Chapter 4 The Awakening Flame

The wind shrieked through the thick canopy of the Northern Pines, chasing after Amara as if the forest itself was against her. Her legs ached, her lungs burned, but she didn't stop. Not even for a second. She couldn't afford to. Lucas, bundled tightly in her arms, whimpered, his small hands curling into fists.

"Mama," he murmured, face pressed into her neck. His skin was burning hot.

"I know, baby. I know," she whispered, brushing his dark curls. "We're almost safe."

But she didn't believe that. Not really.

Since the moment she'd heard Kieran's father order her execution, her execution, while she was carrying the child of their Alpha, her life had been nothing but shadows and running. And now Lucas...

Lucas was changing. Too soon. Too fast.

She ducked beneath a curtain of moss-covered vines, breathing hard. Her pulse beat in her ears like war drums. Her keen wolf hearing picked up movement. Twigs breaking. Multiple sets of feet.

"Rogues," she breathed. "Damn it."

She turned and sprinted toward the ravine she remembered from childhood, a place only those born to the land would know. As she ran, Lucas whimpered again, his skin burning hotter by the second.

"Stay with me, Lucas. Please..."

A low rumble escaped him. His tiny chest heaved, and she could feel something shifting beneath his skin. His energy was lashing out.

"No, no, not now," she whispered. "Just hold on."

She found the opening in the rock face and pushed inside, crawling through the tight crevice. Her clothes tore against the jagged stone, but she didn't care. When she reached the wider chamber inside, she laid Lucas down, cradling his head in her lap.

He was glowing. Not metaphorically, literally glowing. Black tendrils of mist seeped from his hands, the stone around them hissing and cracking.

"Lucas..." she whispered. "Can you hear me?"

"Mama," he groaned. "It hurts."

She bit her lip, trying not to cry. "I know. But you're strong, baby. You're stronger than anyone."

Suddenly, his eyes snapped open, a brilliant golden hue rimmed with black.

"They're close," he said, his voice too deep for a child. "Three. No, four."

She froze. "How do you know?"

"I can feel them."

Before she could respond, a shadow passed outside the crevice. Then another. She pressed Lucas into her chest, shielding him. Her heartbeat thudded in her throat.

"Split up," came a rough voice outside. "She can't have gone far."

Amara closed her eyes. She knew that voice. Rogan. One of the Bloodfang warriors.

"They'll find us," Lucas whispered. "He can smell me."

"No, they won't," she said fiercely. "Not if I have anything to say about it."

She laid him gently on the stone and stood, reaching into the folds of her coat. Her hand closed around the small obsidian blade she'd stolen from the old temple. It wasn't much, but it was blessed, and it burned rogues on contact.

As Rogan's footsteps neared, she stepped from the shadows.

"There you are," he grinned, fangs glinting. "Alpha's little whore."

"You'll choke on those words."

He lunged. She sidestepped, slicing across his thigh. He howled, smoke rising where the blade touched. Before he could recover, she jammed the blade into his ribs.

He collapsed, writhing.

When a second wolf emerged, she recognized the female. Sela. A bitter ex-soldier who had always envied Amara's closeness to Kieran.

"Back away, Amara. I don't want to kill you. Just the boy."

"You'll have to go through me."

Sela's eyes narrowed. "Gladly."

They clashed, claws against blade, growls echoing in the tight space. Amara moved on instinct, protecting Lucas like a lioness. But she was tired. Fast.

Then, a roar split the forest.

It wasn't rogue.

It was Alpha.

Sela froze. "That can't be..."

Amara slammed the hilt of her blade into Sela's head. She crumpled. Amara stumbled back into the crevice, gasping.

Lucas was sitting up. Eyes still glowing.

"Mama," he whispered. "He's here."

"No. He can't be. He wouldn't..."

Then came the voice. Rough. Familiar.

"Amara?"

Her body went still.

Kieran.

He appeared at the mouth of the cave, eyes sweeping the carnage. Blood. Rogan groaning. Sela unconscious.

His gaze fell on her, and Lucas.

Amara stood, blade raised.

"Not one more step," she growled.

Kieran raised his hands. "I'm not here to fight."

"Oh really?" she snapped. "What changed? Does the guilt catch up with you?"

"I didn't know about the execution order until after..."

"Don't lie to me!" she screamed. "You let your father condemn me. Your son!"

Lucas crawled into her arms, looking at Kieran.

"Papa?" he asked.

Kieran's face broke. "Gods... he remembers me?"

"I told him everything," Amara said coldly. "About how his father turned his back on us."

Kieran took a shaky breath. "I came to make it right."

"Too late."

Lucas touched her cheek. "Mama... I think he means it."

Amara hesitated.

Then Lucas convulsed.

"No!" she cried, holding him close. Flames burst from his spine, black and wild. The ground shook. Kieran staggered.

"He's shifting!" Kieran shouted. "But he's too young!"

"No kidding!"

Lucas's voice became layered, ancient. "The fire... it burns... I can't hold it..."

"Son," Kieran called. "You are stronger than the fire. You are the flame, not its prisoner."

Lucas's breathing slowed. The fire dimmed.

Then nothing.

Silence.

Amara checked his pulse. Strong. Steady.

"He... he stopped it," she whispered.

Kieran knelt beside her. "He needs help. Real help. We can't do this alone."

"And what? Run back to your precious pack?"

"No. I know someone. In the North. A witch who owes me her life. She can train him. Shield him."

Amara looked down at her son. Then back at Kieran.

"If you betray us again, I'll kill you myself."

He nodded. "Fair."

She wrapped Lucas in her coat. "Then lead the way."

Kieran turned to leave, then stopped.

"I never stopped loving you."

"Don't."

They vanished into the forest. Three fugitives. One cursed child. One fragile alliance.

Behind them, the forest smoldered, black flames licking the trees.

The war had only just begun.