Chapter 21 Homay & Börü;
Kael's massive frame tore through the depths of the forest like a storm. His claws shredded the snow-covered earth, branches snapping with each stride as he carved his path forward.
Centuries of loneliness and longing had become too heavy to bear. He couldn't lose Eva.
Not again, he growled inwardly. I won't lose her again.
The trees began to thin, and soon that familiar sound reached his ears, the roar of rushing water. He'd reached the waterfall. It had stood there for centuries, hidden and untouched, a secret known only to him and the Rose bloodline.
Without slowing, Kael leaped directly into the cascade. Behind the waterfall, concealed among the rocks, was the mouth of a vast cave. Dark, desolate, and filled with cursed memories.
He stopped at the cave's entrance. His breathing was heavy and irregular. His eyes locked onto the stone door before him.
Carved into the door's surface were two symbols in the ancient tongue. He recognized them, they were identical to the tattoos on his own chest.
On the left side was written ''𐰆𐰢𐰖'' (Homay). The protective spirit. Goddess of fertility, nature, healing, and abundance.
On the right side was ''𐰉𐰇𐰼𐰃'' (Börü). The ancient demon guardians. The wolf race.
Kael's massive paw slowly reached toward the stone. His fingers traced over the symbols. The cold of the stone seeped into his fur, but the heat in his heart, that burning ache, spread through his body. The memories this place evoked caused him pain.
And then... a tear slipped from his eye.
Here I am again, he thought. Back in this cage you created...
The seal on his chest suddenly began to glow. Purple veins came alive, pulsing like a heartbeat. Light reflected onto the door, and the stone began to shift with a grinding rumble. Slowly, as if bearing the weight of centuries, the door opened.
Kael stepped inside.
And before him appeared a small paradise.
The interior of the cave bore no resemblance to the world outside. A crystal-clear, azure lake stood in the center. The water was so pure he could see every stone at the bottom. Surrounding it grew dozens of green plants and brilliant purple and white gerberas, in the dead of winter, in the freezing cold, spring lived here.
And at the far end... rose a great stone manor. Its columns were covered in ancient runic inscriptions, its door carved from black stone. He knew what lay inside. But right now, he had neither the time nor the strength to face it.
He strode directly to the water. At the lake's edge, atop a small rocky outcrop, sat a mystically carved bottle. Kael shifted into his human form, bones cracked, muscles tensed, and in moments he knelt as a bronze-skinned, naked man.
He plunged his hands into the lake's water. Taking the bottle, he carefully filled it with the liquid. The water glowed within the vessel, as if alive.
This has to work, little one, he thought.
Eva had defied her Alpha, weakening the seal. Because of that, everything hung by a thread.
He gripped the bottle tightly and rose to his feet. But as he turned back, something on the stone wall near the door caught his eye.
Claw marks.
Deep, ancient, carved into the stone.
Kael's eyes widened. His breath caught. And in that moment, memory dragged him into the past.
It was a night from centuries ago;
The cave's door had not yet been sealed. Inside, Kael lay in his massive wolf form on the ground. But he was motionless. Because his spirit had been imprisoned in a medallion.
At the door stood that woman.
The same face as Eva's. The same ash-blonde hair. The same slender, graceful hands. But the expression in her eyes... concealed a deep sorrow.
In her hand, she held a medallion. It glowed with amber light. Kael's spirit was trapped within it.
Tears streamed down the woman's face. Her hands trembled. "I'm sorry, my love," she whispered. Her voice was broken, as if saying farewell. "This was my only chance... to protect you and your pack," she said, her lips quivering.
That day, inside the stone manor, five massive wolf bodies lay. Kael's alpha pack. They too were motionless, their spirits imprisoned in medallions around their necks.
The woman knelt and touched Kael's massive head, stroking it. "One day I will set you free, my beloved. I promise," she said.
Her voice trembled. "Until we meet again..."
Then she stood. She placed her hand on the stone and murmured the incantation.
The Homay symbols flared. The door slowly closed.
And Kael's body remained inside, sealed and condemned.
