Chapter 1 Shadows Over the North
Elara’s POV
The snow crunched sharply under my boots, each step echoing in the frozen silence of the northern forest. Cold bit through my cloak, pricking my skin and turning my breath into a fleeting cloud that vanished almost instantly. The wind whispered through the pines, carrying with it the scent of something… off. Something wrong. But I pushed the thought away. I had been raised to trust my pack, my family, my brother. Kael would be the first to tell me that worry was wasted energy if the danger wasn’t real.
“Slow down, Elara!” Kael’s voice rang out, sharp with amusement and frustration at the same time. He was already far ahead, sprinting over a ridge with the ease of someone born to run through this snow-draped wilderness. I swallowed a laugh and ran to catch up, my legs aching but my pride refusing to let him outpace me.
“You’re going to leave me in the snow again?” I called, my voice breathless.
Kael spun halfway back toward me, his dark hair sticking to his forehead with frost. “I’m not leaving you. Not today,” he said, smirking, though there was an edge to his tone that I didn’t understand. “But you have to stop dawdling. One day, the forest won’t wait for you.”
He always said that, but today his words felt heavier. Maybe it was the forest itself, silent and watchful. Wolves were moving in the distance pack members returning from morning patrols, their gray forms ghosting through the trees. Everything seemed normal, yet the cold carried a tension I couldn’t shake.
I adjusted my cloak and followed Kael up the slope, memories of past winters flowing through me. We had grown up in this forest, the northern winds our lullaby and our challenge. Every tree, every boulder, every frozen stream held a memory of our childhood chasing each other through snowdrifts, hiding behind trunks, daring each other to climb the tallest pines.
Kael stopped abruptly at the edge of a clearing, his stance protective. “Something’s… not right,” he muttered. His eyes scanned the treeline, sharp and alert. “Do you feel it?”
I frowned, following his gaze. Snow shimmered under the morning sun, untouched, serene. And yet… there was a shadow moving between the trees. Too fast, too fluid. Something that wasn’t part of our pack.
“Probably just a deer,” I said, though my voice lacked conviction.
Kael’s frown deepened. “No. That’s not a deer. Stay close.”
I obeyed instinctively, letting my brother lead as my pulse quickened. In his presence, I always felt safer like nothing could harm me while he was near. Yet, deep in my gut, something stirred. A flicker of fear I didn’t understand.
We reached the clearing where the training grounds usually bustled with activity. Today, though, the space was empty, silent but for the wind’s mournful cry. Snow dusted the weapons racks, the practice dummies frozen in mid-strike. I noticed a strange mark in the snow a large paw print, deeper and sharper than any wolf in our pack could make. My breath caught.
Kael knelt to examine it. “This isn’t from any wolf I know,” he muttered. His eyes met mine, dark and serious. “Elara… stay ready.”
A shiver ran down my spine. I nodded, gripping the hilt of my training dagger without thinking. The forest felt suddenly alive, watching, waiting.
Before I could ask what he meant, Kael turned and pointed to a distant ridge. Movement a shadow slipping between trees. I squinted, but it was already gone, melting into the forest as though it had never existed. My heart pounded.
“Whoever that is…” Kael whispered, his jaw tight. “They’re not here for us… yet. But they’re close.”
I swallowed hard, trying to mask the fear creeping into my chest. I trusted Kael with my life, always had. But even his confidence couldn’t fully calm the rising dread. The northern pack had always been safe. This forest, our home, had always protected us. Until now.
We returned to the lodge together, snow crunching beneath our feet, tension wrapped around us like a second cloak. My mother, the Alpha, was waiting with a serene expression that didn’t quite reach her eyes. Even from the distance, I sensed her unease.
“Elara, Kael,” she said softly, as if the cold itself had stolen her voice. “There are whispers… trouble on the northern borders. Keep alert. Trust no one outside our walls.”
Kael stiffened. “Mother, are you certain?”
She nodded slowly, her hands tightening around the edge of the doorway. “Certain enough. Wolves from the south are moving. Unrest is growing. And there may be traitors… even among those closest to us.”
I swallowed hard, confusion and fear colliding in my chest. Traitors? Among our own? The thought made the hairs on my neck stand on end. I glanced at Kael he didn’t speak, just gave me a look that said everything: protect each other. Survive.
The day passed in a haze of training and patrol, every sound and shadow drawing my attention. I couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched. My senses, honed over years in the northern forests, screamed at me to run, hide, prepare. Kael noticed, and each time our eyes met, he seemed to silently say, I’ll protect you.
Evening fell with a brutal swiftness. Snow had stopped, but the sky darkened unnaturally early, clouds heavy with frost. The forest seemed to hold its breath. I had never felt the cold like this before sharp, unnatural, as if it carried the promise of danger.
As I lay in my room that night, staring at the ceiling, I couldn’t shake the shadow of dread. Kael’s words echoed in my mind: stay ready. My fingers brushed over the dagger at my bedside. I didn’t sleep.
Outside, the wind shifted. A distant howl echoed, strange and urgent. Wolves responded, their calls sharp, fearful, unfamiliar. And somewhere, beyond the ridge, a shadow moved with lethal precision watching, waiting, unseen.
I didn’t know it yet, but the world I had always known the one where Kael protected me, where my family was untouchable was about to shatter. And by morning, everything would be different.
