The night air was thick with the scent of damp earth and rotting leaves, but the lingering stench of blood and burning wood clung to Havyn's skin like a second layer of filth. He and Selene moved through the Blackthorn Wilds in silence, the only sounds their ragged breaths and the occasional rustle of unseen creatures in the undergrowth.
They had escaped the raiders—for now. But Havyn knew better than to think they were safe.
Selene's steps faltered. She had kept pace with him longer than he expected, but exhaustion was finally winning.
"We should stop," she murmured, her voice nearly lost in the dense canopy above.
Havyn turned to face her. Even in the darkness, her silver eyes shimmered. They were tired, but sharp, calculating. He wasn't sure if she feared him yet. She should.
He exhaled sharply, scanning their surroundings. The trees were ancient and twisted, their branches like skeletal fingers reaching for the stars. The deeper they went, the more the air seemed to hum with something unnatural. It was quiet—too quiet.
"We can't stop here," he said. "Not yet."
Selene frowned but said nothing.
They pressed on until they found shelter beneath the roots of a massive fallen tree, its trunk split open like the ribcage of some ancient beast. Havyn crouched, checking the ground for tracks. There were signs of movement—deer, perhaps, or smaller creatures—but no fresh prints from the raiders.
Selene collapsed onto the damp earth, curling her arms around herself.
Havyn sat opposite her, watching. "You ever killed before?"
She didn't flinch, but her fingers curled against the dirt. "No."
"Neither had I," he admitted. "Until tonight."
Selene turned her head, eyes searching his face. "You don't regret it."
Havyn met her gaze, unblinking. "Do you?"
A pause. Then, she shook her head.
The silence stretched between them. In that moment, Havyn understood her better than he did before. There was no innocence left in either of them.
Selene exhaled softly. "They'll keep hunting us."
"I know."
"Then we need to be ready."
Havyn studied her. There was something fierce beneath her quiet exterior. A fire smoldering in the ashes of whatever life she had before.
He nodded. "We will be."
The Mark of the Wild
Havyn didn't sleep.
Instead, he listened—to the distant howls, to the rustling of unseen things in the branches above. The forest breathed around him, alive in ways he didn't yet understand.
His father had always told him the Wild was more than just trees and beasts. It had a will of its own, a voice that whispered to those who knew how to listen.
Tonight, it whispered to him.
The power that had burst from him before, that had strangled the raiders in the roots of the forest, still pulsed beneath his skin. It wasn't the first time he had felt it, but it had never been so… raw. So hungry.
Havyn closed his eyes and placed his hand against the earth.
The forest breathed.
A surge of energy rippled through him, like the pulse of something ancient waking beneath his fingertips. He could feel the roots buried deep beneath the ground, the scurrying of tiny creatures in the undergrowth, the rhythm of the land itself.
It recognized him.
And he recognized it.
His father had always warned him: Nature does not give freely. It takes as much as it offers.
Hayvns fingers curled into dirt
He would take what he needed.
Selene woke with a sharp intake of
breath.
Havyn was already standing, watching
the darkness beyond their shelter. His
posture was tense, every muscle coiled
like a predator waiting to strike.
"Something's coming" he said.
Selene sat up instantly, eyes scanning
the shadows. "The raiders?"
"No." Havyn's voice was low. "Something
Worse."
Then, she heard it.
A wet, dragging sound. Slow, deliberate.
Like something crawling.
Selene's fingers twitched toward a sharp
stone near her feet, the only weapon she
had.
The sound stopped.
Then-movement.
A shape emerged from the darkness, its
form just barely visible between the
twisted trees. It was hunched, its arms
too long, fingers ending in jagged claws
that scraped against the bark. Its eyes
were nothing but empty voids, reflecting
the faint light of the moon.
Selene's breath caught in her throat.
Selene's breath caught in her throat.
The thing tilted its head, sniffing the air.
Then, it lunged.
Havyn moved first, shoving Selene aside
as the creature swiped at them. Its claws
carved deep into the earth where they
had been moments before.
Selene scrambled backward, heart
hammering.
The creature twisted toward them, mouth
stretching open unnaturally wide,
revealing rows of jagged teeth.
Havyn didn't hesitate.
He shifted.
His body rippled, muscles contorting as
his bones cracked and reshaped. In
seconds, the boy was gone, and in his
place stood a massive black wolf, fur
bristling, emerald eyes glowing in the
darkness.
Selene's breath hitched.
The creature hesitated-then shrieked
and attacked.
Havyn met it head-on.
Fangs met claws.
The wolf that was Havyn snarled,
slamming into the creature with enough
force to send it craring against a tree.
The thing screeched but Havyn was
already on it, sinking his teeth into into its throat making a splatter pattern of blood on him and on the beasts own fur.
As the beast black blood sprayed across the forest floor, Selene watched, frozen, as Havyn toreinto the creature with savage efficiency. It thrashed, but he was relentless, his jaws clamping down until the sickening
crack of bone echoed through the trees.
The thing spasmed once-then fell still.
Havyn released it, panting, his muzzle
dripping with dark ichor.
Selene didn't move.
Slowly, Havyn turned toward her.
His glowing green eyes locked onto hers.
For a brief moment, he didn't look
human.
Then, just as quickly, the shift reversed.
Bones snapped, fur receded, and Havyn
stood before her once more-breathless,
bloodstained, but unmistakably him.
Selene swallowed hard. "You're a
monster."
Havyn wiped his mouth, expression
unreadable. "So are you."
She didn't deny it.
The night was silent again, the only
evidence of the battle the mangled
corpse of the creature at their feet.
Selene finally exhaled. "That wasn't a
raider."
"No." Havyn stared down at the body, his
gaze dark. "It was something else."
Selene shuddered. "More will come."
Havyn nodded. "Then we get stronger."
Selene met his eyes. "How?"
Havyn looked down at his bloodstained
hands. The power still pulsed beneath
his skin, whispering. Calling.
He clenched his fists.
"We learn" he said. "We fight."
Selene's lips curled slightly. Not a smile,
but something close. "Then let's begin."
The wind howled through the trees.
And somewhere in the distance, the hunt
began anew.