2025-04-07 03:57:39Lucas whispered, his voice barely audible over the rushing blood in his ears, “The blood war. And someone... someone worse than Carver.”
Dylan’s face paled as he stared at Lucas, his breath catching in his throat. “A female Alpha?” Lucas nodded, his mind still reeling from the vision. “She saw me. I think... she’s waiting.” Skylar’s expression turned grim, determination hardening in her features. “Then we need to find her first.” Dan, still shaking from the blast, helped Dylan up again. “We’re running out of time.” Lucas glanced down at the symbol burned into the ground—a faint scar of his family crest, now joined by another mark. A spiral of thorns. Skylar cursed softly under her breath. “That’s the symbol of the Nightfang clan. They haven’t been seen in decades.” Dylan nodded, his face dark with understanding. “Because they were wiped out.” Lucas shook his head slowly. “Then someone survived.” By the time they reached the edge of Hollow Pike, the rain had stopped. Mist clung to the earth, rolling over the soil like breath from a sleeping beast. Lucas walked ahead of the group, eyes locked on the winding path. His hands were clenched, heart pounding harder than before. Skylar kept her pace behind him, watching every move. “You’re too quiet.” “I saw her again,” Lucas said without stopping. “In the vision. The woman on the throne. She spoke my name.” Dan looked between them, a nervous chuckle escaping him. “Is that, like, a bad thing or a worse thing?” Dylan’s voice was grim. “Worse. If she spoke his name, it means she’s aware of him. Which means she’s not just waiting—she’s watching.” Lucas exhaled slowly. “What is she?” Skylar answered without hesitation. “They called her the Ash Queen. The last Alpha of the Nightfang clan. Thought to be dead. But no one ever found her body.” Dan frowned, shaking his head. “And what? She’s coming back now because Lucas exists?” “Not because he exists,” Dylan said. “Because he’s the one prophesied to challenge her. The one she fears.” Lucas let that settle in his chest, the weight of it spreading. “Then I have to face her.” “Eventually,” Skylar added. “But not alone.” They reached a stone arch overgrown with vines. Beyond it, the remains of a burned-down village lay in ruins. Charred beams jutted from collapsed homes. Blackened earth still smelled of soot, as if the flames never truly died. Lucas stepped inside first. Instantly, the wind changed. The air turned hot and still, like the breath of something ancient and awake. Skylar’s hand went to her blade. “This place is wrong.” “Yeah, no kidding,” Dan muttered, glancing around. “I feel like I just walked into a ghost’s living room.” They moved together through the ruins. Ash crunched beneath their feet like brittle bones. At the center of the village stood a fire pit, its coals glowing faintly, though no one had touched it in years. Lucas approached slowly. The flames stirred. Dan jumped back with a yelp. “Okay, that’s definitely not normal!” From the fire, a shape began to form—smoke swirling into the shape of a face. Female. Sharp eyes. Crimson pupils that locked directly on Lucas. “Lucas Tallman,” the voice echoed. “You walk the path of the dead.” Lucas stood firm, though every instinct screamed to run. “I’m not afraid of you.” “You will be,” she said. “Your blood remembers. And I... remember you.” The flames flared brighter, revealing a memory Lucas couldn’t control, couldn’t stop. A battlefield. Hundreds of wolves, torn apart. Scorched fur. Blood on stone. And in the center—a version of Lucas, older, eyes glowing silver, standing over the Ash Queen’s broken body. Skylar grabbed his shoulder. “Break the vision. Now.” Lucas shook his head. “No. I need to see.” The vision twisted. Lucas turned in the memory. Behind him, Dan’s body—lifeless. Lucas gasped and stumbled back from the fire pit, his heart thundering in his chest. The fire vanished as suddenly as it had risen. Silence returned like a slap. Skylar looked shaken. “She’s not just sending visions. She’s showing possible futures. Trying to control the narrative.” Lucas’s voice was barely a whisper. “Dan dies... because of me.” Dan clapped a hand on Lucas’s back with a firm smile. “Hey. I’m still here. And I’m not going anywhere. You’re not losing me that easy.” Lucas looked at him, eyes filled with guilt. “But what if it’s true? What if that’s what’s waiting down the line?” “Then we change it,” Dan said simply. “We rewrite it. Together.” Dylan crouched near the ashes. “This site was bound with ancient magic. We triggered a memory gate. And she used it to plant fear.” Skylar stood tall, brushing ash from her jacket. “It worked. But not enough.” Lucas stared at the ground, trying to breathe through the swirl of thoughts. “I need to get stronger. If I’m going to stop her, I have to understand my power. I can’t keep guessing every time.” Dan nodded. “Then we figure it out. Together. Step by step.” Skylar reached into her coat and handed Lucas a folded note. “Dylan found this on one of the dead hunters. It has coordinates. Deep forest. Could be a base. Or a trap.” Lucas unfolded the note. “We go at dawn.” “No,” Dylan said. “We go now.” Everyone turned to him. Dylan’s eyes darkened with determination. “If we wait, they’ll be gone. And if that base leads to the Ash Queen... we can’t lose that trail.” Dan hesitated. “You sure you’re good to move?” “I didn’t come this far to sleep on a fight,” Dylan replied. Lucas met his gaze, then looked around at the others. “Then let’s finish this day with answers.” They nodded as one. As they left the ashes behind, the wind picked up. From deep in the forest, a shadow peeled away from a tree and followed silently—eyes glowing like coals in the dark.
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"Keep moving!" Skylar shouted, ducking beneath a low-hanging branch.Lucas panted, his legs burning, boots slamming against wet earth. Behind him, the sound of pursuit never faded. Distant howls. Cracking branches. The echo of footsteps that didn’t belong to them.Dan ran beside him, keeping pace. “Remind me why we’re running toward a place called Moonveil? Sounds cursed.”“It is,” Skylar called back. “But the hunters avoid it. They think it’s haunted.”“Awesome,” Dan muttered. “That’s so comforting.”The forest thinned as they approached the ruins. What remained of Moonveil was barely more than shattered stones and crumbled archways buried in moss. A half-collapsed watchtower loomed over the clearing, and a thick fog clung to the ground like a second skin. The eerie silence that hung in the air was broken only by the soft crunch of their steps on the forest floor.Lucas slowed, his breath visible in the sudden drop of temperature. His heart thudded harder.“This place...” he whispere
