Mikael woke at the same time he always did—just before dawn, when the world was half-shadow and half bright.
But the space beside him was empty.
His eyes opened fully. Esther rose early sometimes, but never without him waking to the sound.
He stood, pulled on the fur over his shoulders, and stepped out into the biting pre-morning chill. The village slept, nothing moved, and the sky was still a heavy slate blue.
Then—
Footsteps.
Light. Coming from the treeline.
Esther emerged from the woods, her cloak pulled tight around her, in her hand was a sack filled with something he couldn't make out from the shape.
Her grip tightened as she stepped into view.
Mikael's voice cut the quiet.
"Where were you." Mikael demanded answers.
Esther halted—only slightly—but enough for him to notice. "I went to collect bones from Ansel for the ritual today is the final preparation day."
Mikael's eyes flicked to the urn. "From him."
A beat of silence.
Then she nodded once. "Yes."
The cold air thickened between them.
He stepped closer, expression carved from stone. "You walked into the forest alone. At this hour. To meet another man. And thought nothing to tell me?"
It wasn't jealousy "he was sure Esther didn't have the guts to betray him."
It was insult.
Pure, hard pride wrapped around an old, unhealed wound.
Esther exhaled, not defensive—tired. "Ansel agreed to give what was needed in exchange for something that could help him during full moon."
"You should have woken me." Mikael's tone stayed level, but heat coiled beneath every word. He rarely raised his voice—he didn't need to. "I do not stay asleep while my wife meets a man I do not trust."
Her brow pinched. "It was safer if you didn't come it was a negotiation you get angry instantly you could have messed up the deal."
She then steadied the sack shifting the weight. As she put the sack down diverting the topic of conversation.
"It's a matched set," she said softly. "Male and female wolf remains. The bones of the previous Alpha and his wife Prepared exactly as Ayana instructed."
Esther watched him carefully. "There is one more thing I need before we go to Ayana."
He said nothing.
Her voice softened, cautious. "Freya's hair."
The tension in the air changed.
Mikael's expression remained unreadable, but his breath deepened "I do not have it."
"You do," Esther said gently, stepping closer. " I know you did."
His eyes narrowed. Not denial. A warning.
Esther reached out, wrapped her fingers around his hand—not forceful, but firm. "Please. It is essential representation must be absolute. Freya must be present in some form."
A long silence.
Finally, he pulled his hand away—but only to walk toward the small storage chest beside the house. He lifted the lid, retrieved a sword wrapped in old cloth, and unwrapped it.
The blade was unused.
The hilt, untouched—except for meticulous care.
He took a knife, slid it under the worn leather, and cut it open in one smooth, merciless stroke.
Soft golden strands slipped free, catching the cold dawn light like a memory refusing to die.
Esther's breath caught.seeing the blade the same blade he tell everyone not to touch and scolds anyone who touches it.
He placed the hair in her hands carefully—hands that could break bone without effort, but handled this like something sacred.
"Let us go," he said. As he picked up the sack that contained the remains as he started walking towards Ayana's place.
The moment we stepped inside Ayana's hut, the air slapped against my face.
Thick. Heavy. Sweet and smoky and yet sharply pungent—as if flowers, burnt herbs, and metal had been mixed in the same breath.
I slowed.
Beside me, Mikael quietly tried to stop breathing.
Not dramatically—he just drew in one short inhale and then began taking tiny, controlled sips of air like the smell personally offended him.
His nostrils twitched. His eye twitched. His entire face tightened.
I almost laughed.
Ayana didn't even look up. "You'll get used to it," she said, stirring the clay pot in slow deliberate circles.
"I won't," Mikael muttered under his breath.
The scent got sharper the closer we stepped.
"What is that smell?" I finally asked. It wasn't accusatory, just bewildered.
Ayana lifted the wooden rod but kept her gaze on the swirling mixture. "The concoction has entered its final phase. The herbs burn from within now. The minerals have settled. When they fuse—this scent forms. Flowers, smoke, and the pungency of iron."
She inhaled deeply—like it was calming.
Mikael slightly leaned away from the pot, trying again to breathe as little as possible. His chest hardly moved.
I hid a smile.
She noticed the sack carried by Mikael "You brought the remains?"
