Chapter 13 – The Wounded Soul
POV: Seren Thorne
The air felt thick with uncertainty as we emerged from the cave, the weight of the revelations we'd uncovered pressing heavily on me. The power inside me was no longer a mere whisper, a flicker of potential—it was a roaring fire, one I wasn't sure I could control. Every breath I took seemed to hum with that energy, and it was only getting stronger.
"Are you okay?" Kael's voice broke through my thoughts, a quiet murmur, but it was enough to make me focus on him. His eyes were soft, filled with concern, but there was something else there—something that I couldn't quite place.
"I don't know," I admitted, my voice barely more than a whisper. "I feel… everything. It's like my skin is crawling with power. And I don't know how to control it, Kael."
He stepped closer, his presence both comforting and overwhelming, the scent of the earth and forest mixing with the raw energy he exuded. His wolf was always so close to the surface, I could feel it even now, pulsing beneath his skin.
"You don't have to control it all at once," he said gently, reaching out to rest his hand on my arm. "This is a process. The power inside you has always been there, Seren, but you've only just begun to understand it. I'll help you."
The sincerity in his voice brought a strange sense of calm, and for a moment, I almost believed him. Almost.
But I knew deep down that this wasn't something he could fix, no matter how much he cared. This was mine to bear. My burden. My power.
"We need to go back," I said after a long pause, my eyes on the mountains that stretched out before us. The world felt different now, like it was tilting on its axis, and I knew that I couldn't keep running. We had to face the Fallen Ones. We had to stop them before they could use my bloodline for their own ends.
Kael didn't respond immediately, his gaze shifting between the mountain pass behind us and the horizon ahead. He looked troubled, his jaw clenched tight as if he were fighting some internal battle.
"I know you're scared," he finally said, his voice low. "And I'm scared too. But I need you to understand something. The Fallen Ones won't stop. Not until they have what they want from you. And if you're not ready to face them—"
"I'm ready," I interrupted, surprising even myself with the force of my words. "I've never been more ready. This is my fight too, Kael. You don't have to protect me."
Kael met my gaze, his eyes dark with emotion. "It's not about protecting you, Seren. It's about keeping you alive."
I could see the conflict in his eyes, the way he struggled to reconcile his duty as a protector with the fear that he might lose me. I wasn't a fragile girl anymore, and I wasn't the person he thought I was either. I was something else, something more dangerous, and the weight of that realization was heavy on both of us.
"I know what I have to do," I said quietly, turning away from him to face the distant forest, the trees shrouded in twilight. "We need to go. Now."
Kael didn't argue. Instead, he shifted, his wolf form emerging in a ripple of dark fur and shifting muscles. His large, powerful form stood beside me, his eyes locked on mine with an intensity that spoke volumes. He wasn't going to let me face this alone—he couldn't. But I could feel the tension in his movements, the hesitance in the way he held back. He was scared for me, and that scared me more than I wanted to admit.
The journey back to the pack was long, the roads winding through dense forest and rugged hills. The silence between us was suffocating at times, and I found myself lost in thought, the images from the temple still vivid in my mind. My bloodline, my power… It felt like a curse, a gift, and a weapon all in one.
I wasn't just a descendant of the Ancients—I was the key. The one who could unlock the power that had once torn the world apart. And the Fallen Ones knew it.
"Are we really going to face them?" I asked, breaking the silence as the sun dipped below the horizon, casting the world in shadow.
Kael's answer came with a low growl from his throat. "We don't have a choice. They'll keep coming for you, Seren. We have to strike before they do."
The words hung in the air, and I couldn't shake the feeling that everything was spiraling out of control. Even with Kael by my side, the power inside me felt like a storm—unstoppable, untamable. I didn't know what I would become once I let it loose.
But the alternative was worse. Letting them use me. Letting them destroy everything.
The pack was waiting for us when we arrived. The night had settled in fully, and the moon hung low in the sky, casting its pale light over the clearing. Shadows danced at the edge of the trees, and the air felt thick with tension.
I could feel them—the pack members watching us, their gazes full of wariness, uncertainty. They had heard the rumors, the whispers of what had happened at the temple. They knew what I was, what I was becoming. And not all of them were eager to have me at their side.
"What happens now?" I asked, stepping into the center of the camp.
Kael shifted back to his human form beside me, his eyes hard with determination. "We prepare. We gather our forces. We need to get to the heart of the Fallen Ones' stronghold, and we need to do it quickly."
A low murmur rippled through the pack, and I could feel their distrust, their fear. They didn't know me—not really. Not like Kael did. And I couldn't blame them. They had never seen what I had seen, felt what I had felt. They hadn't been in the caves, hadn't seen the power inside me awaken.
"Some of us aren't so sure about this," a voice called out from the crowd. A tall, broad-shouldered wolf stepped forward, his gaze narrowing at me. "We don't know what you are, Seren. And we don't know if we can trust you."
The words stung, but I knew they were right to question me. I had no answers for them. I didn't know how to fight the Fallen Ones or even how to control the power inside me. But I knew one thing.
"I'm the only one who can stop them," I said, my voice firm, though doubt gnawed at the edges of my words. "And I will."
There was a long silence before Kael spoke, his voice carrying the weight of command. "We don't have time for fear. We fight together. We strike first."
A murmur of agreement spread through the pack, but the unease didn't dissipate. The road ahead was uncertain, and we were all walking it blind, but there was no turning back now. The only way out was through.
And I was going to face whatever came my way, even if it meant losing myself in the process.