Chapter 21: The Western Heir
Night deepened over the Eastern Region, casting long shadows beneath the ancient trees. A crescent moon hung in the sky like a pale scythe, its light falling softly over the hills and glinting off the silver bark of the elderwoods. Crickets sang, and a low wind whispered through the forest, but for Bri, there was only silence.
He sat by the edge of a quiet stream, its waters clear and restless, mirroring the unease in his chest. His knees were drawn to his chest, arms wrapped tightly around them. The night air bit into his skin, but he did not move. His thoughts swirled, tangled like vines—too many questions, too few answers.
"I'm not just human," he murmured to himself, as if saying it aloud might make it real.
The word hybrid echoed in his mind. It sounded like a curse. Or perhaps a promise. He didn't know which.
He didn't even know what that truly meant.
Behind him, a soft rustle of footsteps broke through the stillness. Bri stiffened, instinct sharpening, but the scent that followed was familiar—calm, steady, and oddly comforting.
Zach.
The Alpha said nothing at first. He simply stood a few feet away, arms folded across his chest, his towering form casting a shadow over Bri's smaller frame. When he finally spoke, his voice was low, almost gentle.
"You ran pretty far."
Bri didn't answer. His eyes remained fixed on the water.
Zach stepped closer and sat beside him on the grass, stretching out one long leg as he leaned back on his elbows. He didn't press, didn't demand answers. He just existed beside Bri, solid and silent.
After a moment, Bri exhaled. "I don't know who I am."
Zach's gaze slid toward him. "No one really does at your age. But you? You've got a bit more mystery than most."
"I grew up alone, Zach. In the woods. I thought it was normal—eating berries, climbing trees, talking to animals like they were family. I never questioned it because... it was all I had. Now I find out that my life isn't real. That I'm not just some wild boy."
Zach remained still, his eyes dark and unreadable. "What Luna said... it's not a lie. I don't know everything about your past, Bri. But I know what I saw when I looked at you earlier today."
Bri turned to him slowly. "What did you see?"
Zach paused, choosing his words with care. "Power. Buried deep, but fierce. It's in your blood. It's waiting to be called."
"But I don't even know how to change," Bri muttered. "How do I even begin to awaken something I can't feel?"
Zach leaned forward, plucking a blade of grass. "That's the thing about your kind. You don't change because someone tells you to. You change when your soul demands it. When the wolf inside has no choice but to rise."
"I'm not sure there's a wolf inside me," Bri said with a bitter laugh.
Zach's jaw tightened. "There is. I've seen it."
Bri glanced at him, skeptical.
"I can hear thoughts, remember?" Zach said, looking away. "I know what people feel before they say it. I heard your heartbeat when you saw me transform. It wasn't fear. It was recognition."
Bri fell silent.
Far off in the distance, a lone howl pierced the night. It was long, drawn-out—mournful. Then another followed. And another. The pack was calling, preparing, perhaps even grieving.
Zach stood, brushing off his hands.
He simply turned and walked away.
Curiosity and hesitation warred in Bri's chest, but in the end, he rose and followed. But lost in the dark..!
As he walked deeper into the forest, Zach suddenly realized that Bri was no longer in sight. He paused, scanning the path behind him—but there was no trace, no sound of footsteps, no rustling leaves. Yet strangely, he felt no fear. He knew Bri wasn't lost.
Somehow, he was certain.
With a steady breath, Zach continued forward, allowing his instincts to guide him through the dense, secluded part of the woods. He didn't know exactly where the path would lead—only that his heart was pulling him in this direction.
And he had long learned to trust the voice of his heart.
Zach walked through the dense woodland for what felt like an hour, the moon climbing higher above him. Finally, he arrived at a small glade, illuminated by the soft glow of fireflies and moonlight. At the center stood an ancient tree—its bark white as bone, its branches gnarled and thick like the arms of a giant.
As Zach wandered deeper into the edge of the Eastern Wood, his body weary and soul weighed down by guilt, he came upon an ancient clearing bathed in twilight. The scent of healing herbs lingered in the air, mingling with the earthy perfume of moss and dew. There, seated upon a stone carved with runes older than memory, was a woman cloaked in deep green and silver. Beneath its roots sat a figure cloaked in dark brown robes, head bowed. As Zach approached, the figure stirred, rising slowly. A woman, aged and small, her eyes clouded by time, but her presence radiated power.
