The Scent of Ash

The forest was too quiet. Lira crouched low in the underbrush with her fingers brushing the cool earth, and every muscle tense. The air was laced with the tang of pine and smoke faint, but wrong. Her wolf stirred beneath her skin, a restless itch along her spine, a warning too primal to ignore. Something unnatural had passed through here.

She rose silently, sweeping her pale braid over her shoulder and scanning the shadows between the towering trunks. Moonlight slipped through the canopy in cold slivers, not enough to chase off the creeping sense of dread. Even the wind seemed to hold its breath.

This was supposed to be a simple perimeter check. Her last solo run before her trial into adulthood, a tradition among her clan. But instinct whispered otherwise, She wasn't alone.

"Shift," she murmured.

The word wasn't magic, but a key. Bones cracked and skin melted as her body contorted. The pain had dulled with time, no longer a scream but a familiar flame. When the transformation was completed, a silver wolf stood in her place, and lean with a strong eyes sharp as flint.

She sniffed the ground, catching the scent again, burned sage, blood, and something darker. A shiver rippled through her fur, This wasn't a rogue animal. This was a ritual an old magic.

She followed the trail, weaving between trees, silent as moonlight. The scent grew stronger with each stride, guiding her into a narrow ravine tangled in thorns and moss. There, in a hollow beneath a fallen cedar, she found it.

A body,

She shifted back before she could process the details, skin steaming from the cold and the corpse belonged to a young man, no older than twenty. His chest was torn open, and his ribs spread like a broken cage. Charred symbols ringed the clearing, and etched into the dirt practiced lines.

Her stomach turned, but she recognized the markings.

"Blood sigils," she whispered. "The War magic."

Only one clan practiced it now, The Hollowborn.

Lira stepped back instinctively, her breath clouding in the air. The Hollowborn were outlaws exiled decades ago for their grotesque rituals and obsession with the old ways. No one had seen them in years.

And yet here they were, defiling the borderlands.

A branch snapped behind her.

She turned sharply, and her claws half-shifted, her heart was pounding. Nothing moved, But she could smell it now a fresh blood, her adrenaline was something fast.

A blur rushed her from the right.

She rolled, narrowly avoiding teeth aimed at her throat. Another wolf, larger and darker, collided with a tree and recovered instantly. Its eyes glowed orange with a feral intelligence, a fur matted with soot.

Lira didn't wait, She sprinted through the trees, ducking low, zigzagging to avoid its pursuit. The Hollowborn wolf was faster, but she was smarter. She leapt over a fallen log, then turned sharply, launching herself onto a ridge. When the wolf followed, she struck, ambushing it mid-leap and sending them, both tumbling into a shallow ravine.

They hit the earth hard. She clawed at its face, and scored a line above its eye. It yelped but kicked her off with brutal strength. Before it could strike again, a thunderous howl split the sky.

A second later, another wolf slammed into the Hollowborn attacker, a massive grey blur of fur and fury.

Kade.

The dark wolf turned to flee, recognizing the threat too late. Kade tackled it, biting deep into its shoulder and the Hollowborn thrashed, snapping wildly, but it was no match. With one final snap of Kade's jaws, it lay still.

Lira pushed herself to her feet, panting, and blood streaking her side. Kade shifted back first, steam rising from his skin as his body reformed, a tall, broad-shouldered, with scars trailing down his back like lightning bolts. His silver-streaked hair was damp with sweat, and his eyes locked onto her immediately.

"You're hurt," he said,

"I'm fine," she lied.

He didn't buy it, but he didn't push. Not here,

Instead, he turned to the Hollowborn corpse, his jaw tightening. "You found this alone?"

"I was following a scent, and It led me here. I didn't know they were back."

"No one did,"

Lira wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly aware of the cold. "What was he doing here? The sigils, it's like they were marking territory."

"Or summoning something."

She looked at him sharply, "You think it's a binding rite?"

"I think it's the beginning," Kade replied grimly. "We need to get back to the enclave, Now."

They ran together through the woods, neither speaking. The wind picked up behind them, scattering ash and leaves like a warning.

The council chamber was carved into the heart of an ancient mountain, hidden behind waterfalls and illusion wards. Torches lined the stone corridor, flickering with soft blue fire. Lira and Kade entered through the archway, both still streaked with dirt and blood.

The elders waited in a semi-circle, cloaked in dark robes. At the center stood Maelen, Lira's grandmother and the clan's High Seer. Her white hair shimmered like woven frost, and her blind eyes turned toward them as they approached.

"You were attacked," Maelen said.

Lira bowed her head, "Yes, Grandmother.

A Hollowborn? Murmurs echoed through the chamber. One of the younger councilors stood, "That's impossible! They were scattered years ago."

"I saw the body," Lira said. "There was a blood rite and the sigils they weren't just symbolic, They were active."

Kade stepped forward, "The Hollowborn are testing our borders. This was a probe, not a random attack."

Maelen was silent for a moment, her fingers laced before her. Then she spoke, with her voice low and certain. "The Blood Pact is weakening."

Lira felt the words like a stone dropped into her chest.

The Blood Pact was the oldest magic in their world, a covenant forged by the five founding clans to prevent total war. Its power was absolute... or so they believed.

"If the Hollowborn are trying to unravel it," Kade said, "they must have a key."

Maelen nodded, "We must find out how, And we must prepare for war."

Lira's hands clenched, She had always trained for this, always known the peace wouldn't last. But hearing it from the High Seer made it real.

"Send scouts to the southern border," Kade continued, "And double the perimeter watch. I'll lead the western patrol myself."

"You'll take Lira," Maelen said, "She needs to see what the world is becoming."

Kade hesitated, then nodded.

Lira said nothing, She wanted to scream that she could handle it, that she didn't need a chaperone. But deep down, she knew Maelen wasn't questioning her strength. She was preparing her for something worse.

That night, Lira stood on the watchtower overlooking the valley. The sky was clear, stars sharp against the velvet dark. Below, the forest swayed with secrets.

She didn't flinch when Kade appeared beside her.

"You should rest," he said.

"I can't sleep," she replied, "Too many questions."

He leaned against the stone edge beside her, "That's how it starts. The war I mean, It always starts with questions."

She turned to him, "You've seen it before, haven't you? The way they move, The way they fight, You knew they'd come back."

He was quiet for a long time, Then softly, "I hoped they wouldn't."

"Why?"

"Because this time... they'll be after you."

Her breath caught,

"You're the last bloodline of the Seer's Circle," he continued, "Your mother died protecting that secret, And now they know you exist."

Lira stepped back, "You said she died in an ambush, That it was random."

"No ambush is random," Kade said, his voice thick with regret. "She made me swear to protect you, I've kept that vow, But I won't be able to keep you hidden anymore."

Silence stretched between them like a blade.

Then Lira said, "Then teach me how to fight them."

He looked at her, and nodded once.

The drums of war were silent for now, but the forest whispered of fire.

Lira stared out into the dark, feeling her pulse echo with something ancient and wild, The Blood Pact was cracking, and the Hollowborn had returned. And somewhere beyond the trees, fate stirred.

She didn't know what tomorrow would bring, But she knew one thing,

She would not face it alone.