The day was fully bright when the wolves began to leave the valley.
Simple wooden carts, emergency stretchers, and lines of still-wounded soldiers moved slowly toward the forest surrounding the area. No more war cries, no more clashes of claws and swords.
All that could be heard were footsteps… and the sounds of nature slowly coming back to life.
But for Aurelia, that peace felt fragile.
She stood in front of the guard tent where Kael was held, staring at the clear blue sky without a single cloud.
Kael's final words still echoed in her mind.
The Shadow Kings.
The name felt like a whisper from a far darker world.
Footsteps sounded behind her.
Lucien approached with his usual serious expression.
"The Alphas have returned to their respective packs," he said.
Aurelia turned slightly.
"Including Torvald?"
Lucien nodded.
"Frostfang left an hour ago."
He stopped beside Aurelia.
"But before he went, Torvald left a message."
Aurelia raised an eyebrow.
"What did he say?"
Lucien stared at the nearly empty valley.
"He said new worlds usually draw new enemies."
Aurelia let out a small humorless laugh.
"Seems everyone likes giving warnings today."
Lucien didn't smile.
"Because everyone feels it."
A few steps behind them, Darius sat on a wooden crate while inspecting his large axe.
The bandage on his arm was slightly loose, but that didn't stop him from testing the strength of his hand.
Cassian stood leaning against a tree with his arms crossed.
"So," he said casually, "we've got mysterious enemies that even Kael respects."
He slowly twisted his ring.
"Interesting."
Darius scoffed.
"Legends."
Alaric, who stood near them, spoke briefly,
"No."
All eyes turned to him.
Alaric rarely spoke without reason.
He continued in a calm tone.
"A few years ago… a pack in the north suddenly vanished."
Cassian raised an eyebrow.
"The one near the Black Mountain border?"
Alaric nodded.
"Yes."
Darius frowned.
"Weren't they massacred by another pack?"
Alaric shook his head.
"No signs of battle."
He looked at Aurelia.
"Only traces of unrecognized energy."
Silence fell for a few seconds.
Lucien spoke softly,
"And you think that's related to the Shadow Kings?"
Alaric didn't answer directly.
But his gaze was answer enough.
Aurelia let out a slow breath.
"Alright."
She turned to all of them.
"If they really exist, then we'll face them."
Darius stood up immediately.
"That's the answer I like."
Cassian grinned.
"A new adventure after the great war. I was almost getting bored."
Lucien shook his head slightly.
"Your take on the word 'bored' is always worrying."
But before they could continue their conversation.
A guard wolf ran up to them.
He was breathing heavily.
"Alpha Lucien!"
Everyone tensed up at once.
Lucien stepped forward.
"What happened?"
The guard pointed toward the eastern forest.
"We found something at the valley border."
Darius immediately lifted his axe.
"An attack?"
The guard shook his head quickly.
"No."
He swallowed hard.
"A body."
The eastern forest wasn't too far from the valley.
But the atmosphere there felt different.
The wind blew colder between the dense tall trees.
Several guards stood around something on the ground.
When Aurelia and the Alphas approached, the guards stepped aside.
The body of a wolf lay among the tree roots.
But it wasn't an ordinary body.
The wolf's fur was as dark as a moonless night.
And on its chest was a strange symbol burned into its skin.
The mark was shaped like a circle filled with sharp lines like claws.
Cassian knelt to look closer.
"This isn't a wolf from our packs."
Darius frowned.
"Where did it come from?"
Alaric pointed to the symbol on its chest.
"This."
Lucien knelt too.
His eyes narrowed.
"A ritual symbol."
Aurelia stepped closer.
She felt something strange in the air.
Energy.
Dark.
Cold.
"He wasn't killed here," she said softly.
Lucien looked at her.
"How do you know?"
Aurelia pointed to the ground around the body.
"No signs of struggle."
Cassian stood up.
"So someone dumped it here."
Darius smirked slightly.
"A message."
Lucien nodded.
"Yes."
He stared at the symbol on the wolf's chest again.
"The question is… from whom?"
The wind suddenly blew harder through the trees.
Leaves rustled like whispers.
Alaric stared into the deeper forest.
"No."
He said softly.
"The question isn't from whom."
He turned to Aurelia.
"But for whom."
Everyone immediately understood what he meant.
The body was found right at the border of the valley where the packs had gathered.
It wasn't a coincidence.
It was a message.
And that message was meant for one person.
Aurelia.
Darius growled softly.
"Good."
He slung his axe over his shoulder.
"Now I really want to meet them."
Cassian grinned wider.
"The Shadow Kings finally say hello."
Lucien stood up slowly.
His eyes stared into the dark forest ahead.
"Whatever they are… they know we're here."
Aurelia looked in the same direction.
Among the tall trees, the shadows felt deeper than they should be.
As if something was watching them from afar.
And in her heart, Aurelia felt one thing for certain.
The war they'd won last night was only the beginning.
Because far beyond the packs' territory.
Another power was now starting to move.
And they had sent their first sign.
Silence enveloped the eastern forest.
