Always And Forever | ENG

Chapter Seven: Echoes of the Unknown

The night was quiet as Ace and I slipped through the forest, the moonlight barely breaking through the thick canopy above us. The air felt colder now, a bite that wasn't there before, and every rustle in the underbrush made my senses prick. It wasn't just the creature we'd encountered that had me on edge. It was the feeling that something far more dangerous was lurking just beyond the edges of the forest, waiting for the right moment to strike.

We moved swiftly, staying close to the trees and shadows. Ace's footsteps were silent, but mine felt louder, as though the earth itself was betraying me with every step I took. The weight of my responsibility as Alpha weighed heavily on me now-more than ever. There was a stirring in the air, a sense that something was hunting us, and not just the pack but me.

"Keep your guard up," Ace murmured, his voice low but firm, cutting through the quiet. His eyes scanned the darkness ahead of us, sharp and vigilant. I couldn't help but wonder what had been going through his mind all this time-whether he, too, was starting to feel the weight of what was happening around us.

"I will," I replied, though I could hear the uncertainty in my own voice. My grip tightened around the dagger at my side, but it wasn't the physical threat I was afraid of-it was the unknown, the nagging feeling that the forest held secrets it wasn't ready to reveal. I glanced at Ace. He was the Beta, always the calm one, the one who had everything under control. But tonight, even he seemed like he was on edge.

The quiet stretch of the woods seemed to go on forever. The sounds of the pack's training and activity had long faded behind us, and now the forest felt almost too still. As if the creatures themselves were holding their breath, waiting. Waiting for something.

Then, from deeper in the woods, there was a sharp crack-something breaking underfoot, like the snap of a branch. I froze, my breath catching in my throat. Ace stopped beside me, his eyes narrowing.

"Did you hear that?" I whispered, my voice barely audible.

"Stay close," Ace replied, his voice tight with intent. He motioned for me to follow as he slipped through the trees, his movements as quiet as a shadow. We moved faster now, the distance closing between us and the source of the sound. Every step felt like it was carrying us deeper into a place we weren't meant to be, a place where danger was lurking just out of sight.

We came to a clearing, the trees thinning and giving way to a low valley. The moonlight illuminated the ground, casting long shadows that danced with the breeze. And there, in the middle of the clearing, stood the creature.

But this time, it wasn't the same beast we'd fought earlier. This one was smaller, more agile, with sleek, pitch-black fur that shimmered under the moon. Its eyes glowed a vivid red, and its teeth gleamed as it snarled, low and menacing.

It wasn't alone.

Behind it, a figure emerged from the shadows, a shape I couldn't quite make out at first. But as it stepped into the moonlight, my breath caught in my chest.

It was human-or it had once been.

The figure stood tall, cloaked in dark robes that billowed around their legs as they moved. Their face was obscured by a hood, but the sharp gleam of their eyes, the pale skin that seemed too perfect, too still-it was a creature from nightmares, not one that belonged to this world.

"Who are they?" I whispered, but Ace's arm shot out, pulling me back, shielding me from the clearing.

"I don't know," Ace growled, his voice low, strained with the effort to remain in control. "But that thing... It's not alone, Finley. There's someone controlling them. And I think we're about to meet them."

The figure raised a hand, and the creature obediently backed away, lowering its head. The figure spoke in a language I didn't recognize-deep, guttural, like a chant or a curse-and the sound of it made my skin crawl.

I wanted to move, wanted to get closer, but Ace held me back, his grip firm. "Not yet. We need to know what they're saying."

I nodded, heart racing, my mind working overtime to process what I was seeing. The creature-the thing that had attacked us-wasn't a random predator. It had a master. Someone who knew exactly what they were doing.

The figure raised their hand again, and this time, I could hear the whispers that filled the air. They weren't words, but a presence-a force that seemed to fill the space between us. I could feel it in my bones, the weight of something dark and ancient, something that had been waiting for the right time to rise.

And I understood, finally, what was happening.

They had been hunting us. Not just because we were wolves, but because they were searching for something-someone. Me.

The figure's lips parted in a silent smile as their gaze turned directly toward us. The air crackled with a sudden, sharp tension. The creature's red eyes flashed, and for the first time, I understood what it meant to be hunted.

"They know we're here," Ace muttered, stepping back slowly, pulling me with him. "We need to get back to the pack. Now."

The figure didn't move immediately, but the creature behind them growled, a deep, low sound that reverberated in the pit of my stomach. The figure's gaze never left us. There was a cold certainty in their eyes that made my blood run cold.

"They'll be waiting," I whispered, the realization dawning fully. "For me. For us."

Ace nodded, his face grim. "And they'll keep coming until they get what they want."

We turned to leave, but as we made our way back into the forest, I couldn't shake the feeling that this was only the beginning. They knew who I was. They had been watching, waiting for the right time. And now, it was no longer just about leadership-it was about survival.

They were coming for me. And I had no idea why.