[The Silent Hunt]
The wounded pack did not dare to come back. They gave their all to win, but they did not expect to meet such a mysterious entity. Now, their number was no more than a dozen due to casualties caused by his strange power.
They knew there was another of their kind nearby; an old enemy. Their scout smelled them even from afar. The Alpha decided to find a safe place to recuperate and defend in case of attack.
Not far from them, the said pack of wolves had seen the grave fight, the silver power surging in the land, and the human who caused it. So, they did not dare approach the place. After which, they immediately left.
They were fewer in number, no more than a dozen, but each moved with the quiet power of seasoned killers. Their hides were darker, thicker, scarred with old battles. They were a silent and disciplined pack. The clumsy struggle of lesser wolves was beneath them. They were not driven by simple hunger, but by a deeper, more primal desire.
When the strange, cold silver light erupted from the ground and sent the other pack screaming into the night, the Alpha felt a jolt of recognition and fear. It was a power it understood, a power it both craved and respected. It commanded its pack to scatter, not out of fear of the light, but out of cunning.
The humans were no longer the prize. That sweet, sweet scent was.
They followed the trail, a single-minded current flowing through the storm-choked ridge, toward the gorge where the cave was. The smell was stronger there, a potent cocktail of that ethereal sweetness and the stale air of a burrowed earth.
They spread their search through the gorge, snouts low, following a trail written in blood and fear. They did not rush. They followed the scent's trail as it led them deeper into the darkness.
The air grew colder, and the earthy smell of the cave mingled with the cloying sweetness. Their eyes gleamed like pale fire in the darkness, a dozen points of light moving through the cavern.
At the cave mouth, the lead wolf stopped. A single huff, and the others drew close, circling like shadows around the stone. Then came the Alpha; it was larger than the rest, its shoulders ridged like stone, its coat a storm-gray streaked with black.
It padded forward with unhurried confidence, nostrils flaring.
The scent was strong here. Old blood. Fresh death. Inside the cave, the stench thickened. The pack pressed into the shadows, paws soundless on the wet stone.
And there it was.
The cadaver of the glass-back lay in the cave's inner chamber, a grotesque, beautiful thing in the faint light filtering from the outside. Its iridescent scales were dulled by death, but the scent that radiated from it was stronger, a concentrated echo of the "silver" that had changed them all.
The alpha approached, a low rumble of satisfaction in its chest. This was what they had sought, this was the source of the sweet scent.
But the Alpha was not in a hurry to feed.
It lingered near the corpse, head lifting, nostrils quivering, separating one scent from another. Slowly, it turned its gaze deeper into the cave's black throat.
It could feel them; a faint, trembling scent in the stagnant air. A human scent, but small. Scared. The smell led to a narrow, black hole in the rock face, a natural dug-out in the inner cave.
The alpha's gaze lingered on the darkness, its milky white eyes seeing far more than a simple hole.
* * *
[A Fragile Fortress]
Eris and Kaylah, with the wounded hunters who had been left, were forgotten in the hunters' frantic flight. They waited from their hiding place, a naturally formed dug-out hole deep inside the cave. When Barik's horn echoed in the gorge, they frantically looked for a hiding place inside the cave.
They found a naturally formed dug-out hole at the far end and had reinforced it with anything that they could find. But how could they see anything in the dark? Without wood and dried grass, they could not form even a small fire with their flint. All they could do was feel around for anything that they could use for cover. Right now, what they had was formed from loose stones and mud; a tiny, fragile fortress.
Eris readied his bow. Kaylah tightened her fingers around a short knife that she normally used for scavenging. She had a bow, but without even an arrow, it was totally useless. Renzo and Tonovan were in a deep, healing sleep, their bodies relaxed and still. Fortunately, their wounds were no longer bleeding. The cold seeped into their bones, but they dared not shiver. They could not move.
The cave was silent save for the drumming of the rain at its mouth. But then, the drumming changed. It was a low, rhythmic patter, the sound of footsteps. Heavy.
Patient.
Eris and Kaylah huddled deep within the cave, the darkness so thick it felt suffocating. Occasional flashes of lightning illuminated the entrance, casting eerie shadows on the walls. In the darkness, they sensed movement; subtle shifts in the air, faint rustling sounds, and yet the source remained a mystery.
The lightning's reflections danced on the cave walls, taunting them with glimpses of their surroundings. In that dug-out, Eris and Kaylah froze. They finally recognized the noise. It was a pack of wolves, feasting on the cadaver of the glass-back.
The wolves were so close they could hear the soft pad of their paws, the low, guttural rumbles in their chests.