The wind that had been blowing now felt even colder, creeping between the tall tree trunks that stood close together like a natural wall.
The pack guards exchanged glances.
No one dared touch the body.
As if they all could sense something unnatural.
Aurelia knelt slowly beside the black wolf's body.
Her hand lifted slightly, then stopped a few inches above the symbol burned into the creature's chest.
She didn't touch it.
But even from that close distance, she could feel the strange energy that still lingered.
That energy felt… dead.
Not like the usual aura of a wolf.
Colder.
Empty.
Lucien watched her expression.
"What do you feel?"
Aurelia closed her eyes for a moment.
A few seconds passed before she answered.
"Like something that's lost its soul."
Darius frowned.
"That doesn't make sense."
Cassian looked intrigued instead.
"Not necessarily."
He knelt on the other side of the body.
"Some ancient rituals can indeed separate the soul from the body."
Darius glared at him.
"You know far too many weird things."
Cassian shrugged casually.
"I read."
Alaric was still watching the symbol on the wolf's chest.
He then spoke softly,
"This isn't a pack symbol."
Lucien nodded.
"True."
He pointed to the sharp lines inside the circle.
"It looks like… a seal."
Aurelia opened her eyes.
"A seal?"
Lucien stared at the symbol again.
"Yes."
He narrowed his eyes.
"A seal that's usually used to contain something."
Darius scoffed.
"Contain what?"
Cassian answered first.
"Energy."
He pointed to the black wolf's body.
"Or something far worse."
Silence fell again.
The guards began to look uneasy.
Aurelia finally stood up slowly.
"We can't leave it here."
Lucien nodded.
"We'll bring the body back to camp."
Two guards immediately stepped forward carefully.
But as one of them was about to lift the body.
The symbol on the black wolf's chest suddenly glowed faintly.
Everyone stepped back half a step at once.
Darius raised his axe.
"What was that?"
The light only lasted a split second before vanishing again.
But the air around them had changed.
Colder.
Heavier.
Cassian narrowed his eyes.
"Interesting."
Lucien stared sharply at the body.
"Don't touch it for now."
Aurelia felt something stir in her chest.
Not fear.
But instinct.
She stepped forward again.
"We don't have much time."
Lucien looked at her.
"What do you mean?"
Aurelia pointed to the symbol.
"Seals like this usually don't last long."
Cassian immediately understood.
"So this isn't just a message."
Darius growled.
"It's a bomb."
Alaric looked at the surrounding forest.
"A trap."
The guards immediately tensed up.
Some raised their weapons.
But there were no sounds except the wind.
No enemies were visible.
Lucien looked at Aurelia.
"What do you suggest?"
Aurelia thought for a few seconds.
Then she spoke firmly,
"We'll break the seal."
Everyone turned to her at once.
Darius almost laughed.
"Are you serious?"
Cassian looked even more intrigued.
"This will be fun."
Lucien stared at Aurelia for a long moment.
"Are you sure?"
Aurelia nodded.
"If we don't do it, someone will activate it from far away."
She pointed to the symbol again.
"And we don't know what will happen when that time comes."
Alaric finally spoke up.
"She's right."
Darius let out a long breath.
"Alright then."
He rolled his shoulders.
"If something comes out of that body, I'll destroy it."
Cassian smiled.
"I'll help."
Lucien stood in front of Aurelia.
"If the seal breaks, everyone retreats."
The guards immediately moved back several steps.
The forest grew quiet.
Aurelia knelt once more in front of the black wolf's body.
Her hand slowly moved toward the symbol burned into its chest.
A thin golden energy began to appear at her fingertips.
Lucien watched carefully.
Darius gripped his axe tighter.
Cassian casually twisted his ring.
Alaric kept watch on the surrounding trees.
When Aurelia's fingertips almost touched the symbol.
The air around them suddenly vibrated.
The symbol on the black wolf's chest glowed brighter.
The sharp lines inside the circle began to move as if alive.
Darius growled.
"I don't like this."
Aurelia stayed focused.
The golden light from her hand touched the symbol.
And in the next moment.
The seal broke.
The sound of energy cracking echoed like shattered glass.
The black wolf's body suddenly lifted its head.
Its eyes opened.
But those eyes had no pupils.
Only empty darkness.
The guards immediately stepped back in fear.
Darius raised his axe.
"I knew this would happen!"
But before anyone could attack.
The black wolf's mouth opened.
And the sound that came out… was not that of a living creature.
But a cold voice like a whisper from darkness.
"Luna who awakens the dawn…"
Everyone froze.
The voice continued,
"We have seen you."
The wind in the forest suddenly stopped.
Not even the leaves moved.
Then the voice spoke one final sentence.
"And the Shadow Kings… are coming."
After that, the black wolf's body collapsed back down at once.
Its eyes closed.
The dark energy that had filled the air just moments ago vanished without a trace.
Oppressive silence enveloped the forest.
No one spoke for several seconds.
Finally Darius said softly,
"Alright."
He slung his axe over his shoulder.
"I think our problem just got a whole lot bigger."