Kael stared at the stone wall. He touched the claw marks. Deep pain filled his eyes. Then he shook his head. Now isn't the time for this. Eva was dying. And he had to save her.
He shifted back into wolf form and gripped the bottle in his teeth. He bolted from the cave and began racing through the forest depths.
At the mountain house, Eva's body had gone completely cold. Her lips had darkened to nearly black, her skin ice-cold. Elly knelt beside her, rubbing her hands to warm them. But it wasn't working.
Tears streamed from Elly's eyes as she tried to stay strong.
Agnes was close to giving up. Her aged face was creased with worry. She read through the ancient journal again and again, but could find no solution.
Agnes approached with heavy steps. She bent down and touched Eva's face. But then she noticed something, Eva's eyelids were fluttering rapidly.
Then Eva's lips moved slightly. A whispered sound emerged: "Börü..."
Agnes froze. Her eyes widened with fear and shock. She pulled back as if Eva had suddenly burst into flames. Her heartbeat filled the room.
"She... she's found him!" she whispered.
Elly looked at her grandmother in confusion. "What does that mean? Grandmother, who has she found?"
But Agnes couldn't answer. Her pupils trembled in shock. A single thought circled in her mind: Would the person who returns be the old Eva?
Then the mark on her arm, the ancient crescent-shaped seal, began glowing again. It blazed with silver-blue light.
"The Ancient Alpha has come," she whispered.
She rushed to the door and ran outside.
The snowfall had intensified. Wind battered Agnes's aged body. She rubbed her eyes, trying to clear her vision. Her gaze was fixed on the forest.
And then, through the snow, she saw him.
Massive, magnificent, with reddish-brown fur. His amber eyes glowed in the darkness. He held the crystal bottle in his jaws.
Kael stopped before Agnes. He slowly lowered his head and placed the bottle in the woman's hand.
Kael's voice echoed in Agnes's mind: "Save her."
Agnes took the bottle, clutching it in her hands. She nodded in acknowledgment.
Kael turned and began to leave. But Agnes gathered her last reserves of courage and called out:
"She murmured 'Börü'!" she said. "I think... she's found you, Ancient Alpha."
Kael stopped. Deep sorrow filled his eyes. In a deep, growling voice, he said, "Let's hope she doesn't remember everything." And he vanished into the forest depths.
Agnes stood in shock. Even legends were frightening, but these two mystical beings had lived through this pain. A look of determination appeared in her eyes. She gripped the bottle tightly and rushed inside.
Agnes hurried to Eva's side. "Elly, lift her head!" she commanded.
Elly gently raised Eva's head. Agnes uncapped the bottle and poured the shimmering azure water onto Eva's lips.
The first few drops trickled down Eva's throat. But there was no response.
"Come on, Rose witch," Agnes murmured. "Come back to us. Please come back."
A few more seconds passed. Then...
Eva's chest trembled. She took a breath halting, difficult, but a breath nonetheless.
Elly screamed. "It's working! Oh God, it's working!"
Eva's skin slowly began regaining its color. Pink tones returned to her cheeks. Her lips regained their hue. But then... something changed.
Eva's hair.
From ash-blonde... it began turning silver-white. Like a spell.
Elly watched with eyes wide as saucers.
Agnes stepped back. Deep reverence showed on her face. Then... she knelt.
"Grandmother?" Elly whispered. "What are you doing?"
Agnes bent toward Eva's sleeping form. Her trembling hands pressed against her chest.
"She has accessed her ancestors' power," she whispered. Her voice was filled with awe.
Elly's heart began pounding wildly in her chest. Fear filled her about the identity of whoever was awakening.
Eva's eyes slowly opened. They were the same eyes... But those eyes... That small girl wasn't looking like Eva anymore.
They glowed with purple light. A deep, ancient light. She had changed...
In the forest depths, Kael stood beneath a tree. He had shifted to human form, naked and alone. He leaned his back against the tree and collapsed to the ground.
The seal on his chest still burned. But this time... it was different. As if his bond with Eva had been severed.
The wind scattered his hair. Snow struck his face. But Kael burned with the fire inside him.
Because his heart... had shattered once again with the fear of losing her.