Pressed against the stone, hidden in the folds of a naturally hollowed recess, Eris and Kaylah crouched. Breath shallow, hearts hammering, they dared not move. The dark cloaked them, but no darkness could smother their scent.
They remained frozen in their hiding spot, their hearts pounding a frantic rhythm against the rock. They heard the wolves feast, the sound of tearing flesh and the low rumbles of satisfaction.
The Alpha stood apart. Massive, storm-gray, with a mane of fur streaked in silver strands. It did not eat. Its eyes were fixed on the shadows on the deep end of the cave.
The Alpha knew.
* * *
[The Whisper]
The cave stank of blood. Wet stone glistened with streaks of crimson as the wolves tore into the carcass. The sound was merciless; their jaws cracking bone, flesh ripped and gulped in steaming chunks.
The Alpha prowled near the carcass, massive shoulders rolling with hunger. Silver threads pulsed faintly beneath its hide, its eyes burning with feral light. It lifted its muzzle from the cadaver, nostrils flaring. Its head sometimes swung toward their hiding place. A growl bubbled in its throat.
Eris and Kaylah froze in the back recess. Their dug-out hid them in shadow, but they knew the darkness could not truly hide them. The Alpha could clearly smell their scent and their fear.
Then, Eris heard a voice; not in his ears, but in his mind. A silent growl, a pulse, a presence. It's not threatening, but rather soothing.
"You are like me."
Eris stiffened. The voice was rough, ancient, laced with something like pain. He turned his head slightly, searching the shadows.
"We both carry the silver vein."
Kaylah's fingers tightened around Eris's. "Eris," she whispered urgently, "what's happening?" The whisper was barely audible to her, a hazy murmur that seemed to come from afar. Yet, she sensed a wolf's presence, trying to convey a message to them.
Eris didn't answer. The voice slithered through his thoughts, urgent, desperate.
"The Alpha will command to attack after the feast. It couldn't be reasoned with. Not now. Its bloodlust is too strong. But you…, you can try to stop it. Together, we can forcefully stop it."
Eris stiffened. His eyes searched the feeding pack, and then he saw it. A lone wolf, standing apart from the pack, its silver-tipped fur shimmering faintly in the dim light. Its gaze locked onto his, unblinking.
The voice did not belong to the Alpha, but to the Beta. It was smaller than the former, but marked by the silver threading. It was illuminating more brightly through its veins, almost glowing. Its eyes, not savage but keen, met his across the darkness.
"It smelled you. It knows you're here. He would tear through hard stone to reach you. But I can stay his hunger… for a time."
The Alpha snarled, lunging at the carcass, tearing free a rib, its growl echoing deeper into the cave. The pack flinched back, but the Beta only lowered its head, eyes burning brighter. A shudder rippled through the Alpha, its body jerking as though invisible chains tightened. The growl guttered low, but did not vanish.
The Beta's voice pressed harder into Eris's mind.
"We are the same, you and I. Silver runs your veins. I feel it. Stronger in you than even in me. That is why I speak to you. If you do not learn to wield it, your kin will die before dawn."
Eris's breath hitched. "I… I don't know how."
The Beta's muzzle curled, not in snarl but in grim patience.
"The silver granted gifts. I heal where others bleed out. I draw strength from the veins in the earth. And…" a growl cut the thought as the Alpha wrenched free of its control for a heartbeat, snapping at one of its own wolves before turning back to the feast.
"…I command beasts. I chain their rage with thought. But... " the Beta's eyes flicked to the Alpha, "...he is too strong for me alone. You must join your mind with mine."
Eris's pulse thundered in his ears. His hands shook. He wanted to run, to bury his head, to pray the storm outside would wash all of this away. Kaylah's hand clutched his, firm and steady despite the tremor in her frame.
The Beta's voice darkened.
"Focus. The silver in your blood hums. Like a storm waiting to break. You can push it out, like a thread, a command. The Alpha is strong, but it is not invincible."
"Focus your will. Picture the Alpha's mind as a door. Push against it. Send the message not in words, but in weight. The thought you choose must be simple and relentless. Command it to feed, leave, and forget."
Eris closed his eyes. The storm of panic inside him clashed against the strange hum in his blood. The silver vein; it pulsed in him like a second heartbeat, erratic and burning. His thoughts scattered, wild.
Kaylah barely understood what it meant. Still, she connected the dots and learned the wolf's intention. It wanted to save them. But without Eris' help, it could do nothing more.
She pressed her palm against Eris's back, her touch warm, grounding. "I can help you," she murmured. "Just like before."
Kaylah leaned close, her lips at his ear, her voice low, soft, unwavering. "Eris… listen to me. Don't fight it. Let it flow. You don't have to crush it, but guide it. I'm here. I won't let you lose yourself."
