EPISODE 2 — The Alpha Who Wanted Me Dead
The world slowed, thick like frozen air.
Alpha Ronin stood in the doorway of the stable, the moon silhouetting his tall frame. His silver blade glimmered with the metal every wolf feared—pure moon-forged silver, crafted to kill the strongest among us.
His eyes locked on me.
Not the stable boy.
Not the nobody.
Not the weak, wolfless servant.
He stared at the creature I had become.
The nightmare.
The prophecy.
The thing he believed should have died as a baby.
The Two-Souled Wolf.
His voice wasn't loud, but it thundered through the night.
"Kill him."
Seren gasped, scrambling to her feet. "Father, wait—!"
But three warriors rushed forward before she finished the sentence.
My claws dug into the ground. Shadows curled around my feet like eager snakes.
The voice inside me hummed:
"Let them try."
The first warrior swung his silver spear.
I dodged instinctively—no, not instinctively.
The darkness dodged for me.
My movements weren't wolf-like.
Not even close.
They were too fast.
Too sharp.
Too fluid.
Like something ancient was puppeteering my limbs.
The spear cut the air, missing me by inches.
Before he could pull it back, I grabbed it mid-swing.
The silver burned my palm, but the shadows surged and swallowed the pain.
Then I snapped the spear in half.
The second warrior lunged, shifting mid-air into a massive brown wolf. His jaws clamped onto my shoulder—only to jerk away with a cry as tendrils of black flame scorched his mouth.
The third tried to stab me in the back.
I spun, shadows spiraling around my arm like a living blade, and knocked him off his feet so hard he slid across the dirt floor.
But I didn't kill any of them.
I wasn't trying to.
I just wanted to survive.
"Ash, stop!" Seren shouted. "They're going to—"
But the darkness inside me wasn't listening.
It had tasted freedom, and it wanted blood.
The shadows wrapped around my chest, forming armor-like patterns. My eyes burned silver and black. I could hear every heartbeat in the stable.
Every breath.
Every fear.
Especially Ronin's.
He wasn't just afraid.
He was horrified.
His grip on his blade tightened. "Stand down, demon."
My lips curled.
Demon.
That word again.
Always that word.
I stepped forward, slow and heavy, each footfall shaking dust from the rafters.
The warriors formed a shaky line in front of their Alpha.
"You won't reach him," one growled.
The voice inside me laughed.
"Move aside—or be moved."
Shadows exploded outward.
The warriors were blasted back, not harmed, just thrown aside like leaves in a storm. Seren shielded her face from the surge.
Ronin didn't move.
He stood his ground… but I could smell his fear.
A bitter, sharp scent.
Fear of me.
Fear of becoming wrong.
Fear of secrets coming to light.
The darkness inside me whispered:
"End him. He wanted you dead since birth."
And for a moment…
I wanted to listen.
But then—
"Ash."
Seren's voice, soft and trembling, reached through the storm inside my head.
"Ash… it's me."
I turned.
In my monstrous form, I towered over her—twice her height, shadows rippling off me like a living storm. My claws dripped with midnight flame. My fangs glowed faintly.
She should've run.
She should've screamed.
She should've been terrified.
But she stepped closer.
Her small hand lifted, shaking. "You saved me."
I blinked.
The shadows around me faltered, confused.
"You saved me," she repeated, voice cracking. "You didn't have to. You could've let that rogue kill me. But you didn't."
My breathing slowed. The black flames dimmed.
For the first time, the monster inside me hesitated.
Seren reached out again—
but before she touched my arm, her father grabbed her wrist.
"Don't," he snapped. "He is cursed."
She pulled away. "He protected me!"
"He's a prophecy born to destroy us!"
"He's still Ash!"
Their voices echoed through the stable, bouncing off walls thick with dust and memory.
I stepped back.
For the first time since the shadows awakened, I felt something other than rage.
I felt… lost.
