Among Wolves
The fire in the council chamber was little more than embers now, but the heat it gave off felt suffocating.
Marina stood at the edge of the circle, the weight of every gaze pinning her down. The elders didn't blink, didn't shift, their amber and gold eyes glowing faintly in the dim light. Kael was beside her, silent, his broad frame tense like a coiled spring.
The silver-haired elder leaned forward, her voice smooth but heavy, like silk hiding steel.
"If she shifts under the next moon, Kael, you will end her yourself. Or we will."
The words sank into Marina like ice water.
"Shift?" Her voice cracked, the single syllable echoing too loudly in the stone chamber. "What are you even talking about?"
No one answered. Not Kael. Not the elders.
The silence felt alive. It pressed on her chest until her breath came shallow, sharp. Her hand slipped into her coat pocket, fingers closing around Ezra's cracked compass. The warm metal anchored her, if only for a moment.
Then the warmth spread.
Her veins lit beneath her skin, faint golden light threading along her arm, curling toward her fingertips. A low, thrumming hum vibrated through her chest—alien, rhythmic, hungry.
And over it, she heard it.
Soft. Elongated. The faintest wisp of sound, slipping past the thick stone walls like mist.
"Marina…"
Her head snapped toward the shuttered window. Kael didn't move. The elders didn't even blink.
None of them heard it.
Her grip on the compass tightened until the cracked glass cut into her palm. The hum in her chest pulsed with the whisper, syncing in some unnatural rhythm.
The voice came again, closer now, curling down her spine.
"Find me…"
Marina's breath caught. Her veins burned like fire beneath her skin.
And she knew, with a bone-deep certainty, that the voice wasn't coming from inside the estate.
It was calling from the forest.
Marina stumbled back a step, her heel scraping against the stone floor. The whisper still echoed in her mind, though her ears swore it was real.
Kael finally turned to her, his jaw tight, his eyes narrowed—not at her, but at her veins.
"They're accelerating," he muttered, more to himself than to the others.
"Her blood's answering," one of the other elders said, their voice low and guttural. "The forest knows what she is."
Marina's pulse roared in her ears. "What am I? I'm not—"
But she didn't finish.
Because the hum in her chest shifted. Deepened. And for a flicker of a second, her vision sharpened unnaturally—the glow of the embers, the faint scrape of a mouse behind the wall, the pounding heartbeat of every person in the room—Kael's strong and steady, the elders' slow and deliberate.
The hum throbbed once more, and the whisper slid through the walls again, curling around her like smoke:
"Marina... come..."
This time, Kael's head turned toward the window, his brows furrowed.
"You hear that?" she whispered.
His gaze lingered on her, unreadable.
"No," he said slowly. "But you do. Don't answer it."
Before she could speak, the compass in her pocket jerked, as though tugged by an unseen hand, the needle spinning violently. Her veins burned hotter, the golden glow flaring so bright it bled through the fabric of her sleeve.
And outside, somewhere deep in the black stretch of trees, something howled.
Not a wolf. Not entirely.
Something older.
The elders rose as one, their eyes flaring gold, their shadows stretching long against the walls. The silver-haired woman's voice cut through the growing hum like a blade.
"Do not leave this house, Blackwood. If you do… we won't be the ones to find you."
The whisper came one last time, softer than breath.
"Find me… before they do."
Marina's fingers tightened around the compass until blood welled from her palm. Her body was trembling, but it wasn't all fear. Something else—something alive—was moving beneath her skin.Among Wolves
The fire in the council chamber was little more than embers now, but the heat it gave off felt suffocating.
Marina stood at the edge of the circle, the weight of every gaze pinning her down. The elders didn't blink, didn't shift, their amber and gold eyes glowing faintly in the dim light. Kael was beside her, silent, his broad frame tense like a coiled spring.
The silver-haired elder leaned forward, her voice smooth but heavy, like silk hiding steel.
"If she shifts under the next moon, Kael, you will end her yourself. Or we will."
The words sank into Marina like ice water.
"Shift?" Her voice cracked, the single syllable echoing too loudly in the stone chamber. "What are you even talking about?"
No one answered. Not Kael. Not the elders.
The silence felt alive. It pressed on her chest until her breath came shallow, sharp. Her hand slipped into her coat pocket, fingers closing around Ezra's cracked compass. The warm metal anchored her, if only for a moment.
Then the warmth spread.
Her veins lit beneath her skin, faint golden light threading along her arm, curling toward her fingertips. A low, thrumming hum vibrated through her chest—alien, rhythmic, hungry.
And over it, she heard it.
Soft. Elongated. The faintest wisp of sound, slipping past the thick stone walls like mist.
"Marina…"
Her head snapped toward the shuttered window. Kael didn't move. The elders didn't even blink.
None of them heard it.
Her grip on the compass tightened until the cracked glass cut into her palm. The hum in her chest pulsed with the whisper, syncing in some unnatural rhythm.
The voice came again, closer now, curling down her spine.
"Find me…"
Marina's breath caught. Her veins burned like fire beneath her skin.
And she knew, with a bone-deep certainty, that the voice wasn't coming from inside the estate.
It was calling from the forest.
Marina stumbled back a step, her heel scraping against the stone floor. The whisper still echoed in her mind, though her ears swore it was real.
Kael finally turned to her, his jaw tight, his eyes narrowed—not at her, but at her veins.
"They're accelerating," he muttered, more to himself than to the others.
"Her blood's answering," one of the other elders said, their voice low and guttural. "The forest knows what she is."
Marina's pulse roared in her ears. "What am I? I'm not—"
But she didn't finish.
Because the hum in her chest shifted. Deepened. And for a flicker of a second, her vision sharpened unnaturally—the glow of the embers, the faint scrape of a mouse behind the wall, the pounding heartbeat of every person in the room—Kael's strong and steady, the elders' slow and deliberate.
The hum throbbed once more, and the whisper slid through the walls again, curling around her like smoke:
"Marina... come..."
This time, Kael's head turned toward the window, his brows furrowed.
"You hear that?" she whispered.
His gaze lingered on her, unreadable.
"No," he said slowly. "But you do. Don't answer it."
Before she could speak, the compass in her pocket jerked, as though tugged by an unseen hand, the needle spinning violently. Her veins burned hotter, the golden glow flaring so bright it bled through the fabric of her sleeve.
And outside, somewhere deep in the black stretch of trees, something howled.
Not a wolf. Not entirely.
Something older.
The elders rose as one, their eyes flaring gold, their shadows stretching long against the walls. The silver-haired woman's voice cut through the growing hum like a blade.
"Do not leave this house, Blackwood. If you do… we won't be the ones to find you."
The whisper came one last time, softer than breath.
"Find me… before they do."
Marina's fingers tightened around the compass until blood welled from her palm. Her body was trembling, but it wasn't all fear. Something else—something alive—was moving beneath her skin.