How did I get here?
I don't really know. I was only following a path that had rooted itself in my mind—firm, strange, insistent.
Who placed it there? I still don't know. But I found myself walking it, drawn toward a place that felt familiar yet foreign, like I had walked its grounds a hundred times in another life.
The warnings were vague, the duties whispered in fragments. I was only told what I needed to know.
Black fur. Golden eyes.
That was all.
I knew I had to get somewhere—quickly.
The forest surrounded me, thick with silence. A distant scent of blood lingered to the north, faint but undeniable. My feet were bare, but I'd long since stopped caring. Ever since I left that pack, shoes felt unnecessary.
I was never meant to belong to a pack. I was born to wander—a rogue werewolf, destined to roam until I found what I was looking for.
Black fur. Golden eyes.
I had tried, time and again, to ignore what I was: a messenger.
And time and again, every pack I'd tried to settle in was destroyed by them.
Now, I wander.
Until I find him.
After hours of walking, I finally allowed myself a moment of rest.
"He's close," I muttered, leaning against a tree. The scent of blood... and the pull of the moon—it was getting stronger.
I shifted into my white wolf and moved forward until a tall gate loomed ahead. I paused, inhaled deeply, and exhaled.
He's here.
I've found him.
The cursed child.
A series of growls froze me mid-step. I had been caught trespassing on another pack's land.
I didn't resist. I had arrived exactly where I needed to be.
Worst case? They'd kill me for trespassing—or suspect me of being a spy.
But as they surrounded me, their snarls were tinted with confusion. A white wolf in another pack's territory was rare—perhaps even unheard of.
---
"Speak now, woman!"
A deep growl snapped me out of my daze. I looked up.
The beta stood beside the wolf I had been seeking.
Cassian Vale.
I'd heard his name whispered among the pack during a challenge not long ago.
Rumors said the elder wolves disapproved of his leadership. They claimed he wasn't fit to be Alpha—not because he lacked strength, but because he was cursed.
They were afraid of him. Not just of what he might become—but because they couldn't control him. So they did what cowards do: sent young alphas to challenge him, hoping one would succeed.
Fools.
Cassian had held back when he fought his challenger. You could see it. He was restraining the bloodlust.
The curse was part of him. I had been told about it by the elders.
Brutal. Dangerous.
Maybe it was the sin of his parents.
Maybe it was his own.
He stared at me now with cold, black eyes. I narrowed mine.
They're not…gold.
So what exactly is this curse?
During the fight, I had sensed something else—something deeper, darker, older.
Cassian Vale was no ordinary wolf. Curse or not, he was a force.
"The name is Elara," I said at last.
Their eyes widened. I must have surprised them—maybe they thought I was mute after days of silence.
"What were you doing in my territory?" Cassian asked, his voice low, sharp, probing.
"I come bearing a message, Cassian Vale."
He raised a brow—maybe because I used his full name.
"You will speak with respect, woman," the beta snapped, his glare hard.
But I couldn't bring myself to care about his thinly veiled hostility.
Cassian lifted a hand, silencing him.
"What message?"
"Something is coming."
Cassian said nothing, but I could tell he didn't believe me. Still, I pressed on.
"You think you're cursed?" I let the words linger. That caught their attention. "You have no idea what's coming. Your seer must have told you something, am I right?"
I stood and moved closer to the cell bars. Both their eyes were wide now.
"I was sent to warn you. Killing me will only make things worse. You will need me."
I had to make that clear. I was too young to die.
"What are you talking about? Speak clearly," Cassian growled.
The beta crossed his arms, watching me closely—torn between suspicion and curiosity.
I stepped back and met their eyes.
"They're coming for me. And when they do, they'll tear this pack apart."
Cassian's eyes shifted.
Golden.
"Who are they?" he asked, bloodlust leaking into his voice like venom.
"I cannot say."
I turned away.
They didn't press further. When they couldn't get more from me, they left.
"Cancel the execution. Call me the seer," I heard Cassian order as they walked away.
I exhaled slowly and sank back against the wall.
"This is bigger than all of us," I whispered, closing my eyes.