Chapter 4 Teeth in the bloodlight

Chapter Four: Teeth in the Bloodlight

The moment Alaric's blade struck the ground, the clearing erupted.

Mara lunged with a snarl, her wolf form blurring through moonlight and shadow. Alaric met her with impossible speed, his blade whistling as it arced through the air. Sparks burst as it scraped her shoulder-silver-edge burning her fur, her flesh.

She yelped but twisted mid-air, using the momentum to land behind him. Before she could strike again, the silver-blue wolf flew past her, jaws open wide.

It collided with Alaric, and the two tumbled, man and wolf rolling across the mossy ground. The hunter kicked it off and leapt to his feet, unscathed. Barely breathing hard.

He smiled.

"I've hunted your kind since I was a boy," he said, eyes glinting red under the Hunter's Moon. "But never two Bound in the same clearing."

Mara shifted back, just enough to speak. Her bones crackled. Pain sliced through her shoulder, but she held it back.

"Why do you care what I am?" she asked, voice raw. "You don't know me."

"I know the curse," Alaric spat. "What it turns people into. I've seen villages torn apart. Children with their throats ripped out. You think your mark makes you special? You're just a prettier version of the same monster."

The silver-blue wolf growled low. You do not understand us.

Mara's chest tightened. She stepped forward, ignoring the throb of her wound. "We're not killers. We protect the forest. We protect each other."

"Tell that to the ones who didn't survive your ancestors," he said, lifting his blade again. "The forest isn't sacred. It's infected. And I'm the cure."

He charged.

Mara shifted fully mid-leap this time, catching the blade between her claws. It seared her skin, but she didn't back down. She bit deep into Alaric's arm. He howled and struck her hard across the jaw with the hilt.

She flew backward, crashed into a tree, bark splintering around her. Dazed, she tried to rise-but the ground spun beneath her paws.

He's too strong.

The silver-blue wolf leapt again-but Alaric was ready. His blade pierced its side.

"No!" Mara screamed, voice torn from her throat as she shifted back to human. The silver-blue wolf collapsed beside her, blood dark and thick on its fur.

Alaric stepped forward, limping but grinning. "One left."

Mara looked down at the fallen wolf. Her hand found its fur. Still warm.

Not dead.

Not yet.

And in her mind, she heard a whisper-You are more.

Her veins caught fire. Something woke inside her. Not just the wolf. Something deeper. Rooted in the Binding. In the bloodline.

She stood. Slowly. Eyes glowing violet-bright. Her voice echoed-not just with her own, but layered, ancient, like the voice of the forest itself.

"You made a mistake coming here."

Alaric hesitated.

Then Mara moved.

She didn't shift-not fully. Instead, the wolf and girl merged. Her form rippled, not beast, not woman, but something between. Taller. Stronger. Cloaked in shadow and fur. Her claws gleamed. Her teeth lengthened.

A true Bound.

Alaric raised his blade, but it trembled in his grip. "That's not possible-"

She struck.

The blade flew from his hand. He fell hard, groaning as Mara stood over him, breath ragged, teeth bared.

She raised her claw-then paused.

The hunger was there. The fury. But so was the choice.

Clara's voice echoed: Don't let the hunger define you-use it.

She looked down at Alaric. At the fear in his eyes.

"I'm not a monster," she whispered.

And she turned away.

Behind her, Alaric groaned. "This isn't over."

"No," Mara said, not turning back. "It's only just beginning."

Clara stitched her shoulder by firelight, her lips a thin line of worry. The silver-blue wolf lay near the hearth, bandaged and breathing shallowly.

"You could've killed him," Clara said.

"I know."

Clara met her eyes. "You should have."

Mara looked down at her hands, still trembling with the memory of that in-between form. "If I had, I'd have proven him right."

Clara didn't answer. She tied the bandage tight, then pressed a cool cloth to Mara's forehead.

"I've never seen anyone shift like that," she said after a long pause. "Not even your mother."

"It felt like... I wasn't alone."

"You weren't," Clara said. "The forest stood with you. It chose you."

Mara glanced toward the sleeping wolf. "And what about them? Will they be okay?"

Clara nodded. "They'll heal. Slowly. But they'll need time."

Mara rose, walked to the window. The blood moon was fading. The stars shimmered brighter now, no longer drowned in red.

"What happens now?" she asked.

Clara came beside her. "Now, you decide what kind of Bound you want to be."

The next morning, Mara returned to the clearing. The grass was scorched in places. A patch of dried blood stained the roots of the old pine.

She knelt, placed her hand on the earth. The forest whispered again-softer now, but clearer.

We remember.

Leaves rustled. A shape moved through the trees.

The silver-blue wolf stepped out, limping, but upright.

Mara smiled. "You came back."

The wolf approached, nuzzled her hand. Then, to her astonishment, it shifted.

Before her stood a young woman-no older than twenty, with sharp features, piercing eyes, and a scar over her ribs where the blade had struck.

"I'm Kaelen," she said, voice hoarse from pain. "Guardian of the Ashgrove."

Mara blinked. "You can talk."

Kaelen smirked faintly. "You're not the only one with secrets."

They sat together at the base of the pine, the forest humming around them.

"Why me?" Mara asked after a while.

Kaelen turned to her. "Because you listened. You didn't try to control the forest. You heard it. You respected it."

Mara nodded slowly. "And Alaric? Will he come back?"

Kaelen's expression darkened. "Hunters never forget. But next time, you won't face him alone."

Mara looked at her, startled. "You're staying?"

Kaelen smiled. "Until you know what you are. And beyond, if you'll have me."

Mara didn't answer right away. She looked up at the trees. The sun filtered through the leaves, casting patterns like runes on the moss.

She didn't feel cursed anymore.

She felt claimed.

"Then let's begin," she said. "There's more than one way to be Bound."