The world felt different in the morning.
The forest no longer whispered — it watched. Every leaf, every gust of wind carried awareness, as though nature itself had shifted its allegiance. The light seemed sharper, too clean, too precise, like the air after lightning strikes.
I could feel the pulse under my skin — the same rhythm that had exploded from me last night. It wasn't gone; it had only gone quiet. Waiting.
Luca hadn't slept. He sat on the steps of the cabin, shirt torn, knuckles bruised, eyes fixed on the tree line. For the first time, he looked less like a mystery and more like a man who'd run out of places to hide.
"You're hurt," I said quietly.
He didn't look back. "So are you. You just don't feel it yet."
"What does that mean?"
He turned, gaze low. "Power always asks for payment."
---
He stood and walked into the sunlight, which cut through the mist like a blade. For a second, I thought I saw smoke rising from his skin — not from pain, but from something unearthly resisting warmth.
I followed him to the edge of the clearing. "What happens now?"
"We move," he said. "Before they regroup."
"Where to?"
He glanced over his shoulder, a faint grin ghosting his lips. "Somewhere no wolf would willingly go."
"That sounds encouraging."
"It's not meant to be."
---
We packed in silence. The forest's hum followed us, growing louder as we walked. The air thickened, and though I tried to ignore it, I could sense movement just out of sight — shapes darting between the trees, eyes catching faint light. Not attacking, just observing. Waiting.
"They're watching us," I whispered.
"They're watching you," Luca corrected. "I'm just the escort."
"And what am I? A threat?"
His expression flickered. "A prophecy."
---
By midday, we reached the edge of a ravine. The water below churned black and violent. Luca leapt down easily, landing with the grace of something not entirely human. When I hesitated, he looked up and said, "Trust your instincts."
"I don't even know what they are."
"That's the point."
So I jumped.
For a heartbeat, gravity owned me. Then, something inside me twisted — like wings unfurling where none existed — and I landed light, unbroken. Luca gave a half-smile, half-shock expression.
"See?" he said. "It's waking faster than I thought."
"What is?"
"Your bloodline."
---
We followed the river into a narrow canyon, where the air buzzed with invisible energy. The walls were etched with markings — symbols carved deep and glowing faintly silver. I brushed one, and warmth spread through my fingertips.
"They're old," I murmured.
"Older than wolves," he said. "Older than man. This was your ancestors' doing."
"Mine?"
"You think silver protects us," he said, tracing the same rune. "But it was never made for wolves. It was made by something older — to control them."
I froze. "You mean—"
"Yes," he said. "You're descended from them."
---
We camped at dusk beneath an overhang, the fire painting his face in orange and shadow. The silence between us was heavy, charged with all the things neither of us knew how to say.
Finally, I broke it. "What are you not telling me, Luca?"
He stared into the fire. "That every instinct I have tells me to run from you."
"Because I'm dangerous?"
He met my eyes. "Because I'm drawn to you."
The words cracked something open between us. It wasn't romance — not yet. It was recognition. Two storms realizing they were born of the same sky.
---
I should have looked away, but I didn't. "And what happens if you don't run?"
His voice dropped low. "Then the part of me I've spent years burying won't stay buried."
The night air cooled around us. The fire hissed as if protesting. My heartbeat thudded louder than the crackle of flame. I could feel the pull between us — not human, not simple — like gravity realigning itself.
But before I could answer, a sound shattered the stillness.
A howl — sharper, closer.
Then another.
And another.
Luca's head snapped up. "They found us."
---
He stood, motioning for me to stay back, but the silver inside me had already started to burn. I could feel it crawling under my skin like light desperate to escape.
"No," I said, standing too. "This time I fight."
"You don't know how!"
"Then I'll learn fast."
Before he could stop me, the first shadow broke through the trees. The wolves weren't like before — these were larger, eyes burning red, their bodies warped by something darker. Corrupted.
Luca moved first, shifting mid-step, his body flowing into something feral and magnificent. But as the fight began, I realized something strange: they weren't after him this time.
They were after me.
---
The lead wolf lunged, and instinct took over. I raised my hand — and instead of silver light, dark fire burst forth, wrapping the creature midair and flinging it backward. It hit the ground hard, smoke rising where it landed.
Luca froze mid-fight, stunned. "That's not supposed to be possible!"
"Tell that to them!" I shouted, summoning another wave.
The light grew darker each time I used it — shimmering between silver and shadow. It felt incredible and terrifying all at once, like holding the edge of creation.
But it was too much. My body shook, the world blurring around me. The last thing I saw was Luca cutting through the final wolf before everything went black.
---
When I woke, the fire was gone, replaced by the low glow of dawn. Luca sat beside me, his expression unreadable.
"You should be dead," he said softly.
"Thanks for the optimism."
"I'm serious. That power you used — it wasn't just silver or shadow. It was both."
"What does that mean?"
"It means you're not just part of the prophecy," he said, voice almost reverent. "You are the prophecy."
I stared at him, the echo of the battle still thrumming in my bones. "And what does the prophecy say?"
He looked toward the rising sun, his voice barely above a whisper.
"That when silver meets sin," he said, "the world starts over."