Chapter 7: Into the Ruins
Kael moved before dawn.
The sky was a violet hush as he descended the ravine toward the ruins. His wolf stirred beneath his skin, eager and alert. His footsteps were quiet, his mind sharper than it had ever been. Every instinct pointed forward—toward her.
The ruins were cold, wrapped in old magic and silence. He passed shattered archways and moss-covered statues of forgotten gods. At the center lay a circle of standing stones—once sacred ground for witches. The pillars stood like ancient sentinels, half-swallowed by time and vines, but the energy was unmistakable. The earth here remembered.
Kael stepped into the circle, the weight of history settling on his shoulders. He knelt and pressed his palm to the stone floor. A slow pulse of power answered.
It was like a heartbeat.
It was hers.
He closed his eyes. The forest hushed as his mind searched through memory and magic. He saw her again—the girl from the fire, the witch who haunted his dreams. She wasn't just a vision. She was real. And she was close.
Behind him, the pack waited beyond the trees. Lioren's voice, low and cautious, reached his ears. "You feel her again, don't you?"
Kael nodded without looking back. "It's stronger this time. Like she's pulling me forward."
"You know what the others are saying," Lioren said. "The council fears this. They think you're bewitched."
Kael rose slowly, brushing dirt from his hands. "Then let them fear me."
Lioren took a step forward, brow furrowed. "What if they're right? What if she is bewitching you? What if it's not the Moon, but a trap?"
Kael turned toward him, eyes steady. "Then I walk into it with open eyes. But my instincts say otherwise. She's not the enemy."
The air shifted.
And across the ring of stone—
She appeared.
Selene stepped through the mist like a wraith, white cloak billowing, red-gold hair aflame with dawn light. Her green eyes locked onto Kael's, wide with recognition and something deeper.
Shock. Wonder. A hint of fear.
Kael couldn't move.
Neither of them did.
The silence between them was not empty. It was thick with destiny, with magic and unanswered prayers.
Selene was the first to speak. "I thought you were just a dream."
Kael's voice was rough. "You're not just a dream."
She looked around, her eyes scanning the stones. "This place… it called to me."
"I came for the same reason."
They stepped closer, slow, hesitant.
"I know who you are," Selene said softly. "Kael of the Winterfangs."
"And I know who you are," he replied. "Selene of the Emberlight Circle."
Their hands almost touched, not quite. The space between their fingertips tingled.
Selene hesitated. "If they knew we were here—"
"They'd try to stop it."
"But we're here anyway."
"Yes."
Kael's hand finally reached hers, fingers brushing against skin. A pulse of warmth flared through both of them, not painful—just… undeniable.
Selene gasped softly. "Did you feel that?"
Kael nodded. "The Moon has bound us. I don't know why, but it's done."
A gust of wind stirred the leaves, and a flock of crows took flight from the trees beyond. The moment felt suspended in time. In this ancient, sacred ruin, the laws of war and hatred didn't apply. Here, they were simply Kael and Selene.
Two beings caught in a prophecy older than blood.
Two souls drawn together by something greater than their pasts.
Kael looked into her eyes. "You don't have to be afraid of me."
"I'm not," Selene said, surprising them both.
"I've dreamed of you," he admitted. "Of fire. Of your voice. I thought it meant war."
Selene's lips parted. "And now?"
He stepped closer. "Now I think it means change."
Their lips didn't meet—but the closeness was electric. The bond crackled around them, not yet physical but deeply spiritual. They had not touched completely, not yet, but already something inside both of them was shifting.
Selene drew back first, heart racing. "I need time. This changes everything."
Kael nodded. "I'll wait."
She looked at him, that strange gentleness in his silver eyes anchoring her. "Don't tell anyone about this. Not yet."
"I won't."
She turned and disappeared into the mist again, the ruins swallowing her like she'd never been there.
Kael stood alone in the silence, heart thundering.
He knew everything had changed.
And the war between fire and fang would never be the same.
When he finally left the circle, the others didn't speak. But Kael could feel their stares, their unspoken questions. He wasn't ready to answer.
Not yet.
He needed time—just like her.
But the Moon was watching.
And time, Kael suspected, was already running out.