The forest was no longer silent. It screamed. Eden stood in the scorched remains of the barn, the scent of burning hay and blood curling through the air. The claw marks weren't just deep, they were unnatural, each groove pulsing faintly with a red glow, like the wound of the earth hadn't finished bleeding.
"They came for the animals first," Clara murmured beside her, eyes vacant. "That's what they do. Test the boundaries. Smell the living."
Eden turned. "You've seen this before."
Clara nodded once. "Only in dreams. The dreams that come to Thorne-bloods before a purge." Kade stepped forward, jaw tight.
"They're testing our defenses." "They already breached them," Eden said grimly and that meant something had let them in.
The council convened within the hour, a smaller group this time. Tensions rode high and the scent of sweat and fear mingled in the oak paneled war room of the Thorne estate.
"We have sealed the northern perimeter with tripwires, ash rings and flame wards" Kade reported.
"And if they come from beneath?" asked Micah, the wiry beta with dark eyes and a distrust of everything not born of the pack.
"They won't," Eden said, holding up the book. "The Hollow born can't cross the Salt Line unless it's broken by blood or betrayal." The room went still.
"How do you know that?" Micah snapped.
"Because the book told me." She met his gaze without flinching and because they tried to lure me across it in my sleep last night."
"You are dreaming now?" someone whispered.
Eden hesitated. "Not dreams, they are warnings."
Kade stepped between them. "The book is bonded to her now. If it's showing her things, it's because she's the last thing standing between us and a full breach."
"Or the door," Micah growled, "that will open them all." Later that night, Eden found herself standing at the cliff's edge behind the Thorne house, where the air always felt thinner and the stars closer.
Kade joined her in silence. "They think I'm dangerous," she said.
"You are, Kade replied". She turned sharply but he softened. "Dangerous doesn't mean wrong, Eden. It means powerful and power in this town gets feared long before it's respected."
She looked out over the valley. "If the Hollow born want me, maybe I should give myself up."
"No." She felt him shift closer, his voice low, feral. "If they take you, they'll tear this world open. You're not their key, Eden. You're their lock."
"How do you know that?"
He reached out, touched the brand on her palm, the one that still pulsed when the forest stirred. "Because that mark was never meant to open the door," he said. "It was meant to seal it."
They didn't sleep that night. At 2:14 a.m., the first ward fell. Eden was already awake when the howls began piercing, unnatural, like no wolf she'd ever heard. They rose in harmony, then split apart into dozens of snarling, slathering echoes. The ground shuddered beneath the Thorne estate. Then came the silence. Clara burst into the room, sword in hand, panting.
"They're in the orchard. South side. They broke the ash circle."
Eden was on her feet instantly. "Get me there."
Kade blocked her. "You're not going out there alone."
"I have to see what they want."
"You know what they want!"
"But I want to hear them say it."
The orchard had always been beautiful. Now, it looked like a battlefield. Trees stood split down their centers. Apples bled black sap. Fog blanketed the earth, heavy as wet wool. They found them in the clearing three figures hunched over the broken wards. Not fully human and not fully beast. Eden stepped forward. The largest creature looked up. Its eyes were molten gold. Its skin shimmered with runes burned beneath the flesh. It spoke without moving its mouth.
"Daughter of Flame. You wear the mark."
Eden's voice did not tremble. "And you wear death." The creature's grin widened.
"You dream our names. Soon, you'll speak them."
She lifted the book. "Why now? Why attack the wards?"
"You weakened the seal. Your blood sang and we heard."
"What do you want?" It blinked. "It is not you but through you."
Kade stepped beside her, sword drawn. "Back off."
The Hollowborn's gaze flicked to him. "Ah. The Broken Alpha. You would protect her?"
"I'd die for her."
The creature smiled with too many teeth. "You will."
Immediately, the ground cracked. Roots surged from the earth like snakes, wrapping around Kade's legs, dragging him down. Eden screamed his name but the creature lunged, slashing toward her with a claw of shadow. She dropped to one knee, opened the book and screamed the first word that came to her lips. "Ignis!" The world erupted. A ring of fire exploded from her palm, knocking the Hollowborn backward. Its flesh sizzled as it howled in rage. Kade broke free, dragging her into the trees. They didn't stop running until the orchard was gone. Until the forest fell silent once more.
Back at the house, Eden collapsed onto the cold tile floor. "They wanted through me," she whispered.
"They're not trying to kill me. They're trying to use me."
Kade knelt beside her. "You didn't let them."
"But next time..." She stared at her palm. "I don't know if I can hold them back."
He took her hands in his. "You won't have to." Their eyes locked and something passed between them. It is not a promise and it is not a vow but something older which is the Pack.
That night, Eden stood before the council once more. She placed the book on the table.
"I'm done waiting." Clara leaned forward.
"What do you mean?"
"I want to know everything about Azariel, about my aunt and about why this town lives in fear."
Micah scoffed. "And if we say no?"
Eden's eyes flickered just for a moment with flame. "Then I'll ask the forest's silence.
Then the old woman, the same one who had warned her, spoke, "very well, Flamebearer. But understand that knowledge is not light. It is fire and fire burns."
"I'm already burning," Eden whispered. "Might as well learn why."