Chapter 3 The Awakening

"Ethan! No!"

Lina's scream ripped through the air as Ethan fell to the ground, blood soaking through his shirt from where Dorian's blade had hit. The silver glowed, pulsing like it was alive, like it wanted to burn him from the inside out.

"Look at him now," Dorian sneered, stepping over Ethan's body. "The 'chosen one.' Just another weak dog bleeding at my feet."

"Get away from him!" Lina tried to stand, but pain shot through her side. She dropped to her knees again, her hand pressed against the deep stab wound just under her ribs. Blood gushed through her fingers.

"You should've stayed quiet," Dorian hissed, squatting in front of her. "All that loyalty, all that hope... wasted on a loser."

"You're the loser," she spat, eyes burning. "You're afraid of him. That's why you tried to kill him before he could rise."

Dorian's smile faded. His hand snapped out, grabbing her by the throat. "You think I fear a child who didn't even know he was a wolf? I am Alpha because I got it. Through blood. Through fire. He's nothing!"

Then Ethan moved. Slow. Barely noticeable. A twitch of his fingers. Dorian didn't see it. Lina's eyes widened. "Ethan," she choked out. "Get up..."

Dorian turned to her, releasing her throat. "Whisper his name all you want. He's gone." But he wasn't. A low, deep growl echoed through the pit. Dorian's body froze. Lina's heart raced. "Ethan..."

The glow of silver faded as the cut in Ethan's chest began to sizzle... then close. The blade refused itself, sliding out like the body had spit it up. It clattered to the ground.

Ethan's eyes snapped open... no longer the warm brown Lina had seen before. They burned bright now, shining in the darkness.

He rose slowly, breath heavy, the air around him thick with power. Dorian stumbled back, shock drawn across his face. "That's not possible..."

Ethan didn't talk. His body was changing... again. Bones straightened. His muscles increased. His face expanded slightly as the wolf form crept over his skin like smoke. Not a full transformation... just enough to look scary.

"I warned you," Ethan said, his voice lower, broken, edged with something not human. "Let her go."

Dorian pulled his knife from his belt. "You're just a mistake. An accident that never should've lived." Ethan tilted his head. "That mistake just survived a silver blade to the heart."

Dorian lunged, but Ethan caught his wrist mid-air and turned. The sound of bone snapping echoed. Dorian screamed and dropped the knife. Ethan kicked it away. "Don't touch her again."

Dorian tried to punch him with the other hand, but Ethan stopped it and landed a hit straight to his gut. The Alpha stumbled backward, coughing. Ethan turned toward Lina. "Can you stand?"

She nodded weakly. "I think so." He ran to her, helped her up. She leaned on him, wincing. "You're glowing," she said. "Is that a bad thing?"

"I don't know," she said. "But it's... kind of cool." There's Footsteps echoed from above.

Dorian snarled, wiping blood from his mouth. "You think this ends here? You're marked now. Every pack will know. Every Alpha. You're a threat. They will come for you. You've started a war, boy."

Ethan didn't even move. "Then let them come."

They didn't wait. Ronin met them near the edge of the forest. His eyes opened as he saw Ethan helping Lina walk. "You're alive."

"Barely," Ethan mumbled. "She's worse. We need shelter." "There's an old temple," Ronin said quickly. "It's protected. They won't follow us there."

They ran... limping, bleeding... but they ran. By the time they reached the edge of the mountains, Lina was shaking. "I can't..." she said softly. "Go on without me." "Not happening," Ethan said, pulling her into his arms. "You didn't leave me behind. I'm not leaving you."

Ronin led them into the mouth of a cave. Stone images lined the door. Old symbols Ethan didn't recognize.

Inside, the temple glowed with faint blue light, like moonlight trapped in the walls. Ethan laid Lina down gently on a moss-covered slab. She was barely awake.

Ronin moved to her, checking the cut. "It's deep. But not fatal. If she rests..." "She needs more than rest," Ethan said. "She needs healing."

Ronin looked up. "There's a spring beneath the temple. Moon-blessed. If she drinks from it, she'll survive."

Ethan didn't wait. He ran down the stone steps, following Ronin's directions. He found the spring... glowing water, untouched by time. He filled the bowl and ran back.

Lina drank. And the glow returned to her eyes. She breathed slowly. "That tastes like starlight."

Ethan smiled. "You scared me." She looked at him. "You came back for me." "Of course I did."

Their eyes held for a moment-something unspoken hanging between them. But then Lina turned her head. "We can't rest for long. Dorian's right. They'll hunt you now."

Ethan looked down at his hands. "Good." Ronin nodded. "You're not who you were anymore. You've changed."

"I feel it," Ethan said. "It's like my body is... awake. But my mind's still catching up." Ronin sat beside him. "Your father was like that too. Until the night he died."

Ethan turned. "Tell me. Tell me everything." So Ronin did. About Ethan's parents. About how his father had refused to follow Dorian's rule.

How he was hunted. Killed. How Ethan's mother went after giving birth. How his grandpa took him, ran across the country, hiding him under new names, new places. And how the prophecy said that a rejected heir would rise with a half-blooded soul, born of pain and meant to rule.

"It was never about being strong," Ronin said. "It was about surviving long enough to become something more." Ethan looked at the fire. "I don't want to rule. I just want to stop this." Lina sat up slowly. "You're the only one who can." Ethan looked at her. "Why do you believe in me?"

"Because I saw you stand up when no one else did," she said. "You could've run. You didn't."

He offered a small smile. "Maybe I'm finally growing up." They sat in silence for a while. Then Lina asked, "Do you think... Do you think he'll kill my son?" Ethan turned sharply. "Your son?"

She looked down. "The one they took from me. Dorian... he's been keeping him hidden. As a club. If he finds out I tried to flee, he'll use him against me." Ethan's eyes darkened. "Then we get him back." Lina looked at him, hope flickering. "You'd do that?"

"For you?" He paused. "Yeah. I would."

........................

That night

The temple was quiet. Ethan couldn't sleep. He stood at the edge of the spring, watching the moonlight wash over the water.

Then a whisper. "Come to me..." His head snapped up. "Who's there?" The water began to glow brighter. He stepped back, heart racing.

The whisper returned. "The war has begun... and your bloodline is the key..." Then a figure emerged from the spring... glowing, ghostly, female.

The Moon Goddess. She reached out to him. "Ethan, you were born to break the curse. But you are not the only one..." He froze. "What does that mean?"

But she was gone. The spring went dark. He turned to call for Ronin... Only to find the old man lying face down in blood.

A knife in his back. And a shadow standing over him. Lina's voice screamed from the room. "Ethan! They found us!"

Ethan ran through the temple as shadows filled the hall. The enemy had come. And someone... had betrayed them, But who could be?