The wind howled between the cliffs as Kael reached the edge of the valley.
He should have stopped.
Everything about him, or rather everything he had learned from others, told him that getting closer was a bad idea.
The pack was still panicking behind him.
Confused howls rose from the Moonfang territories. Not war cries. Not hunting calls.
Fear.
Pure.
Irrational.
Instincts were stirring.
He could see it in their disorderly movements, in the way some wolves ran aimlessly, unable to calm down.
As if their own nature had turned against them.
Kael, however, still felt nothing.
Only this new sensation.
A slight tugging in his chest.
A silent call.
He quickened his pace.
The smell came first.
Strange.
Not animalistic.
Not wild.
Something warm... and strangely sweet, almost unreal in this world dominated by predation.
Then he saw the crater.
The earth had exploded outward, blackened rocks scattered over several dozen paces. The air still vibrated, charged with an invisible energy that made the leaves shiver.
Kael slowed down.
His non-existent instincts did not cry out in danger.
But his mind remained cautious.
In the center of the crater lay a figure.
Motionless.
Human.
Her pale hair spread out like light fallen from the sky, mingled with the dark dust. Her clothes were torn from the fall, unfamiliar, made of a fabric Kael had never seen before.
She was breathing.
Weakly.
He descended slowly.
Each step seemed to cause a strange reaction in the air, as if the world were holding its breath.
Then
An invisible wave spread out.
Kael stopped dead in his tracks.
In the distance, a wolf howled in pain.
Another growled, panicked.
Several presences approached... then immediately retreated, unable to move forward.
As if something were pushing them back.
The young woman stirred.
A trembling breath escaped her lips.
Her fingers clenched against the earth.
And suddenly
The pressure exploded.
Not domination.
Not instinct.
Something different.
A silent chaos.
Kael felt his heart race.
For the first time.
No fear.
No submission.
But a resonance.
A deep, almost familiar vibration.
The young woman opened her eyes.
They were an unreal silver.
And when they met Kael's,
The world faltered.
A sharp pain shot through his chest.
He took a step back, surprised.
Something stirred within him.
Not an instinct.
Not an identifiable emotion.
An echo.
As if an empty space, present since the beginning of time, had suddenly been touched.
Around them, the forest reacted violently.
Birds crashed to the ground before taking flight again in panic.
In the distance, several wolves howled, their voices broken by confusion.
The young woman gasped.
"...where..."
Her voice broke.
She tried to sit up, but her body immediately gave way.
Kael instinctively moved closer, or at least as close to instinct as he could be.
She stared at him.
Her pupils trembled slightly, as if she saw something she didn't understand.
Then her expression changed.
Confusion.
Then... relief.
Her hand weakly grasped his.
The moment they touched
The world fell silent.
Completely.
Kael felt warmth spread through his arm and up to his heart.
His breath caught.
Images.
Sensations.
Emotions that were not his own.
Hard ground.
An endless fall.
Fear.
Loneliness.
Then
An immense emptiness.
Exactly like his own.
The young woman gasped.
Her eyes widened.
"...you..."
A barely audible whisper.
Then her body relaxed.
She lost consciousness.
The pressure disappeared immediately.
The world caught its breath.
In the distance, the howling gradually ceased.
The forest remained silent.
Kael stood motionless, his hand still trapped in hers.
His heart was still beating too fast.
Something had changed.
He was sure of it.
Not around him.
Inside him.
Branches cracked at the top of the valley.
Presences were approaching.
Many of them.
The pack.
And this time, their instincts were agitated... terrified.
Kael looked up at the unconscious figure.
He didn't know who she was.
Or what she had done to the world.
But a strange certainty came over him.
If he left her here,
they would kill her.
Without thinking, he lifted her up.
She was light.
Too fragile for this world.
As he turned to flee, a thought crossed his mind.
Simple.
Impossible.
And dangerous.
For the first time...
He no longer felt empty.