Chapter 67 CHAPTER 67
The shift from the human realm to the wolf realm felt like passing through a warm veil of light. Celia stepped first, her paws sinking into a meadow so soft it felt like walking on clouded moss. Everywhere she looked, the landscape shimmered with quiet beauty. Rolling green valleys stretched toward the horizon, dotted with flowers that glowed faintly as though brushed with moonlight. The air carried a spring warmth - sunlit, gentle, and without the harsh burn of heat. A mild breeze chased through the tall grasses, bending them in waves like an emerald ocean. Wolves moved through the fields, running and tumbling and chasing each other in smooth arcs that left trails of sparkling dust behind them. Their fur caught the sunlight in radiant colours, and the entire realm felt suspended in eternal morning.
Rex appeared at her side, massive and imposing, his silver coat gleaming with an authority that pulsed naturally from him. His presence shifted the air. One by one, the wolves who had been playing lifted their heads. Silence rippled outward, followed by a rising chorus of howls - reverent, unified, and deep. In the wolf realm, royalty was not merely recognized; it was felt. Rex’s lineage, his power, his bloodline as the king’s wolf demanded respect, and the realm responded without hesitation. Celia felt the weight of it too. Though still young, her presence carried the unmistakable aura of royal birth, and the wolves acknowledged her with bowed heads and lowered tails before giving their ritual greeting. The sound rose and fell like a tide welcoming its rulers home.
Rex inclined his head once, acknowledging their respect, then turned toward Celia. “Take me to him,” he said, his voice steady but weighted with something darker. Celia nodded, her heart already tightening. She led the way through the meadow and up a gentle rise toward a solitary tree. It stood tall and wide, its branches sprawling outward to form a natural canopy. Its leaves shimmered in hues of soft gold and deep green, casting a circle of cool shade beneath it. This was where she had found Kael earlier, and dread curled in her chest as they approached.
Kael lay curled beneath the tree, his head resting awkwardly on the ground, his neck twisted in a way that made him look lifeless. His fur, usually sleek and dark, appeared dull and flattened. Shallow breaths lifted his sides in uneven intervals. Celia stopped a few steps away, her resolve faltering, and pointed with her muzzle. “There he is,” she murmured. “I couldn’t get close earlier. When he rejected us in the human world… that rejection carries into this realm. His spirit pushed me away.” The admission carried frustration and sorrow, but also a bitter understanding she had been forced to accept.
Rex stepped forward, the weight of his authority pressing into the ground with each stride. “In this realm, rejection has no power over us,” he said firmly. He lifted his paw and touched Celia’s neck in a gentle, steadying gesture. “Here, we rule. Here, nothing can deny us access.” Celia released a shaky breath and followed him toward Kael.
Kael stirred at their approach. His ears twitched, and his eyes flickered open for a moment before sliding half-shut again. Recognition flickered faintly when he saw Rex. He tried to rise, his limbs trembling beneath him, but Rex stopped him with a low growl. “Stay down,” he said. “I can see you’re not well.” Kael let himself sink back into the earth, exhaling a weak, uneven breath. The sight clawed at Celia, and she lowered herself beside Rex, her tail brushing the ground anxiously.
Rex’s gaze hardened. “Tell me what happened to you.”
Kael blinked slowly, as though fighting to keep consciousness. “I… don’t know,” he whispered. His voice sounded wrong - thin, distant, and frayed at the edges. “I was feeling unwell even when my human was awake. Things would slip from my mind. Memories… moments… I would lie down when Sebastian slept and wake up feeling like hours had passed, but I couldn’t remember anything. Sometimes I felt like I had been running or fighting, but I didn’t know why.” He swallowed hard. “It kept getting worse. Then one day I closed my eyes beside him and opened them here. I don’t remember how I came to the realm. I only remember… pain. Then nothing.”
Rex lowered his head, pressing his paw gently against Kael’s chest. The moment the contact was made, a jolt of cold, unnatural energy pulsed through Rex. His eyes narrowed sharply. “Witchcraft,” he growled. “This is not natural. It’s Sara. Her magic is eating him alive.” His voice was harsh, spilling out in anger before he remembered Celia was beside him. When he turned, her eyes were wide with shock.
“Sara is a witch?” she asked, her voice trembling with confusion and dawning fear.
Rex exhaled slowly. “We’ll speak about it when we return to the human realm. For now, we need to stabilize him.” He lifted his head and howled for the wolf-realm healer, a sound that rolled across the fields like thunder. “We leave him in the healer’s care,” Rex said, backing away from Kael. “We’ll return to our humans and tell them everything.”
The meadow shimmered, fading around them as the realm released its hold.
Ethan inhaled sharply the moment Rex re-entered him, and Lisa jerked slightly as Celia settled back inside her. Liam, seated closest to Lisa, stiffened and reached out instinctively, but Lisa steadied herself before he could touch her arm. The three of them mind linked so as to speak to their wolves. Ethan spoke to Rex first. “What did you find?”
Rex answered through him without hesitation. “Sara’s spell is draining Sebastian. It is killing Kael. The wolf realm healer will examine him, but the cause is witchcraft. Old, dark magic.”
Lisa’s face creased with confusion. “A spell? Witchcraft? What do you mean Sara is a witch? Is this what you’ve been hiding from me?” Her voice rose, threaded with anger, fear, and betrayal. “Why didn’t you tell me the truth about what was happening in Silverpine?”
Ethan’s eyes softened with regret. “Lisa, you’re too close to all of this. You grew up there. You were hurt there. You just came back home and with a human accompanying you. We wanted to keep you safe while we figured everything out.”
Lisa’s anger sharpened. “Or maybe you thought I had something to do with it? Is it Isabel you don’t trust? Because she is human.” Lisa didn’t look away from Ethan.
“It’s nothing like that,” Ethan said. He glanced toward Liam, who gave a subtle nod, a silent agreement that they had reached the point where hiding things was no longer possible.
Lisa crossed her arms tightly. “Enough with your lies and your secrecy. I want the truth. Now.”
Liam leaned forward, his expression grave. “The night you shifted for the first time… a witch infiltrated Mooncrest.” Lisa’s breath stalled, eyes widening. Liam continued, his tone steady but heavy. “We captured her. But before we could question her, she took her own life. Since then, we’ve been investigating quietly. Everything led us back to Silverpine. And then we discovered Sara.”
Lisa shook her head slowly, struggling to reconcile the information. “I knew she was awful. I knew she hurt people. But a witch? I never suspected…”
Ethan asked gently, “Did you ever hear anything unusual about her past? Her family?”
Lisa swallowed. “Only that she joined the pack after her parents died. She went to live with her aunt. But no one ever told me anything, so it wouldn’t surprise me if I missed something.”
Lisa turned to Ethan. “Why aren’t you telling the council?”
Ethan’s jaw tensed. “Because I need to understand the full threat before I bring it to them. Panic will only weaken us.”
Lisa took a deep breath. “Then tell me what you need from me.”
Ethan reached across the space between them. “All we need is for you to stay calm and tell us everything you feel. Because this bond… it may start affecting you too.”
Lisa exhaled slowly, feeling the weight of it settle into her chest. With Kael fading, Sebastian hurting, and witchcraft creeping across her past, she understood with unsettling clarity that she may have changed her name but Cindy the Silverpine slave was still with her. She was now enslaved by the bond.