Chapter 5 Wolves Among Ashes

The vision haunted me like smoke that clung to skin-no matter how many times I told myself it meant nothing, I couldn't shake the image of Lucien, alone, bloodied, crowned in thorns.

And he knew I saw it.

The next day, I avoided him.

I wandered Crescent Hollow in search of distraction. The village was unlike any place I'd ever seen. It was quiet, yes, but not with fear-more like reverence. People greeted one another as equals. Even the children ran freely, howling in play without reprimand. No betas barking orders. No omegas bowing in corners.

Freedom.

But I didn't feel free. Not really.

At the village square, I found Lira bent over a table, organizing bundles of herbs. Her hands moved with practiced ease.

"Good," she said without looking up. "You're restless."

I frowned. "Is that supposed to be comforting?"

She gave me a look, one brow raised. "No. But it means your wolf's waking up. And that, Kaia, is a sign you're healing."

I wanted to believe that. I really did.

She waved me over. "Sit. You're going to help me sort these."

"I'm not a healer."

"You don't have to be. Just have hands."

I sat reluctantly, and we worked in silence for a while. The scent of dried rosemary and crushed lavender grounded me more than I expected.

Eventually, I said, "What do you know about the Sanctuary?"

Lira paused. "You saw it?"

"I saw something. Something... wrong."

Her voice dropped to a whisper. "You saw the blood."

I looked up sharply.

She leaned in, her fingers tightening around the twine of an herb bundle. "Not everyone sees it. But those who do-Lucien watches them closely."

That didn't comfort me.

"Is it a prophecy?" I asked. "Or a warning?"

Lira's lips pressed into a line. "In Crescent Hollow, they're often the same thing."

A chill ran through me.

Before I could ask more, a horn sounded from the south tower. Sharp. Two short blasts, followed by a long one.

Lira shot to her feet. "Intruders."

My body reacted before my mind did. I ran.

The village shifted around me as wolves poured from homes, weapons drawn. Guards locked the outer gates, and warriors assembled in formation. It was orderly, efficient-but tense.

At the northern edge, Lucien stood like a mountain. Calm, but fierce.

When he saw me, his jaw clenched. "You should be inside."

"I'm not helpless," I snapped.

His eyes softened, but his tone remained firm. "No, you're not. But this isn't your fight."

I stepped closer. "You think I can just ignore it? After everything I've seen?"

Before he could answer, a figure emerged from the tree line.

Alone.

Male.

Taller than Lucien, cloaked in silver-gray, with scars on his cheek that glowed faintly in the moonlight.

Lucien's stance shifted. "Alpha Merrik."

The name made my stomach twist. I knew it. Everyone in the southern territories did. Merrik was Alpha of the Hollow Fangs-a rogue pack known for their brutality and raids on smaller clans.

Merrik stopped a few feet from the gate, hands raised in mock peace.

"I come bearing words, not war," he called.

Lucien didn't respond. He simply stepped forward.

Merrik smiled. "Still too noble for your own good."

"What do you want?" Lucien asked, his voice steel.

Merrik's eyes swept the crowd-and landed on me.

My breath caught.

"I heard you took in a stray," he said, loud enough for all to hear. "A rejected she-wolf. One who left a blood pack without permission. You know that's a violation."

"She's under my protection," Lucien said.

Merrik chuckled. "You protect too many broken things, Lucien. Sooner or later, they'll shatter in your hands."

Lucien took a step forward. "Leave. Now."

But Merrik didn't flinch. "I'll be back in three nights. With a delegation. If she's still here, Crescent Hollow will no longer be neutral."

Then he turned and vanished into the trees.

A hush fell over the village.

Lucien exhaled sharply, his hands balled into fists. "Get everyone inside. Double the watches."

As guards moved quickly, I stepped toward him. "This is my fault."

"No," he said, voice low. "This is the world we live in. Where alphas think they own every soul."

"But if I leave-"

"If you leave," he interrupted, "they'll find you. And kill you."

My throat tightened.

He turned to face me fully. "You didn't ask for this, Kaia. But it's here now. You have a choice."

"What choice?"

"To stop running."

That night, I couldn't sleep.

I sat by the window, staring out at the forest where Merrik had disappeared. My wolf was restless, pacing inside me.

Run, she whispered. Run before they cage us again.

But another voice-softer, deeper-said stay.

Something was awakening inside me. Not just power-but instinct. A knowing. I could feel the way the moon pulled at the blood in my veins, the way the trees whispered secrets only the wild understood.

Lucien was right.

I'd spent so long surviving that I'd forgotten how to fight for something more.

The next morning, I found him in the Sanctuary.

He was alone, standing before the moon-carved pedestal, the old prophecy open before him.

"I'm not her," I said quietly.

He turned, his expression unreadable. "I know."

That surprised me.

"But I believe you might become her."

I laughed bitterly. "You sound just like the oracles. 'You are who you were meant to be.' It's nonsense."

Lucien stepped closer. "It's not nonsense when the world keeps bending toward you."

He picked up a small silver blade from the table and handed it to me.

"This belonged to my mother," he said. "She was a seer. She believed the moon chose its warriors long before they understood their fate."

The blade was curved, elegant, inscribed with lunar symbols. It felt warm in my hand.

"She gave it to me before she died," Lucien continued. "And told me I'd know who it truly belonged to."

"Why are you giving it to me?"

"Because the Sanctuary showed you what it never showed me."

I stared at the blade. It felt like a tether-like holding it connected me to something ancient, something alive.

"Kaia," he said softly. "When Merrik returns, I won't hide you. But I also won't use you as bait. You get to choose your place in this."

My heartbeat thundered in my ears.

"I don't know who I am anymore."

"Then it's time to find out."

That night, under the full moon, I stood on the training field with the Crescent Hollow warriors. Lucien had granted me access to the armory, and I'd chosen light leathers and twin knives. I needed speed, not brute strength.

We trained until our bodies ached. But I didn't break.

Not this time.

For the first time in my life, I wasn't just surviving.

I was preparing.

Merrik would return in three nights.

And when he did, I'd no longer be the girl who was rejected.

I would be the wolf who chose her own path.