ULRIC KNIGHT
The morning we leave Redhollow is pale and brittle, the kind of light that doesn't warm the air but still manages to pry through the clouds. The streets are empty except for some stray dogs nosing at an overturned crate and the faint smell of wet stone from last night's rain.
Elias waits at the far end of the square, arms folded, back straight and sharp like he's been standing there for hours.
Hayden ambles up a minute later with two satchels slung over his shoulder and a sandwich in his hand.
"You're late," Elias says without looking at him.
"By a minute or two, I got hungry," Hayden answers, talking with his mouth filled with his sandwich. "And if this road's as bad as the Alpha warned us about, shouldn't we savor the last few moments before it all goes to hell?"
Elias turns his head just enough to glare at him. "Hell doesn't care about your schedule."
I step past them, my boots splashing through a shallow puddle. "Let's get moving, don't want to waste anymore time."
The first miles pass in steady silence, only the sound of boots against packed earth and the slow rasp of wind over the hills. The land rolls out in long humps of grass and rock, dotted with skeletal trees older than the roads themselves.
It's just after midday when I see it.
The mist waits ahead, not lying over the ground like morning fog, but crouched between the trees. Thick. Its color isn't quite white,more like bone, with a faint green-grey sickness curling inside it.
Hayden slows his steps, his mouth curled in disgust. "That fog looks poisonous."
"It's not fog," Elias says, his voice clipped, almost tense.
I keep walking until the first tendrils curl around my boots. The air changes immediately,damp,cool,heavy, with that metallic tang hitting the back of my tongue like a warning. My wolf bristles under my skin, a low, restless pacing.
"Stay close," I tell them.
We step in.
The mist swallows the road instantly. The sound of our boots dulls, like the air itself is swallowing noise. My breath feels heavier, harder to pull in, as if I'm breathing through cloth. Shapes start moving in the white, drifting, just far enough to make you question if they're really there.
Something brushes past my shoulder.
Elias's breath catches. "Ulric, you seeing–" He cuts off, his voice thinning as he turns sharply to the right. His steps slow.
I follow his gaze and my stomach tightens.
A woman stands in the mist, ten paces away. Long, dark hair spills over her shoulders, loose the way I've only ever seen in the old photographs Aelia once showed me. Her smile is soft. Familiar. Her eyes lock on Elias, and there's a warmth there that freezes him in place.
Their mother.
"Elias." My voice is sharp enough to cut through the haze, but he doesn't move.
She takes a step forward, lifting a hand toward him, palm up like she's inviting him home.
He starts walking towards her.
I grab his arm, yanking him back hard. "It's not her!"
His head snaps toward me, his jaw set. "You don't!–" His voice breaks, the fight draining into something smaller, rawer. "You don't know that..."
I step in fast, fist curling in the front of his jacket, forcing his eyes on mine. "Look at me. That's not her. You walk toward it, you won't come back!"
His gaze flickers, glassy, unfocused. Then he blinks, breath shuddering out of him as he wrenches his eyes away from the figure in the mist. When I glance back, she's already gone.
Elias's jaw tightens. "Right..yeah...let's get the hell out of here."
We keep moving, the mist pressing closer with every step.
"Ulric!"
Her voice is so clear I almost choke on it.
I turn before I can stop myself.
She's there....or the mist's version of her. Barefoot. Hair wild. Eyes bright and wet like she's been running for miles. She reaches for me, lips shaping my name in the way only she does, the way that always makes my chest tighten.
Every instinct screams to go to her. My wolf surges forward, claws raking against my control. Mate!
"Ulric..." Elias's voice cuts through like a blade, low and hard.
I don't look away from her, but I force my boots to stay planted. My muscles shake with the effort.
Her expression changes, sorrow, then something colder, almost mocking and then she's gone, swallowed by the bone-colored air.
The metallic taste in my mouth sharpens, bitter now.
I grit my teeth. I'm coming for you, my Luna. I'll tear through the world to get to you.
The mist thickens until I can't see more than a few feet ahead. Shapes slide at the edges of my vision some almost human, some not. The cold gets inside my skin, curling around my bones. My thoughts start to slide too, pieces of them scattering before I can hold on.
Hayden stumbles. "Alpha...Can you see what I'm seeing? My brother..."
"There's no one," I say, grabbing his arm to keep him from drifting toward the left.
He frowns, looking past me. "No, he is, and–" His voice trails off. His eyes fix on something behind me. His lips part, but the rest of his words die in his throat.
I yank him forward. "Don't look."
The air here isn't just cold, it's alive, moving against my skin like slow, deliberate fingers.
I don't know how long we walk. Could be minutes, could be hours. My legs burn, my chest aches, but I don't dare stop. The metallic tang sharpens until it's almost copper-blood on my tongue.
Then, without warning, the light changes.
It's not brighter, just… different. The white begins to thin, threads of pale grey unraveling in the air until I can see the dark line of trees ahead.
We step out in a stagger, like breaking the surface after being held underwater too long. The air is clean here, sharp with pine, but it tastes wrong after the mist.
For a moment, none of us speak. We just stand there, breathing, our clothes damp with the cold.
Hayden finally exhales, rubbing a hand over his face. "Well…that sucked..."
❦︎ To Be Continued ❦︎