Chapter 20: The Forgotten Flame
Bri's Point of View
The clearing was alive with the clash of bodies, growls, and the rustling of leaves underfoot. Training had begun before the sun fully ascended, the golden light cutting through the morning mist and dappling across the forest floor. From her perch atop a boulder nestled between gnarled roots, Bri watched Zach, Fenric, and Wulfric move with deadly grace, each motion honed by instinct and discipline.
Zach moved differently from the others.
There was a certain wildness in him—raw and untamed. While Fenric was precise and Wulfric calculated, Zach fought like a storm barely held together. His crimson eyes glowed with an intensity that made it hard to look away. And then, just like the first night she saw it happen, the transformation overtook him.
His body shimmered, shifting seamlessly as fur surged from his skin, limbs contorted, and claws replaced fingers. His bones cracked with the sound of ancient power, and before her stood a towering black wolf, eyes still burning like molten embers.
Bri's breath caught in his throat.
But this time... something changed.
His vision blurred.
Pain stabbed through his skull like a blade of ice. He clutched his temples, trying to steady himself, but the world tilted beneath him. The sound of the forest faded into a haunting silence, replaced by the distant crackle of fire. Then, like a film torn from the edges, visions flashed before his eyes.
Flames.
Screams.
Blood.
The earth soaked with crimson as wolves and humans clashed beneath a burning sky. A castle—or what remained of it—collapsed under the weight of fire and fury. Shadows danced, monstrous and relentless. Somewhere in the chaos, he heard it—a piercing howl. Not of pain... but of loss. A child screaming. A woman weeping. And then—
Darkness.
Bri collapsed to his knees, his breath ragged, hands trembling. The earth spun beneath him, he didn't even realize he had cried out until strong arms wrapped around his shoulders.
"Bri!" Zach's voice was sharp with worry. "What's happening? Are you hurt?"
He blinked up at him, the last of the vision fading from his eyes. "I... I saw something. I don't know what it was, but it felt real. Like a memory that doesn't belong to me."
Zach cupped his face gently. "You're burning up."
"I saw fire," he whispered. "And blood. Wolves and humans... dying. Screaming. A war."
Before Zach could respond, the underbrush parted, and Luna emerged, her cloak of dark fur glistening with dew. She looked at Bri, eyes ancient and wise, glimmering like gold beneath the shade of trees.
"I saw it, too," Luna murmured. "The pain in your head. The vision... I've seen that flame before."
Bri stared at her, eyes wide. "What does it mean?"
Luna stepped forward, her presence calming yet undeniably powerful. "It means you're awakening. And the blood that sleeps within you is starting to stir."
"What blood?" Bri's voice cracked.
"You are the last of your kind, Bri," Luna said solemnly. "A forgotten lineage from the Western Region—The second sanctuary where werewolves and humans lived in sacred balance, until Lucian Conri annihilated them all."
Bri felt his heart thud wildly. "That's not possible. I'm just a normal boy.
I lived in the woods my whole life with animals and trees as my only companions."
Luna knelt beside him, placing a hand over his chest. "You are more than that. Your memories were stolen. Or hidden. But you... you are the last echo of a people long thought extinct."
Confusion gave way to dread. Bri's voice was hollow. "Then why can't I shift? Why am I not like any of you?"
"That time will come," Luna whispered. "But for now, your soul must remember who it is."
Bri couldn't take it anymore. His breath hitched, and without another word, he turned and ran—past the trees, past the murmurs, past the answers he wasn't yet ready to face.
His feet barely touched the ground as he sprinted through the thick woods of the Eastern Region. Branches whipped his face, leaves broke beneath his soles, and tears streamed down his cheeks. His chest ached—not just from running, but from everything unraveling inside him.
He didn't stop until he reached the ridge overlooking the valley below. The sunset spilled over the landscape, casting the hills in gold and fire. He dropped to his knees, breath hitching in his throat, and screamed.
The sound shattered the silence.
It echoed across the land, bouncing off trees and mountains, until even the creatures hiding in the woods paused in alarm.
"Why?!" He cried. "Why me?! What am I?!"
He wept into his hands, grief and frustration bleeding from his soul. Questions spun in his mind, sharp and suffocating.
Where were his parents?
Why had he the only one survived?
What role was he meant to play in a war he never chose?
As the light faded and shadows stretched across the earth, he felt a presence behind him, Warm. Familiar. Safe.
A hand rested gently on his shoulder.
It's Zach.
He didn't turn. He couldn't.
"You found me," he whispered.
"I always will," he replied softly.
There was silence, heavy with unspoken emotions, before he asked in a trembling voice, "Do you think I'll ever understand who I really am?"
Zach crouched beside him, his voice low and steady. "Yes. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow. But you will. When the time is right, the truth will find you."
Bri looked into his eyes, eyes that held centuries of pain and strength. "Do you think I can do it too? The transformation?"
He smiled—one of the rare, genuine smiles that warmed his otherwise cold demeanor. "It's in your blood, Bri. You're a wolf. You just haven't heard the call yet."
He managed a small laugh, his tears still fresh. "What do you think I'll look like? Probably a small one, right? Like a pup?" Then winked
Zach chuckled. "Nah, I think you'll surprise us all. Probably have some majestic white fur with golden eyes or something dramatic like that."
Bri wiped his cheeks and grinned. "You really think so?" Barely half frown and half smile.
He shook his head, laughing. "Only you could be on the verge of a breakdown and still make jokes."
His smile lingered, fragile but present. "Well... someone has to balance your brooding."
They both sat quietly, side by side, watching as the last rays of the sun slipped beneath the horizon.
The night would come.
The war would follow.
But for now, for a single fleeting moment—they simply breathed. Together.
Now, Bri was certain—he was no longer alone in the battle that lay ahead. For the first time, he had a reason to fight... and the strength to face it with courage.
Determined.
Decisive.
And Certain.