The wind howled like a living thing.
Kael pulled his torn cloak tighter around his body, though it did little to keep out the cold. Snow crunched beneath his feet as he walked, each step heavy, uneven. He didn't know how long he had been walking anymore. Hours… maybe days.
It didn't matter.
There was nothing left behind him.
He stopped for a moment, his breath forming pale clouds in the frozen air. Slowly, he turned his head.
Far in the distance, beyond the hills and the black outline of dead trees, a faint orange glow still touched the sky.
The village.
His home.
Or at least… it used to be.
Kael clenched his jaw and looked away.
"Monster…"
The word echoed in his mind, sharp and cruel. He had heard it again and again—whispers at first, then shouts, then screams.
He never asked for this.
His hand trembled slightly as he raised it, pulling back the ragged cloth wrapped around his forearm. Beneath it, faint but unmistakable, a dark mark stretched across his skin.
It looked like a wolf's head.
Even now, it pulsed softly, as if it were alive.
Kael stared at it, his expression hardening.
"This… isn't a curse," he muttered under his breath, though the words felt uncertain, like they didn't fully belong to him.
But if it wasn't a curse… then why had they looked at him like that?
Why had his own people turned on him?
Why had his father…
Kael shut his eyes tightly, cutting the thought off before it could fully form.
No.
He wouldn't think about that.
Not now.
Not ever.
A sudden sound broke the silence.
A low growl.
Kael's eyes snapped open.
He wasn't alone.
Slowly, carefully, he turned toward the dark line of trees ahead. The forest stood like a wall, ancient and silent, its branches twisting like skeletal hands.
Another growl came—closer this time.
Then movement.
A pair of glowing eyes appeared between the trees.
Then another.
And another.
Wolves.
Kael's body tensed, instinct taking over. He stepped back slightly, his heart pounding in his chest. He had no weapon. No shelter. No chance.
"Great…" he whispered, his voice dry.
"So this is how it ends."
The wolves stepped out of the shadows, their forms lean and powerful, breath steaming in the cold air. They circled him slowly, silent, watching.
Waiting.
Kael's fists tightened.
If he was going to die… he wouldn't go down begging.
He took a step forward instead of back.
"Come on then," he said, his voice low but steady. "Do it."
For a moment, nothing happened.
The wolves froze.
Their eyes locked onto him—not with hunger… but something else.
Something strange.
Then, from deeper within the forest, a long, echoing howl rose into the night.
It wasn't threatening.
It was… calling.
Kael felt something shift inside him.
A sudden heat spread through his arm—the mark.
He gasped, dropping to one knee as pain surged through his body. The wolf sigil burned, brighter now, its lines glowing beneath his skin.
The wolves didn't attack.
They stepped back.
Lowered their heads.
Kael's breath came in sharp bursts as he stared at his arm, fear and confusion mixing in his chest.
"What… is this…?"
The howl came again.
Closer.
Calling him.
Kael slowly lifted his head, his eyes drawn toward the forest.
Toward the darkness.
Toward the unknown path ahead.
For a long moment, he hesitated.
Behind him was fear, betrayal, and the ashes of a life that no longer existed.
Ahead… was something else.
Something dangerous.
Something wild.
Something that felt… like it was waiting for him.
Kael pushed himself to his feet.
The pain faded, but the mark still glowed faintly, as if guiding him.
The wolves turned and began to walk back into the forest.
Not hunting.
Leading.
Kael took a slow breath.
Then, without looking back…
He followed.