My body trembled. The markings across my chest flickered. The shadow-armor melted away. My claws shrank, my bones cracked painfully, my form collapsing inward.
I fell to my knees—
a boy again.
Breathing hard.
Sweating.
Barely conscious.
Seren rushed to me immediately.
Ronin stepped in front of her again.
"Do not touch him."
"Father—"
"I said stand back!"
She froze, tears gathering in her eyes.
Ronin lifted the silver blade, pointing it directly at my throat.
The warriors, limping and beaten, gathered behind him.
"He cannot live," Ronin said. "Not with that creature inside him."
Creature.
The word sliced into me deeper than any blade.
My voice cracked. "Why? Why do you want me dead?"
Ronin stiffened.
Seren's breath caught. "What?"
The Alpha glared at me, jaw tightening.
"You were never meant to exist."
He raised the blade higher.
You'd think I'd be terrified.
I should have been.
But all I felt was… emptiness.
Like a truth I had always known but never understood was finally settling into place.
Seren shoved herself between us so fast Ronin didn't expect it.
"NO!"
Ronin growled, "Seren, move!"
She spread her arms wide, shielding me. "You will not kill him!"
"Seren—"
"You want to kill the boy who works in your stables? Who brought hay to the horses? Whose biggest crime before tonight was accidentally breaking a bucket?" Her voice cracked. "This is Ash. Not a monster."
Ronin's eyes softened for half a second—
then hardened again.
"The Elders warned us. If the Two-Souled Wolf ever reached adulthood, he would bring ruin to all packs."
Seren shook her head. "That's superstition. Old prophecy. Nothing more."
"Tell that to the dead rogue at his feet."
Silence fell.
My breathing was shallow, barely a whisper.
The shadows slithered under my skin, restless but contained.
Seren turned her head slightly to look at me. "Ash… did you want to hurt anyone?"
My voice came out broken. "No."
"Did you attack first?"
"No."
"Did you choose any of this?"
"No."
She faced her father again. "Then why blame him for something he can't control?"
Ronin didn't answer.
Because there was no answer.
Just fear.
Ancient, bone-deep fear.
Finally, Ronin lowered the blade—slightly.
Then he issued his command:
"Ash will not be killed."
Relief washed through me—
"Yet."
My heart stopped.
Seren inhaled sharply. "Father—"
"He will be taken to the Elder Lock." Ronin's voice was like ice. "He will be examined. Contained. Controlled."
Contained.
Like I wasn't a person.
Just a weapon.
Or a curse.
Two warriors stepped forward to seize me.
Instinct flared. Shadows rose around me.
"Fight." the inner voice ordered.
"Break them all."
But Seren knelt beside me and grabbed my hand.
"Ash, please," she whispered. "Don't run. Don't fight. If you do, they'll kill you."
Her hand was warm.
Steady.
Human.
It was the only thing pulling me back from the edge.
My breathing slowed. The shadows sank deeper into my skin.
I nodded weakly.
Seren squeezed my fingers before releasing me, her eyes shining with something that looked dangerously like guilt.
The warriors bound my wrists with silver-thread rope. It burned, but I gritted my teeth. I could've snapped it easily if I let the monster out.
But Seren had asked me not to.
And for some reason…
I listened.
As they dragged me to my feet, Ronin stepped close, speaking low and dark.
"You should've died the day you were born."
My heart squeezed painfully.
"But I will not kill a child who saved my daughter."
His eyes narrowed, sharp as blades.
"However… if the creature inside you rises again, I will end you myself."
I swallowed.
Seren watched, shaking.
Then Ronin turned away, cloak swaying as he left the stable.
The warriors pushed me toward the pack dungeons.
Seren called after us, desperate:
"Ash!"
I turned my head slightly.
Her eyes locked on mine.
"I'll protect you," she whispered.
"I promise."
I didn't know how she could.
I didn't know why she would.
But those words settled inside my chest like a fragile spark in endless darkness.
And the monster inside me…
grew quiet.
For the first time.