"Who's there!? ," Zach said, his tone respectful.
She rose slowly, as though she had been expecting him all along.
"You've come," she said, her voice like wind through pine needles. "The storm in your heart led you here."
Zach did not speak. He simply stood, broken and silent, until she motioned for him to sit beside the warm embers of her fire.
"I know who you are, Alpha of the North," she continued softly, "but tonight, you are more than your bloodline. You are the key to a forgotten truth."
Zach looked up, confused, yet attentive.
She stirred a bowl of steaming herbs and glanced toward the shadows. "The boy you fight beside—Bri—he belongs to a lost legacy. A pack long thought destroyed."
"Oh by the way..! I am Zeena, you can call me Mother Zeena.
Her name was Mother Zeena—a revered healer among werewolves, known not only for her mastery of ancient remedies but for the wisdom carried in her quiet gaze.
Zach's brows furrowed.
"Once," Zeena continued, her voice threading through memory and time, "there was a powerful and peaceful pack that thrived in the far west. The Western Pack. Unlike any other, they were protectors of balance. They were... different."
She looked at him with knowing eyes.
"They were a union of two worlds. The Alpha, a noble werewolf; his mate, a human woman with the gift of controlling power.
Their child—Bri—was born of that bond. A hybrid, blessed with powers neither side fully understood."
And his
Zach's eyes widened in quiet realization.
"But Lucian Conri," Zeena continued again, her voice darkening, "craved the secrets of the Western Pack. He saw their union as a threat... and a prize. So he led his army there and slaughtered them all. Bri's parents were murdered before his eyes. He was only a child."
Zach felt a cold wind blow through his chest. Pieces of the past began to fall into place.
"Bri survived," Zeena said solemnly. "He was hidden in the forest by a dying hand and found by fate. But the truth of who he is—of what he can become—has been buried... until now."
She handed Zach a vial filled with silver liquid that shimmered in the firelight.
"You and Bri," she whispered, "are the last echoes of two ancient bloodlines. The world will not survive what is to come unless you both rise."
Zach closed his eyes, the burden of his destiny and the truth of Bri's lineage now resting heavily on his shoulders.
But somewhere deep inside him... purpose began to stir.
"I will bring Bri here," Zach said quietly to Mother Zeena, his voice filled with resolve.
"It's better this way. He deserves to understand who he truly is—and I owe him an explanation."
A sudden voice interrupted him.
"There's no need."
It was Bri—
Zach froze. He turned slowly—his eyes widening in surprise.
Bri stood just behind him, his expression unreadable, yet his presence spoke volumes.
The seer nodded slowly. "I've been expecting you."
She turned her gaze toward Bri, though her eyes never quite focused. "So... the lost cub has returned."
Bri felt a chill crawl up his spine. "You know me?"
"In pieces," she whispered. "As the moon knows the tide. You are part of a forgotten prophecy, child. A flame long thought extinguished."
You belong at the western region the lost pack..!
"I don't understand," Bri said. "Everyone keeps telling me I'm something important, but no one will tell me why."
smiled faintly, then motioned for him to come closer.
He did.
She placed her frail hand against his forehead. For a moment, all was still.
Then the world shattered.
Flashes.
A village in the woods, ablaze.
Men in black cloaks dragging wolves in chains.
A woman—his mother—screaming his name.
A man holding him, running, blood staining his tunic.
A silver pendant falling into snow.
Then—darkness.
Bri gasped and stumbled backward, heart racing. Zeena steadied him.
"You were saved," she said softly. "Taken from the fire. Hidden in the forest where no one could find you. Not even Lucian."
"My parents?" Bri whispered, voice trembling.
"Gone," Zeena said gently. "But your blood remembers."
Tears welled in Bri's eyes, but he nodded, slowly. "So what now?"
"Now?" Zach said, stepping forward. "Now we train."
Bri wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. "What if I fail?"
Zach's gaze was steady. "You won't. You've already survived more than most."
Bri looked up at the moon, its light pale and distant.
He didn't know what the future held. He didn't know how to shift, or how to fight. But for the first time in his life, he knew this:
He belonged somewhere.
And the fire within him... was no longer sleeping.