The forest was not silent.
It breathed, sighed, and whispered. Even in the dead of night, Thornfang Hollow pulsed with life. Elena stood alone beneath the twisted branches of an ancient ash tree, her breath visible in the cold air.
Ryn, the silver-furred wolf, circled her protectively, tail flicking as if sensing an invisible threat.
"Stay calm," Kael's voice echoed from behind her. "The forest tests those it deems worthy."
She turned toward him, frustration flaring in her chest. "What kind of test includes shadows that stalk me in my sleep?"
Kael stepped forward, his expression unreadable. "The Hollow remembers everything. Blood spilled. Oaths broken. You carry your mother's legacy—and her enemies."
Elena folded her arms tightly. "Then let them come."
The defiance in her voice surprised even her.
Kael studied her a moment longer, then nodded. "Good. But be careful what you invite. Not all enemies bare their teeth first."
He led her toward the outskirts of the Hollow, where the trees thinned and the wind carried a sharp bite. They came to a clearing where the remains of an old cabin lay crumbled in moss and rot.
"This was your mother's refuge," Kael said. "She stayed here when she left the pack."
Elena approached the ruins, her fingers trailing across the charred wood. It had been burned—deliberately. She crouched down and picked up a scorched pendant half-buried in the soil. Her mother's sigil: a crescent moon over a wolf's eye.
"She was attacked," Elena whispered. "This wasn't just abandonment."
Kael nodded grimly. "The Hunters have grown bold. They're not only coming after us. They want to erase our bloodline."
Something flickered behind the trees. Elena snapped her head toward the motion.
"Did you see that?" she asked, voice low.
Before Kael could answer, the trees erupted with motion. Figures cloaked in black leather burst into the clearing, crossbows raised, silver bolts gleaming in the moonlight.
Kael shoved Elena behind him, his own blade drawn. Ryn snarled, lunging forward in a blur of fur and fang.
"Run!" Kael roared.
But Elena didn't run.
Something inside her cracked open—like ice breaking over a raging river.
She stepped forward. The air thickened around her, her pulse deafening in her ears. The Hunters faltered for a moment, sensing the shift. Her eyes glowed faintly—wolf gold in the dark.
"You shouldn't be here," she said, voice low, primal.
The lead Hunter smirked. "Neither should you."
A bolt flew through the air, aimed directly at her chest.
Kael dove, knocking her to the ground as the silver bolt missed her by inches. Chaos erupted—Ryn tore through the attackers while Kael engaged another with blade against steel.
Elena scrambled to her feet, heart racing. Her hands were shaking—but not with fear.
With instinct alone, she grabbed a fallen branch, sharpened and sturdy. The next Hunter lunged for her, but she ducked and slammed the branch across his head with surprising force.
He dropped.
Another bolt whizzed past her shoulder.
Ryn howled.
And Elena changed.
For the briefest moment, her vision fractured—trees bending, stars streaking, her bones humming. A heat burned beneath her skin, just beneath the surface, wanting out.
But she held it back.
She wasn't ready—not yet.
When the skirmish ended, two Hunters lay unconscious, one had fled, and Kael was bleeding from a shallow cut across his ribs. Ryn paced the perimeter, growling low and furious.
Kael exhaled. "You stayed. You fought."
"I'm not running anymore," Elena said, trembling but steady. "This is my fight now."
Kael gave her a long look. "Then it's time you truly begin to awaken the wolf within."
Later that night, under the blood-red moon, Elena stood at the edge of the Hollow alone. She held her mother's pendant in her hand, the scorched metal warming with her touch.
She didn't know who she was becoming.
But she knew one thing for certain—whoever burned her mother's refuge would burn in return.
And the Hollow would remember.