I answered instead, stepping forward. "Yes and Freya's hair for the representation." slipped them out carefully — thin, golden strands tied together — and set them gently on the table in front of Ayana.
Ayana's expression changed immediately. Her lips formed a relieved smile almost."Hair is good i was worried that any other object might fail in the ritual but hair will be a great help."
"I need them back later." Mikael demanded "Good, don't worry hair won't be destroyed after the ritual you can have them back ." Ayana answered without even looking at them.
Mikael exhaled, shoulders dropping slightly, as if he felt lost "Don't worry Mikael we will bring Freya home."I tried to cheer Mikael up seeing his grief.
Ayana straightened. "Now that the ingredients are all done to the important part I have calculated star movements … the perfect day for the ritual is close."
Ayana wiped bone dust off her fingers. "Now. We must discuss timing."
I nodded. Mikael's eyebrow twitched like he already knew he wouldn't follow a word of this.
Ayana held up five fingers.
"In five days, the evening star, the moon, and daylight will overlap. All three. A rare alignment. And it will last three consecutive days. That is your window."
Mikael blinked.
Just blinked.
Total confusion.
I could feel it radiating off him like heat.
Ayana noticed—her lips curved, amused.
She continued anyway, describing angles, positions, lunar shifts—
Mikael's brain clearly leapt off the wagon halfway through.
His eyes narrowed, then drifted, then narrowed again. He looked like a cat pretending to understand human speech.
My heart squeezed.His face had that expression he wore when he desperately wanted to be calm but wasn't sure how.
The same expression he had the day Freya was born.
I looked at him then—really looked—and something warm tugged in my chest.
For a brief second, he didn't look like the hardened, violent man the world knew.
He looked like the simple-minded, earnest young warrior I first fell in love with.
I stepped closer to him, touching his arm.
"Let me simplify," I murmured.
"You've seen the moon in daylight, yes?"
"Of course," he answered instantly—that he understood.
"And you know the bright star that appears just after sunset?"
"Yes."
"When both appear at once, while the sky is still blue—that is the alignment. It lasts only three days then. "
Mikael's face lit with understanding.
Finally.
Ayana smirked. "Exactly. You have five days to convince the boy to agree."
I nodded firmly.i had already made preparations reasons to convince the boy to agree "Good. That is enough."
Ayana wasn't finished
"Exactly on the evening 6th day the alignment starts from and if you miss it you have to wait for a month or more." Ayana added.
"Then do you need any help or anything, if not then we will go now it's almost time for the kids to wake up."I asked Ayana.
"Ah, yes I do need something from you for the ritual." Ayana asked. "I need to channel all of your bloodline. "
I asked for the reason so Ayana explained "The ritual is to be performed by a elder the clan as remember Primordials are first of their bloodline so they don't have any elders that can perform the ritual so it's supposed to be done by your side meaning you could do it.
But it so happens you are to participate in the ritual alongside Rebekah and Mikael due to Freya's absence so you can't do it, so I have to do it and this ritual is supposed to use your bloodline magic to draw from the alignment and also the primordial and bind it I can't use my magic here so I need you to bond with me." This explanation left Esther in trance for a second and by looking at Mikael's expression he gave up listening halfway through.
He had officially reached his limit.
"It's that complicated. " Esther muttered hearing this Ayana answered
"What else do you expect, we are dealing with a primordial here so I can't take help from the spirits we have to do it the traditional way."
"If you find this hectic you have yet to hear of the restrictions all of us have to follow during the rituals."
"Once the ritual begins," Ayana said, "the boy and the girl may not be touched by the opposite sex."
"They must only eat fruits and vegetables no meat and the ritual must be done unwatched by those unrelated and so on." She stopped when she saw the blank expression of both Mikael and Esther which made her chuckle at the sight of it.
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AUTHORS NOTE:
When I started writing six days ago, I thought it would come together quickly. But as I drafted it, I realized the scenes and emotions weren't coming out the way I wanted. I erased and rewrote entire sections multiple times because I wasn't happy with how the tension, the character interactions, or the pacing were landing.
It ended up taking me longer writing, erasing, and rewriting before I finally felt satisfied with how it reads.
So let me know if you liked it.