She turned her head around, but there was nothing, the way the trees were contorting strange shapes, the darkness getting thicker. Red eyes flowed between the branches. Her legs were heavy, sinking into the earth, and her eyes were closer.
She gasped awake, her chest rising and dropping. She sat up, clutching her blanket, and sweat clung to her skin. Outside, the faint rustling of leaves was the only sound in the room. She blinked at the familiar walls of her den, stone rough to the touch, and tried to slow her breathing.
But something wasn't right. The air felt... off.
She stepped out, legs akimbo, into the night. The forest around the Moonfang territory was still but unnaturally so. There's no rustling leaves, no calling from distant wolves-thick, suffocating silence.
She heard hushed voices on the breeze as she walked to the center of the camp.
"They flickered again."
"Maybe it's the Whisperwind." Or worse, the Ironhowl?"
Calla quickened her pace.
Her Alpha, Cedric, stood wide at the gathering circle, his back straight, his eyes sharp as he scanned the wolves standing around him. Jagged shadows were flickering across his face in the flickering torchlight, making him look older, harder.
He spoke low but firm, his voice, "The wards didn't just flicker." "They weakened. For the first time in years."
The crowd flared with unease. Ears twitched in nervous wolves, who exchanged glances.
Her chest tightened, and Calla hung back. They were already thinking about what she knew.
Someone from the crowd shouted, "They shouldn't have failed!"
Cedric snapped, "And yet they did." The group silenced but remained thick with unease as fog. "We'll figure this out. Until then, stay vigilant. "We can't afford to be careless," he said.
Her voice was barely above a whisper, and she stepped forward. "Do we know what caused it?"
All eyes turned to her. She wanted to shrink back from the weight of their staring, but she stayed put.
Cedric said no, his eyes meeting hers. "Not yet."
A voice muttered, "Maybe it's because of her."
Calla froze. She didn't need to see who said it to know what they were saying. Her mother. Her mother was always the whisper that came back.
"Enough!" His voice sharp, Cedric barked. We don't have time for baseless accusations. Focus on the real problem."
But the damage was done. The tension and the doubts were simmering below; she could feel it. Her stomach churned, and she stepped back.
"Calla," Cedric said, quieter. "Stay close. If this escalates, we'll need everyone."
She nodded but didn't reply. She slipped back into the shadows and away from the group that held her.
The whispers didn't stop.
---
Uncertainty surrounded the camp air during the meeting's breakdown. Wolves went back to their dens, muttering as if something might leap from the trees at any minute.
She stayed on the outskirts, Calla against a tree, trying to shock the feeling under her skin. It was too real, too close to the truth of what was happening.
"Calla."
She turned to see Kieran a few feet away. His face was unreadable, his arms crossed.
She asked, her voice sharper than she meant it to be, "What do you want?"
He stepped closer. "I'm not here to accuse you." "But you felt it, didn't you? Something's wrong."
She hesitated, then nodded. It's not just the wards. The air feels... off. It's like something's watching us."
Kieran's jaw tightened. "Do you think it's related to Theron?"
"I don't know."
He said, his voice lowering, "Calla." "If you know anything-"
She snapped, cutting him off. "I don't!" If I did, no one would listen to me. They never do."
They just stared at each other for a moment. Kieran sighed then and ran a hand through his hair.
"I said... be careful,' he told me as he turned and walked away."
Her chest tight, she watched him go. But she didn't want to admit it; he was right. Something was wrong. It was only getting worse.
---
The moon started climbing; the camp deepened into an uneasy silence. Calla paced the edge of the territory, staying awake. The trees were closer, the shadows darker than usual. Regardless, the rustle of leaves hardened her heart.
And it came then, a howl, sudden and sharp and as quick and deadly as a blade.
Her blood went cold, and she froze. It wasn't just any howl. It was a call of alarm.
Wolves poured out of their dens, their eyes wide with fear as they looked toward the source of the sound.
'It's Theron's territory,' someone whispered.
Calla didn't wait to hear more. She took off running, her feet pounding against the forest floor. Their howls filled the air, and the others followed.
She stopped short when she got to the edge of Theron's territory. Deep claw marks tore up the earth on the planet. Their branches hung like broken limbs that had blackened and twisted the trees.
And Theron was gone.
The stench filled the air so thick you could smell it burning your nose. Her heart started hammering in her chest, and her body unwillingly compiled as it took just one step closer.
Someone whispered behind her, "What... what did this?"
No one answered.
His face is grim, and Cedric steps forward. "Spread out. Search the area. Find him."
Her eyes were still stuck on the claw marks, and Calla stayed frozen. She'd seen nothing like them before. Too big, too jagged.
Something wasn't right.
Calla turned to Kieran, who was a few feet away, his eyes moving through the scene.
She said, whispering, "Kieran." "What if..."
His expression was dark, and he looked at her.
She said, "What if it's not from here?" "What if it's not something else?"
Kieran didn't respond, but the look in his eyes said he was thinking the same thing.
A low growl rumbled out from the shadows before she could say anything else.
Calla's heart stopped.
She whispered her voice shakily: "Kieran."
His body tense, he stepped closer. "Stay behind me."
The growl was louder, closer. The shadows shifted, and I thought Calla saw something - glowing red eyes, just like in her dream.
It was gone, swallowed by the darkness.
"Everyone, back to the camp!" Cedric's voice was sharp and commanding. "Now!"
The wolves didn't think twice; they retreated quickly. Calla couldn't move, her eyes still staring at the spot where the eyes had been.
Kieran said, urgent, 'Calla.'
She tore her gaze away and followed him, her heart pounding in her ears.
As they ran back to the camp, one thought echoed in her mind:
What did this mean? Was it coming for them next?
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