Kaylah's voice was a balm, a counterpoint to the Beta's urgency. "You're not alone," she breathed. "I'm here."
Her words soothed like cool water across fire. His frantic breaths slowed. His mind steadied.
* * *
[The Alpha's Resistance]
Eris exhaled, slow and steady. He imagined the silver in his blood as a thread, unspooling from his chest, weaving through the dark, wrapping around the Alpha's mind.
It thought of the words, simple and firm: "Push," the Beta urged. "Tell it to leave. Tell it to forget."
Together, Eris and the Beta repeated the words like a command, then pressed their combined thoughts towards the Alpha.
"Go!"
At first, nothing—only the Alpha's savagery, a roaring wall of hunger and fury. The beast's head swung toward their hiding place, lips peeled back, teeth dripping gore. Kaylah tightened her grip on his arm. Eris felt his head would burst if he could not control it.
Eris pushed harder, clumsy, desperate. The Beta steadied his effort, guiding his surge like a dam directing a flood. A single thought, hammered again and again.
Eris closed his eyes. He could feel it; the silver in his veins, restless, alive. It pulsed in time with his heartbeat, a rhythm older than the cave itself. He reached for it, like grasping a wild current, and tried to shape it into a deep and sharp command.
"Leave. Leave. Leave. Forget us!"
The Alpha froze mid-step. Its ears twitched. Its muzzle wrinkled as if snarling against invisible pressure. For a moment, Eris felt the beast's rage flood into him, raw and choking—he almost screamed.
Kaylah's hand on his cheek held him tethered, her voice breaking through. "Stay with me. Breathe, Eris. Breathe." Kaylah slowly soothed Eris' mind.
Eris gasped, shuddering, and focused once more.
"Push," the Beta repeated. "Tell it to leave. Tell it to forget."
"Leave. Leave. Leave. Forget us!" Eris repeated the words through his mind.
The Alpha's head snapped up, its lips curling back from its teeth. A snarl tore from its throat, deep and guttural. The pack stilled, their ears pricked, sensing the shift in their leader's mood.
For a heartbeat, nothing happened. Then, the Alpha's muscles tensed, its body coiling as if to spring.
Eris gritted his teeth. The silver in his blood burned, a wildfire in his veins. He pushed harder, the command a roar in his mind.
"LEAVE!"
The Beta's voice joined his, a chorus of wills, a storm of silver and shadow.
Then, with a forceful voice using the power of his mind, Eris shouted, "GO! FORGET US IN THE CAVE!"
The command tore through its mind. The Alpha's growl faltered. Its eyes, once burning with hunger, flickered—confused, conflicted.
The pack whined, shifting uneasily. The Beta stepped forward, its presence a physical force, pressing down on the Alpha's savage instincts.
Kaylah's hands were on Eris's shoulders now, her own power flowing into him, smoothing the edges of his panic, steadying his focus.
Then, with a final, shuddering breath, the Alpha turned. It let out a low, rumbling growl; not a challenge, but a command. The pack hesitated, then followed, their forms melting back into the darkness. Their footsteps faded into the labyrinth inside the cave.
The Alpha's growl broke into a whine. It shook its head, claws raking stone. Its golden eyes flicked toward the cave mouth, then back to the cadaver. With a roar of frustration, it turned away.
One by one, the pack followed. Reluctant, slavering, but obedient. The Alpha led them out into the storm, dragging a haunch of the carcass.
The Beta followed last, did the same. After tearing a piece of meat, it paused for a moment at the cave mouth.
Silence.
* * *
[The Aftermath]
The Beta's eyes met Eris's again.
"You have power, but no control. That will be your death… or your ascension."
The Beta continued, its silver eyes gleaming. "You are safe … for now," it said. "But the Alpha will remember. And next time, it will be harder to stop."
Eris met its gaze, understanding passing between them. It's a pact, unspoken but binding.
"Then, we'll be ready."
The Beta dipped its head, then turned, vanishing into the dark.
The cave fell silent but for the drip of water and Eris's ragged breaths. His body trembled with exhaustion, but Kaylah's hands steadied him, her forehead pressed to his temple.
"You did it," she whispered.
"No…" His voice was hoarse. "We did."
Kaylah helped Eris to his feet, her voice soft but firm. "We need to move. Before the Alpha changed its mind."
Eris nodded, glancing back at the wounded hunters. "We couldn't leave the cave yet. We have to find a safer place."
As they moved deeper into the cave, the silver in Eris' veins hummed; a reminder, a warning, a promise.
They were not just survivors.
They were something more.
***