Cursed Destiny

Prologue: The End and the Beginning

Prologue: The Final Betrayal

The night was heavy with anticipation as the full moon bathed the Silver Oak Pack in a ghostly glow. Ayla stood among her packmates, her heart racing with excitement for the ceremony that celebrated their unity and strength. Laughter echoed through the trees, but an uneasy feeling settled in her gut, a whisper of foreboding that she couldn't shake.

"Are you ready, Ayla?" Lorian, her father's trusted Beta, approached her, a smile that seemed too wide stretching across his face. He had always been her protector, her confidant, but tonight, something felt off.

"I am," she replied, forcing a smile. But as she scanned the faces of her pack, her gaze lingered on Lorian. His eyes glinted in the moonlight, and a sense of dread prickled at the back of her mind.

As the ceremony commenced, the pack began to howl, their voices rising in harmony. But in the midst of their celebration, a chilling growl shattered the air. The laughter died, replaced by a suffocating silence. Ayla's heart raced as she turned to Lorian, searching for reassurance.

Suddenly, with lightning speed, Lorian transformed, a monstrous wolf emerging in place of the man she had trusted. "For the future of the pack!" he roared, lunging at her with a ferocity she had never imagined.

Ayla's breath caught in her throat. "Lorian, no!" But her words fell on deaf ears as he lunged for her, teeth bared. The pain was immediate and searing around the edges of her vision. The sounds of the pack faded, replaced by a suffocating silence that echoed her despair. She could feel the warmth of her blood seeping into the earth, each heartbeat a countdown to her end.

"Why, Lorian?" she gasped, trying to comprehend the depth of his betrayal. "You were my brother... my friend."

He loomed over her, eyes cold and calculating. "Friend? You were always a threat, Ayla. A weakness in the path to power. The pack needs strength, not sentiment." His voice dripped with disdain, each word like a knife twisting in her heart.

As darkness closed in, memories flooded her mind: the laughter shared under the stars, the bond forged through years of trust. Now, they felt like ghostly remnants of a life she would never have the chance to reclaim. She had fought for this pack, for her family, only to be ripped apart by someone she had trusted most.

Ayla's breath quickened as panic surged within her. "You'll pay for this, Lorian. You'll never get away with it!"

He leaned closer, a cruel smile spreading across his snout. "You think they'll believe you? You'll be just another ghost in the stories they tell, a cautionary tale of betrayal. The future is mine now."

With her last ounce of strength, Ayla locked eyes with him, fury igniting a spark within her. "This is not the end," she whispered, defiance lacing her fading words. "I will return. I will change this."

The world around her dimmed, shadows creeping in to swallow the last light. But as her consciousness faded, an unexpected warmth enveloped her—a flicker of hope amidst the despair. She felt herself being pulled, not into oblivion, but into a strange light, a promise of rebirth.

And as darkness took her, the final thought echoing in her mind was a vow: she would not be defeated. She would rise again, and this time, she would be ready.

In that moment of death, a new destiny began to unfurl, echoing through the ages, waiting for its chance to be rewritten.