Chapter 40 Chapter 40

Chapter 40 Chapter 40


Luceilas POV

A scream cut through the night air like a knife.

It did not sound like a person or a wolf.

It sounded like something in between.

I felt a sense of danger inside me.

The ground started shaking beneath my feet.

The lights above us began to rattle.

Some of the guards. Had to hold onto the walls to stay up.

Another wave of energy went through the house.

My knees felt weak.

"Luceila " Alpha Dorian said.

He caught my arm before I fell.

His eyes looked into mine.

"What do you feel?" he asked.

I put my hand on my chest.

It was shaking.

"My wolf..." I said quietly.

"She is scared."

No that is not right.

My wolf was not scared.

She was calling out.

This feeling was new to me.

My wolf usually hid inside me when she was scared.

Now she was moving around and scratching at the walls that kept her trapped.

She wanted to get out.

She wanted to answer the call from beyond the border.

Outside people were. Shouting.

"Lock all the gates " someone yelled.

"Put guards on patrol " another person said.

"No one can leave the house alone " someone else said.

The house was in a state of controlled chaos.

Then Draven came in breathing hard and dirty.

"We found the missing guards " he said.

Everyone felt a sense of relief.

"Are they okay?" someone asked.

"They are alive " Draven said.

". Barely."

The room fell silent.

Dorian asked, "What happened to them?"

Draven said, "We found them near the river."

Dorian asked, "What attacked them?"

Draven said, "I do not know."

This answer made everyone uneasy.

Dorian said, "Let us go see them."

We all followed him to the infirmary.

The healers were already working on the guards.

The guards were lying on beds

Their breathing was shallow.

There were marks on their skin that looked like living vines.

One healer said, "Their wounds will not heal."

Another healer put some herbs on one of the guards shoulders.

The herbs turned black and died.

Draven said, "This did not happen when we found them."

Dorian asked, "What changed?"

Draven said, "I do not know."

I walked closer to the guards.

Something about the marks drew me in.

They looked alive.

The black lines pulsed once.

I caught my breath.

The marks reacted to me.

"Luceila " Silas said.

He noticed me first.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

I did not know how to answer.

Something was pushing me to touch the guard.

I reached out. Touched his wrist.

The world around me shattered.

I felt air on my face.

When my vision came back I was standing in a stone circle in the forest.

There were trees all around me.

Their branches blocked out the moonlight leaving red flames dancing around the stones.

There were symbols on the ground that glowed like blood.

A woman in a hood stood in the circle.

Across from her was my mother, Sisilya.

"You promised this would not happen " my mother said.

Her voice was sharp.

The hooded woman looked down.

"It was never meant to last " she said.

My mother said, "You told me it would hold."

The woman said, "I only delayed it."

My mother said, "You failed."

The woman looked up.

Her eyes glowed silver in the dark.

"I warned you years ago " she said.

"The Chosen Wolf would wake up."

My mother clenched her fists.

"She was supposed to stay broken " she said.

The woman shook her head.

"She was only sleeping " she said.

The symbols on the ground flared up.

The womans voice echoed in my mind.

"When she finds her power... The Guardian will rise."

Everything went dark.

I gasped for air.

Strong arms caught me before I fell.

It was Silas.

He held me steady.

"Luceila " he said.

My heart was racing.

"I saw them " I said.

Draven knelt down beside me.

"Who did you see?" he asked.

"My mother " I said.

". Another woman."

The room fell silent.

Dorian asked, "What woman?"

I shook my head.

"I do not know " I said.

I tried to remember her face.

I could not.

"She knew about me " I said.

The room was quiet.

Draven looked at Dorian with worry.

Dorian looked thoughtful.

"Did she say anything " he asked.

I nodded.

"Something about... The Guardian " I said.

Away Reis and Ruan stood among broken trees.

They were looking at claw marks in the earth.

The marks were old.

They did not look fresh.

Ruan said, "This was not made tonight."

Reis said, "No it has been buried."

Draven came up behind them.

He was holding a journal.

He said, "My grandfather wrote about disappearances along this border almost forty years ago."

Ruan asked, "Why did no one tell us?"

Draven said, "Because everyone who looked into it either vanished or refused to talk about it."

The forest was quiet.

There were no birds or insects making noise.

Then a branch snapped.

The men turned around.

"Who is there?" Reis called out.

There was no answer.

Only darkness.

Another branch snapped.

This one was closer.

Ruan pulled out his silver knife.

"I do not like this " he said.

Reis did not like it either.

His wolf was moving restlessly beneath his skin.

It was. Waiting.

Something was watching them back.

Back at the house one of the guards suddenly sat up.

His eyes were completely black.

He spoke in a voice that was not his own.

"The blood has remembered " he said.

His head turned slowly.

His eyes settled on me.

"The chains are weakening.... She has finally returned."

I felt a shiver run down my spine.

The guard smiled.

It was not his smile.

"The Guardian knows your name, Luceila " he said.

All the candles in the room went out at once.

The room was dark.

Then a long ancient howl erupted from outside the house.

It was powerful enough to shake the windows.

When the candles came back on...

The guard had fallen unconscious again.

No one moved.

No one breathed.

Outside a figure in a cloak watched the house, from the trees.

The figures eyes glowed silver in the moonlight.

"The prophecy has begun " the figure whispered.

"This time... There will be no stopping it."