Chapter 3 3

Scene 1: The Sparring Grounds, Silverpine Pack

The midday sun filtered through the clearing where the Silverpine wolves trained, although today, most of them were reluctant about gathering at the edges. This was caused by the curiosity that was stirring among the ranks. At the center of the ring stood Kael. His arms were crossed, his expression was hard as iron. Opposite him stood Aeryn. She was barefoot, in simple trousers and a dark linen tunic that clung to her frame. Her violet eyes burned with an anxious fire.

"Are you sure about this?" Mira, the healer, asked from the edge of the ring, his arms folded.

"She needs to remember who she is," Kael replied flatly. "Instincts tell us what the mind forgets most times."

Aeryn turned her gaze toward him. "I have never... fought before, not that I remember."

Kael's eyes narrowed slightly. "Then let us find out if your body remembers what your mind doesn't."

She swallowed hard, and gave a small nod. "Alright."

Kael stepped forward into the ring, removing his coat. The tension in the crowd was so dominant.

"No claws," Kael said, circling. "Nor would we use teeth." Just movement, but if you don't defend yourself, I will knock you on your ass."

"Good," Aeryn said with a smirk, raising her hands. "I could use some humility."

Kael raised an eyebrow. There it was again, that same flicker of fire. It was not just in her eyes, but in her spirit.

He lunged.

The move was sharp, swift, but Aeryn sidestepped without hesitation. Her body twisted low and tight. It was exactly like!!

Kael blinked.

She was moving like "Liora."

The turn of her heel, or is it the shift in her weight? The sharp exhale before striking.

Kael barely dodged her palm, which flew toward his shoulder with perfect precision.

"Where did you learn that?" he asked her, at the same time retreating two steps.

"I didn't," she panted. "I just... knew."

Gasps echoed around the ring. Aeryn's hands had begun to glow faintly, the embers were flickering across her fingertips. And then her body jerked, and her bones cracked.

Her eyes flared gold and red as fur sprouted up her arms partially. It was not a full shift. Rather, it was an in-between form of someone who is caught in mid-transformation.

Her breath came out in a snarl. It was a wild, half-formed growl.

"Shift control!" Kael barked, stepping in.

"I can't", her voice cracked. "I don't know how."

"Breathe, Aeryn! Focus. Listen to me."

Aeryn gritted her teeth, her body trembled as sparks danced along her arms.

Then, suddenly, she collapsed to her knees.

The glow vanished, and silence fell across the ring.

Kael rushed forward, as he kneeled beside her. "Are you alright?"

Aeryn coughed, breathless. "Did I just... shift?"

"Partially," Kael murmured. That should not be possible for someone who does not remember their wolf. It takes years of training to control a half-form. Some warriors can't even do it.

"I did not mean to," she said softly. "I just felt... like I was someone else."

Kael's fingers gently touched her shoulder. "You were fighting like her."

"Like who?"

"My mate," Kael whispered. "Liora."

Aeryn's eyes widened. "Did I?"

Kael looked away, his throat was tight. "Exactly like her."

Whispers stirred around the watching wolves, some were murmuring about fate, while others about fear.

"Clear the ring," Kael commanded, rising. "Now."

They scattered, uncertain of what he meant, but they were obedient.

Kael helped Aeryn to her feet. "Come with me."

Scene 2: Kael's Quarters – That Evening

The fire crackled low in the stone hearth. Outside, the wind was heavily sweeping through the pines with a mournful howl. Kael stood by the window, his arms crossed. Aeryn sat on the low couch, her hands wrapped around a steaming mug of bitterroot tea.

"I did not mean to cause a scene," she murmured.

"You didn't," Kael said. What you did was to cause a revelation.

Aeryn looked up; her eyes were searching his face. "Who was she? Liora?"

He hesitated. Then he spoke heavily. "My mate. My soul. She died seven years ago in a fire that was set by someone whom we trusted."

Aeryn's throat bobbed. "I am sorry."

"She was fierce," he continued quietly. A warrior. But she was kind, clever. She could disarm you with a smile and gut you with the next breath."

Aeryn smiled faintly. "She sounds like someone I would want to meet."

Kael looked at her then. "You remind me of her more than you should."

"That is not exactly comforting," she said, being compared to a ghost.

Kael exhaled. "I don't mean to. It is not fair to you or her."

Aeryn set the mug down and stood. Slowly, she stepped toward him, the firelight casting soft gold on her skin. "You said I calmed you."

Kael raised an eyebrow.

"In the spar," she continued. "When you are angry. When I touched you."

He remembered. The second her palm brushed his chest, his wolf had gone from pacing to still.

"You did," he admitted.

"I don't understand it," she whispered. "I feel... drawn to you, but it was not just because you saved me." It is something which seems older, deeper. Like my bones "remember" you.

Kael did not respond immediately. He couldn't.

Aeryn took his hand and pressed it gently to her chest.

"Do you feel that?" she asked.

He did. Her heart was hammering hard beneath her skin.

But he also felt more than that. He felt a warmth, a slow and ancient sensation that began to unfurl between them. It is a bond that had once withered... now trembling back to life.

"I have seen you," she whispered. In dreams. And there was someone else. A man with silver hair. Cold eyes."

Kael's blood chilled. "What did he do?"

"I saw him... stabbing me." Her voice broke. "He smiled as he did it."

Kael stepped back, his mind was racing so fast. "A silver-haired man?"

Aeryn nodded. "I don't know how I knew him, but it was like he knew me. Like he hated me."

Kael turned away, his fists were clenched.

"Kael?" Aeryn's voice was uncertain.

Kael's breath hissed through his teeth. "You just described someone who I hoped I would never hear of again."

"Who?"

He turned to face her, his eyes were dark. My brother. "Riven."

Aeryn froze.

Kael's voice dropped to a whisper. He vanished the night that Liora died, but after the fire, we never found a body. There were no tracks, nor a sign of struggle.

"You think he...?"

Kael's stare was hollow and sharp. "If he was alive... and you saw him in your nightmares..." He stepped toward her. "You may not have been reborn by accident, Aeryn. You might have been made."

In the dead of the night, in a place that was far from Silverpine, a figure stood atop a cliff, cloaked in silver moonlight. Long white hair whipped in the wind. His eyes were icy and void as he watched the distant forests of Kael's land.

In his hand was a dagger.

Its edge shimmered with old fire.

He whispered a name to the wind.

"...Aeryn."

And the blade pulsed red.