Chapter 6 CHAPTER
Selene Point of View
The howl didn’t sound like any wolf I’d heard before. It was different, deeper, darker—a warning.
Mathias voice cut through the air, calm but urgent. “That serves as a warning,” he said, his eyes scanning the trees, watching every shadow, every movement. He wasn’t standing still anymore. His whole body was tight, ready to either fight or run.
My heart pounded in my chest, but I didn’t question him. I trusted him. He had been right so far. But my legs, they burned with exhaustion. The side where he’d bandaged me ached. The pain throbbed with every step I took, but I couldn’t stop. I wouldn’t stop.
“What does this imply?” I whispered, my voice trembling a little, though I tried to keep it steady.
Mathias glanced over at me, his expression unreadable. “It means something’s coming. And it’s not friendly, whatever it is.”
The Crescent Moon Pack scout, who had been following us for the last couple of hours, shifted nervously. His eyes darted into the dark woods around us. “We shouldn’t be here,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. “There’s a curse on this land. This place is haunted.”
I raised an eyebrow and shot a look at him. Haunted? What kind of haunted?
Mathias snorted, his face serious. “Rogues don’t believe in curses. They don’t care. But even they know better than to mess around here.”
The howls came again, louder this time, and a chill ran through me. My wolf inside me was restless, uneasy, but something kept me moving forward. It felt like we were being stalked, hunted, by something much worse than just the usual rogues.
We moved faster, Mathias leading the way, quick but quiet. I struggled to keep up with him, my body still not fully healed, my legs shaky from the hours of walking. But I couldn’t let him down, not now.
“Stay close, and don’t make a sound,” he whispered, glancing over his shoulder.
“I’m right behind you,” I muttered, my voice low but steady.
I wasn’t sure if I was trying to convince him or myself. The truth was, the deeper we went into the woods, the more uneasy I felt. The trees seemed to close in around us, their dark branches reaching out like claws. Every snap of a twig underfoot felt like a bomb going off in the silence. My breath came quicker, and my heart thumped in my ears.
The scout, still walking beside me, glanced at me with a nervous look. “Are you sure you don’t want to go back to the pack?” he asked, voice tight.
I shot him a glare, my patience worn thin. “Not now,” I snapped. “Now is not the time for this conversation.”
Mathias turned his head, his sharp eyes locking onto the scout. “You’ll get us all killed if you don’t keep your mouth shut,” he growled.
I couldn’t help but notice the way the scout flinched. It was a strange thing to see. But he didn’t argue. We kept moving.
Eventually, we reached a small clearing, where the moonlight bathed the grass in silver. Everything seemed eerily still for a moment, and then the howls stopped. The silence felt like it was pressing down on me, heavy and thick.
I couldn’t stand it. “Why did they stop?” I asked, my voice shaking.
Mathias jaw tightened. “They’re circling us,” he said. His tone was colder now, more cautious.
I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. My wolf growled low in my chest, sensing the danger. I could feel it all around us, the tension in the air. We were being watched.
The scout, who had been holding his breath, muttered uneasily, “I don’t see anything.”
Mathias voice dropped to a whisper. “That’s the problem,” he said, his eyes scanning the trees again. “They’re too smart to be seen. They want us to make a mistake.”
The moonlight above seemed to glow brighter, almost too bright, as though it were alive. It cut through the dark like a spotlight, and I felt it sharpen my senses, making everything seem more intense. But then, there was a sound—a soft whisper in the air.
“Zaia…”
My heart skipped a beat. I froze. “Did you hear that?” I asked, my voice barely a whisper.
Mathias eyes flicked around, his posture stiff. “See what?” he asked, his voice sharp as he tried to locate the source.
Again, the whisper came, louder this time. It was soft, almost beautiful, but there was something in it that made my stomach turn.
“Zaia… Come closer.”
I didn’t know why, but my feet started to move. It was as if the voice was pulling me, calling me forward. My heart raced, my wolf restless inside me, torn between curiosity and fear.
“It’s calling to me,” I murmured, stepping forward despite Mathias warning.
Mathias grabbed my arm, his grip firm. “Never,” he said, his voice low and urgent. “She’s caught in a trap.”
I wanted to argue. I wanted to tell him that it knew my name. But instead, I just stood there, staring into the dark trees, feeling something pull at me from deep within.
“It knows my name,” I said, my voice trembling, torn between wonder and fear.
“That’s exactly why you shouldn’t trust it,” Mathias said, his voice filled with warning. “Whatever is out there is playing with you.”
The scout stepped forward, his face tight. “We can’t stay here,” he urged. “If she’s hearing voices, it’s a warning. We need to leave now.”
I turned to him, shaking my head. “And run right into whatever is out there?” I snapped. “Great idea.”
The scout didn’t back down. “Better than standing here, waiting to be hunted.”
“Enough,” I said, cutting through the tension in the air. “We’re not staying here, but we’re not running blind either. We move forward, but we stick together.”
Mathias raised an eyebrow, his lips twitching into a small smile. “Finally, some sense,” he said, his voice lighter than before.
But the discomfort didn’t fade. The voices, though fainter now, still echoed in the back of my mind. I couldn’t shake the feeling that we were being watched, followed. And the uncertainty gnawed at me, pulling me in two directions—back to the pack, where I had once belonged, or forward, with Mathias and the scout, into the unknown.
“Why are you so determined to help me?” I asked Mathias as we continued through the thick underbrush. My legs were shaky, but I pushed forward, trying to ignore the stabs of pain in my side.
Mathias expression softened for a moment, and I saw something flicker in his eyes. But it was gone almost as quickly as it had appeared. “Because no one supported me when I needed it,” he said, his voice low. “And because you’re stronger than you know.”
His words hit me harder than I expected. A warmth spread through my chest, but it was quickly smothered by the tension still hanging in the air. “Thanks,” I whispered, not sure if I was thanking him for his words or for everything else.
“Don’t thank me yet,” he replied, his gaze turning back to the dark woods in front of us. “We’re not out of this yet.”
We kept moving, but it felt like the night was pressing in on us. The forest seemed to grow darker, more oppressive, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. Something was coming. Something worse than anything we had faced before.
We reached a rocky outcrop that overlooked a small, moonlit valley. The trees below seemed peaceful, quiet, but the unease in my gut only grew stronger.
Mathias stopped and stared down at the valley, his face clouded with something darker. “This is rogue territory,” he muttered. “But something older, more dangerous, is here. This place has always been… unique.”
The scout’s voice was tight with unease. “We shouldn’t be here. The stories—”
“Stories won’t kill you,” Mathias cut him off. “But whatever’s hunting us will. This is one of the best places to make a stand.”
I felt the chill settle in deeper as we prepared camp. The moonlight grew brighter, almost blinding, and the whispers started again—louder, more urgent.
“Zaia… You can’t run from your destiny.”
The wind picked up, carrying with it a sickly, metallic smell—blood.
Mathias hand tightened on his dagger. “They’re here.”
A shadow appeared in the clearing, its eyes glowing with an eerie, silver light. Before I could speak, the figure’s voice cut through the air.
“Zaia,” it said, its tone familiar, cold. “You shouldn’t have come here.”
I froze. My heart stopped in my chest.