Chronicles of Rohan: The Birth of the True Alpha

Chapter 10: Blood on the Leaves

Rain began to fall.

It started as a light drizzle, then picked up until the trees of Moonveil hissed and dripped, masking every footstep in a chorus of water hitting leaves. The forest around them, usually so dense and quiet, now felt different—alive in a way that made Lucas uneasy.

Lucas adjusted the hood of his jacket as they left the ruins behind. His muscles ached from the fight with Carver, but something else had awakened in him. A hunger. Not for violence—but for answers. The kind of answers he couldn’t even articulate yet, but deep down, he knew they were waiting for him. The kind that had been buried in his past, hidden even from him.

Skylar moved ahead, silent and watchful, her sharp eyes scanning the surroundings, always alert. Her long, dark hair was matted to her shoulders, water streaming down in thin rivulets. Lucas couldn’t help but admire her resilience, even if he didn’t fully understand her motivations. She was a mystery, wrapped in a veil of secrecy.

Dan walked at Lucas’s side, holding a flashlight now dulled by moisture, the beam flickering as if it couldn’t decide whether to give up or fight on. His face was set, focused, but his eyes darted nervously to the thickening shadows around them. “I’ve seen you take a hit before,” he said, his voice strained. “But that was next-level. You didn’t even flinch.”

Lucas kept walking, the cool rain on his skin a constant reminder that the world around them wasn’t as safe as it once seemed. “I wasn’t thinking. It just... happened.” His voice was quieter now, almost a whisper, as if he were still trying to understand what had really happened back there.

Dan shook his head, disbelief hanging in the air between them. “You moved like you’ve fought him before.”

Lucas looked down at his hand, still faintly marked by the claws he’d grown, the memory of the battle still sharp in his mind. His fingers brushed the faint scars, and a strange chill ran down his spine. “Maybe I have. In another life,” he muttered, unsure of what to make of the thought, but unable to shake the feeling that his past was more than just a blank slate. It was a door waiting to be opened.

Skylar spoke without turning. Her voice was steady, but there was a tension in it that Lucas could sense. “We head east now. The next site should be near Hollow Pike. An old battlefield. Few go near it.”

Dan groaned. “Can we go somewhere not haunted next time?”

Lucas cracked a small grin, the corners of his mouth curling up in a faint but genuine smile. “You volunteered for this,” he teased, though the words felt hollow. He didn’t think any of them truly understood what they were getting into.

The path was becoming treacherous, the trail dipping into a rocky slope where the mud made footing a challenge. The trees were tall and ancient, their branches hanging low, like skeletal fingers reaching out to grab them. It felt like the forest was watching them, and the silence that followed the rain only deepened the eerie atmosphere.

Skylar paused, lifting her head slightly. She sniffed the air, her nostrils flaring. “Something’s wrong,” she murmured.

Lucas frowned and slowed his pace. “What is it?”

Skylar didn’t answer immediately, but he could see her eyes narrowing, searching for something that wasn’t there. She moved forward with purpose, her steps more deliberate now. “Stay alert,” she warned.

Then came a sound. A low groan. Ragged breathing.

Lucas’s heart skipped a beat, and his senses heightened. He pushed forward, the unease swelling in his chest. There, slumped against a tree, was a figure. A man, blood soaking his side, barely conscious, his breath coming in short gasps.

“Dylan?” Lucas called, rushing toward the man’s side. His heart pounded in his chest as he knelt beside him.

Dylan Blake looked up slowly, one eye nearly swollen shut, his face a mess of bruises and blood. “Took you long enough,” he rasped, a half-smirk forming despite the pain that clearly wracked his body.

'Lucas you brought a hunter?", Dylan looked surprised seeing Lucas with Skylar.

"She's the reason I'm still standing."

Skylar dropped beside him, her hands moving quickly to assess the damage. “What happened?” she demanded, her voice firm, commanding.

“Ambush,” Dylan muttered, wincing as Skylar probed at the wound on his side. “Five hunters. I got three. One got lucky.”

Dan pulled out a cloth from his pack and pressed it against Dylan’s wound, trying to staunch the bleeding. “You’re lucky to be alive,” he said, his voice tight with frustration.

“I don’t believe in luck,” Dylan retorted, his voice hoarse. “Just timing.”

Lucas frowned. “Why were you here?”

Dylan coughed weakly, his body trembling from the effort. “Looking for you. I followed the energy from the map site. Wasn’t the only one.”

Skylar’s voice sharpened. “You were tracked.”

“Yeah. But they won’t follow now. Not after what I left behind.” Dylan’s lips curled into a bitter smile, but the pain in his eyes didn’t lie.

Lucas glanced into the trees, tension crawling up his spine. The rain was already washing away the blood trail, but he wasn’t sure if that would be enough to keep them safe. “We need to move. Fast.”

Dylan winced, pushing himself upright with difficulty. “I can walk.”

Skylar nodded, motioning for Dan to help him. “Good. Hollow Pike isn’t far. We regroup there.”

Dan helped Dylan to his feet, his expression full of concern as he supported the injured man.

The walk was slow. Every step cost Dylan effort, but he kept up, refusing to show weakness. His determination was palpable, but it didn’t mask the grimace of pain that flashed across his face each time he moved.

As the woods thinned, the terrain opened up into a wide clearing. The trees receded, and the air grew heavier, thicker. Dark soil stretched out beneath their feet, jagged stones poking out like the broken remnants of some ancient monument. The remains of twisted trees seemed to claw at the sky, their bark peeled away as if scarred by some unseen force. The ground itself felt wrong—heavy and old, the kind of place that made Lucas’s skin crawl.

“This is it,” Skylar said, her voice softer now, almost reverent.

Lucas stepped onto the black earth, feeling a strange pull, like something was drawing him deeper into the clearing. His skin tingled, a subtle current of energy rushing through him.

The ground beneath him shifted. It wasn’t just the rain or the wind; it was as though the earth itself was alive, reacting to his presence.

A whisper echoed through the trees.

“Chosen... called... cursed...”

Lucas turned sharply, his heart racing. “Did you hear that?” he asked, his voice low, almost afraid.

Skylar nodded, her expression grim. “The site is waking up,” she murmured.

The ground trembled again, and then something shifted beneath his feet. Runes appeared in the soil, glowing faintly—symbols of war, wolves, and shattered chains. They pulsed with power, resonating deep inside him like a drumbeat, echoing in his chest.

And then the sky cracked with thunder.

A massive shockwave burst from the center of the clearing, the force of it knocking them all off their feet.

Dan was thrown back, crashing into a tree. Skylar hit the ground, rolling to absorb the impact. Dylan grunted as he slammed into another tree, but somehow managed to keep himself conscious.

Lucas remained standing, rooted in place, though his knees buckled slightly from the surge of energy. His eyes burned gold, a fiery intensity igniting within them. The clearing lit with power, and his vision blurred as flashes of images overtook him.

Wolves warring. A boy standing alone while others kneeled before him. And a woman—eyes red as fire—watching from a throne of ash, her presence looming like a shadow.

Then it was gone.

Lucas staggered, trying to keep his footing as the world around him spun. Skylar rose slowly, her eyes scanning him, trying to gauge the impact.

“What did you see?” she asked, her voice a mixture of concern and curiosity.