse broke, something else broke with it — something ancient. The moon called me back, but it didn't come alone."
Selene frowned. "What do you mean?"
Kael's gaze shifted toward the distant mountains. "There's a shadow older than any Alpha. It's stirring again. The one the ancients sealed away."
Tarin stepped forward, still catching his breath. "You mean the—"
Kael nodded. "The First Wolf."
The words dropped like a thunderclap.
Selene's blood ran cold. "That's impossible. The First Wolf was a myth—"
"Then the myth's about to wake," Kael said quietly. "And he wants his throne back."
---
That night, the pack made camp at the edge of the ruins. The wind howled across the valley, carrying the faint scent of ash and moonlight.
Selene sat beside Kael, who rested by the fire — his strength slowly returning. She reached for his hand. "We'll face it together."
He smiled weakly. "You always say that."
"And I always mean it."
Kael looked into the flames, his expression darkening.
"The war's not over," he said softly. "It's only just begun."