As one of the elders reached for the dagger, a searing heat surged from it. The artifact trembled violently, as if rejecting their touch..
"We, the elders, are unable to touch it; no one can separate it from her…it is anchored to her blood." He shook in dread.
Fear was written all over their faces; he stood shocked.
Which made me terrified. "What's he saying?" I asked him.
"This is unprecedented! No human has ever forged a bond with the dagger before." One amongst the elders stared.
The fourth elder stepped forward and leaned in for a closer look. "The bonding confirms! She is not random."
The elders appear more terrified than ever, my mind pacing over the issue. He studied me intently, his gaze sharp and reverent, as if I were a relic of immense power.
…..
He leaned against the wall beside me, and I felt a storm of thoughts racing through my mind, each one heavier than the last.
"I know all of this might be too much, but stay calm." He spoke, "Let me reintroduce myself… My name is Kael. I lead the entire wolf clan, and as you know, my second in command is dead, my wife." He shifted.
"I need to know what's going on. How did your dagger get to me?" I asked.
"Exactly what I'm going to explain…"
(Flashback)
Kael's father is known to be the Alpha of the wolves… ''Lykos,' Scelta's father as a human leader and influential figure… 'Hornold,' and Canez's father as strategic, ambitious, and resourceful… 'Axen.'
Together, these three formidable leaders forged a pact, combining their territories, resources, and armies to solidify control over their people.
Together they became powerful and unbeatable; as time went on, they grew closer and fond of each other; their alliance became friendship.
Something brews between those three; Axen was impatient…he has seen the wonders and the strengths of the werewolves. He wanted power, he wanted control, strength without limitations, weaponized biology…his greed grew on and on.
One evening he and his crew ambushed and killed a dozen werewolves. He began experimenting on wolves and humans, turning them into bred monsters.
Something wasn't stable; it was a flaw that needed fixing. He couldn't control them… He needed the dagger, the one thing that restores balance and control.
It was a spiritual tether between the forest and the wolves and other creatures. It stabilizes transformation. Without it the experiment fails.
Anex attacked the wolves, having known them for too long; he knew their weaknesses and used it as an upper hand. It was a massacre; bodies were taken for experiment.
Lykos immediately sent Kael away to the northern pack alongside the remaining survivors.
Hornold rushed to Lykos's aid, but it was too late; he was already dying.
Lykos handed the dagger to Hornold. "Protect what binds us." He pleaded.
Axen scoured the lands relentlessly for the dagger, blaming Hornold for its loss, and annihilated his entire family in the process.
But Scelta survived; she was lucky to have the retired FBI agent that intervened. He sacrificed himself in order to save her; he sent her away and protected her inheritance.
(End of Flashback.)
"I've been tracking Canez for a while now." He said, "He still carries out these experiments and kills us."
It was then that it came to me what Enox was trying to explain on the phone.
It was the hybrids!
"My appearance during the war… I was sensing it, the awakening of the dagger, and when I saw you, it felt weirder." He stated. "The dagger affected my system and gave me a blackout; that's when my wife got involved." His voice was low.
Silence fell upon the space.
Realization hit me; the missing fractures were now aligned, except for the party, but I could see everything clearly. All this while I was living in a bubble, and that bubble just busted.
"So why now?" I asked.
"He's close," Kael answered.
"He didn't stop with the experiments, and they're evolving…you're not safe; he knows you're with the dagger now." He moved closer. "You're not safe; he'd come for you."
"And now the dagger is bonded to you; you're tied in this." He stared at me dead in the eyes, his voice cold.
The elders exited, leaving the both of us.
I paced around the room; everything was dropped on me too fast and with a little amount of time left. It was disastrous; the next thing to do hovered round my mind.
Kael stepped closer, making me pause.
"You yield what my father died protecting." His voice is low and controlled.
"Your father died for it; mine died hiding it." I stared straight into his eyes.
Kael moves a lot closer this time; he slowly takes my arm as if waiting for me to protest, but I don't. He touches inside my wrist. The dagger reacts; its low hum changes its pace.
It aligns, almost like it recognizes him.
….
We passed through different branches of the base. Kael led the way, and I followed by his side; the rest of the pack hung around the corners of almost every angle, and they stared as we passed after they showed signs of respect to Kael.
He remained silent, and so did I, despite the flood of questions racing through my mind.
We came to a stop at the front of a camp-like structure; only it was wood, vines, and carved stones.
A large structure opened the door; he greeted Kael formally and let us in.
The place exuded an ancient mystique; vines curled in deliberate patterns, and every stone and piece of furniture was carved with meticulous precision.
Immediately he saw me, he looked back at Kael, who gave him a hand signal. There was some kind of energy between the two of them, respect, history; there was a hierarchical tension.
Just then a woman came in from inside, and immediately my eyes set on her. I felt it, a stillness; She wasn't a wolf; her eyes and presence radiated the unmistakable vitality of a human being. She is a human!
My eyes widened in disbelief, my expression betraying every question racing through me.
"Can I have a private word with you?" He asked Kael.
Kael hesitated for a while; he looked at me and then at her as if he were having an internal debate, and finally he left with him.
The woman sat down and watched me quietly. I refused to talk; she should be the first cause I wasn't sure of the words that would come out of my mouth.
"I know what you're thinking," she said, "yes, I was human…"