It was a man—or something like a man—but unlike anything she had seen before. His features were sharp, almost predatory, and his eyes glowed with a faint golden hue. He was tall, dressed in a cloak of dark, tattered leather, and his presence seemed to absorb the light around him. His stance was relaxed but predatory, his gaze locked on her.
She didn't move.
"Not many tread this deep into the forest," the man said, his voice smooth but carrying an edge of something unfamiliar. "Why are you here?"
Lyra's mind raced, every instinct screaming that this man—this creature—was not an ally. Yet she couldn't let the suspicion slip into her tone. "I'm looking for someone," she replied, her voice steady, but her grip on the blade tightened.
"And who might that be?" His smile was lopsided, as though he already knew.
"A girl," Lyra answered, trying to keep her voice from betraying the surge of anxiety rising in her chest. "Aurora Nightshade. She's lost."
The man's eyes glimmered with something darker. "Ah. The Mooncrest's little wolf." He seemed to consider this for a moment, his gaze moving over her as though he were calculating something. "She's not far from here. But... be careful, little wolf. There are forces in this forest that do not take kindly to visitors."
A chill raced down Lyra's spine. She stepped closer, never taking her eyes off him. "Who are you?"
"Who I am is of little concern to you," he answered, his smile widening. "But the question remains: why are you here? This forest is not a place for your kind."
The tension between them crackled like static. Lyra's instincts screamed that she was in dangerous territory—far beyond what the pack could protect her from—but she wasn't about to back down.
"I'll find her," Lyra said, her voice low but firm. "You can either help me or stay out of my way."
The man's eyes flickered, amusement flickering behind the unsettling calm. "Oh, I'll help," he replied. "But first... you'll need to understand what you're walking into."
He knew where she went because they had met earlier***
Earlier
Aurora's heart pounded, not from fear, but from the weight of the emotions that still crushed her chest. Her mind was a tangle of thoughts and memories—Kieran's rejection, the way he had ripped apart everything she believed in. The pain was still fresh, but it wasn't the kind of pain that made her weak. It was the kind that made her restless, desperate to escape, to process everything in solitude.
But now, here she stood, facing someone who felt like a reflection of everything she was trying to outrun.
The man—no, the wolf—who had appeared before her felt like an echo from deep inside her, as if the forest itself had breathed him into being. His presence pulled at something raw inside her, something she couldn't quite name. There was an energy to him—an ancient, primal thing—that stirred the very air around them.
He was right. She wasn't who they thought she was anymore.
Her hands trembled as she clenched them into fists, trying to anchor herself. "Who are you?" Her voice cracked, the question not just a demand for answers, but a desperate plea for understanding.
The man took a step toward her. The distance between them felt like it had been stretched over a lifetime, each movement deliberate, slow. The kind that made the air feel thicker, every second dragging on.
"You'll know soon enough," he said, his voice low, like a distant storm just beginning to roll in. "But right now, it's the forest you should listen to. Not me."
Aurora's gaze shifted nervously to the mist swirling around them. It wasn't natural. The forest had always felt like home, a place where she found peace in the chaos of her world, but now it was different. The trees seemed to sway in unnatural rhythms, their branches bending in ways that defied the wind. The air was heavy, as though the forest itself was holding its breath.
"Are you part of it?" The words slipped out before she could stop them, though she wasn't even sure what she was asking. The forest? The magic? This strange, overwhelming presence?
The man paused, his dark eyes studying her with an intensity that made her want to look away. "I'm part of many things. As are you."
His words made her chest tighten. Part of many things? What was he trying to say? She didn't know if she wanted the answer, but she could feel it—something shifting inside her, something that she had always been too afraid to acknowledge.
Her fists tightened at her sides. "What do you want with me?"
The man's lips curled into a half-smile, almost amused. "Want? Nothing that you need to fear. Not yet."
Aurora's stomach twisted. She didn't trust him. Her instincts screamed at her to stay away, to turn and run. But there was something deeper pulling at her, something that kept her rooted in place. His presence was like a weight she couldn't escape, as if he knew something about her—something she wasn't ready to face.
The mist thickened, curling around them like a living thing. The familiar scent of pine and earth was now laced with something unfamiliar—something metallic and sharp, like danger in the air. The forest felt alive in ways it never had before, as though the very ground beneath her feet was speaking to her.
"You're connected to this place," the man said, his voice soft now, almost as if he were speaking to himself. "You've always been. And now, the past is calling. The future is waiting."
Aurora's breath caught in her throat. She could feel it, whatever he was hinting at. It was like a door opening inside her, and for the first time in a long while, she didn't feel like she was in control. She had always been so certain of who she was, of what her future held. But now? Now, that certainty was slipping through her fingers like water.
The man's gaze softened, as if he could see the conflict raging inside her. "It's okay to be afraid," he said gently. "I was once, too."
Aurora's wolf stirred uneasily, her instincts just as divided as her heart. She wasn't sure what she wanted anymore. Her mind screamed for answers, for clarity. But deep down, she wasn't ready. The truth, whatever it was, felt like it would tear her apart.
Without warning, the man stepped forward, closing the distance between them. Aurora flinched, her body frozen, but she didn't retreat. His presence was overpowering, heavy. Like he was a force of nature itself, and she was powerless to do anything but stand in its wake.
"I can guide you," he said, his voice steady. "But the choice is yours. The forest will answer only if you ask it."
Her breath came faster now, and she could feel the weight of his words pressing down on her chest. She was standing at the edge of something—something big, something monumental. She didn't know if she was ready for it, but she knew she couldn't turn away.
"What does the forest want from me?" The words escaped her in a whisper, trembling.
The man's smile faltered for a moment, something darker flickering behind his eyes. "The forest doesn't want anything from you, Aurora," he said, his voice quiet but firm. "But you are bound to it, just as much as it is bound to you. And that connection… will be tested."
Aurora's breath caught in her throat. Bound. Tested.
The world around her seemed to shift, like the ground was tilting beneath her. The trees groaned, their branches creaking under some invisible weight. The man turned then, his form slipping back into the mist with an eerie grace.
"You will see me again," he called over his shoulder, his voice fading into the fog. "When the time is right."
Aurora stood alone in the clearing, her heart still racing, the words echoing in her mind. When the time is right. What did that even mean?