Chapter 83 her secrets
The air crackled with energy as the connection solidified, something ancient and unbreakable settling in my core. The lead wolf, my wolf let out a deep, rumbling sound that wasn’t quite a growl, wasn’t quite a purr, but something in between. It was approval. Acceptance.
The others reacted immediately. One by one, the shimmering wolves lowered their heads, acknowledging the shift. The pack had chosen.
Logan, still in his wolf form, let out a wary snarl, his hackles raised. Lena stood frozen, her fingers tight around the dagger at her hip. "Elias…" she whispered, her voice uncertain.
I understood her hesitation. A few moments ago, these creatures had been an unknown threat. Now, they were… mine. The knowledge settled deep, an undeniable truth.
The lead wolf stepped back, giving me space to rise. As I stood, something felt different. More grounded. More powerful.
"You passed," the voice resonated in my mind, deep and ancient. It wasn’t just from the wolf before me—it was from all of them.
I swallowed hard, trying to steady my breath. "Passed what?"
The lead wolf's eyes flickered with something unreadable. "The first test."
Lena let out a sharp breath. "First?"
I didn’t get a chance to ask what he meant.
A distant howl split the air, raw and violent, carrying a darkness that made my new pack bristle. The shadows beyond the trees seemed to deepen, a presence stirring in the distance.
The lead wolf turned, muscles tensed. "They come."
Logan shifted back, his breathing ragged. "Who?"
The wolf met my gaze.
"Those who would see the fire extinguished."
The flames inside me flared in response, readying for a battle I hadn’t even begun to understand.
But one thing was clear—whatever was coming wasn’t just after me.
It was after everything.
The fire inside me raged, recognizing the figures before me as something ancient and dangerous. The lead wolf let out a deep growl, his golden eyes burning with intensity. The rest of the pack mirrored his stance, their silver-shadowed forms flickering with raw energy.
Logan and Lena flanked me, their own bodies coiled with tension. Logan's fingers twitched, itching to shift again. Lena's grip on her dagger was like iron.
The hooded figure took a step forward, its presence suffocating. "The fire is not yours to wield, boy," it hissed, its voice like dry leaves scraping against stone. "Surrender it, and we will grant you mercy."
The fire inside me pulsed violently, as if laughing at the absurdity of the demand. My jaw clenched. "I don’t think so."
A low chuckle rippled through the group of hooded figures. More of them emerged from the darkness, their numbers growing, surrounding us.
The lead wolf stepped closer to me, his voice steady in my mind. Do not let them touch you. They are creatures of the void, and they will drain the fire if they can.
I swallowed hard, the weight of the warning pressing down on me. "Any advice on how to kill them?"
The wolf bared his fangs. Burn them.
The figures moved all at once.
Logan was the first to react, shifting in an instant, his wolf launching at the nearest one. Claws met shadow, and the creature screeched as Logan ripped through it, but instead of blood, black smoke poured from the wound.
Lena ducked and slashed at another, her blade cutting deep, but the thing barely flinched. Instead, it turned toward her, its ember-like eyes glowing brighter.
I had no time to focus on them—because one of the creatures was already lunging for me.
Instinct roared to the surface. The fire inside me erupted.
Flames shot from my hands, golden and furious, meeting the creature mid-air. The moment the fire touched its body, it let out a horrific, echoing scream. The shadows writhed and twisted, burning away into nothing.
The fire worked.
I didn’t stop.
Another creature lunged—I turned my palm toward it, unleashing a blast of fire that consumed it whole. The air filled with the scent of scorched decay as the thing disintegrated, leaving behind only embers and ash.
Lena dodged another attack, her blade barely keeping the creatures at bay. “Elias!” she shouted. “More fire, less staring!”
I gritted my teeth, flames swirling around me.
The lead wolf lunged at a creature trying to reach me from behind, his massive jaws clamping down on its throat. The moment his silver-shadowed form touched it, the creature howled in agony, its body flickering and then vanishing into nothing.
The wolves weren’t just fighting—they were purging these things.
Logan tore through another, his massive form relentless. Lena slashed and dodged, her speed keeping her just out of their reach.
And me?
I unleashed hell.
Fire poured from my hands, burning away the creatures as they tried to swarm me. The heat crackled in the air, golden flames reflecting in the ruins around us. The symbols on the stones glowed brighter, reacting to the fire, to me.
The creatures hesitated. For the first time, they felt fear.
One of them, the tallest, snarled. “This is not over.”
The shadows swirled violently. And then—
They vanished.
The forest fell silent.
My heart hammered in my chest, the fire still coiling around my fingers, reluctant to fade. Logan shifted back, breathing heavily, his face smeared with sweat and soot. Lena wiped blood—hers or theirs, I wasn’t sure—off her cheek.
The lead wolf stood beside me, his golden eyes watchful. They will return, he warned. They are drawn to the fire.
I exhaled slowly, my hands trembling as the flames finally receded. The symbols on the stone pillars still glowed faintly, like embers waiting to be rekindled.
Lena looked around at the ruins, then back at me. “Okay,” she said, breathless. “So are we gonna talk about the fact that you just set the world on fire?”
Logan snorted. “Yeah, Elias. Got any other secrets you’d like to share?”
I swallowed, looking at the ruins, the wolves, the fading embers.
I had more questions than answers.
But one thing was certain.
Whatever this fire was, whatever I was becoming.
This was only the beginning.