Chapter 25 The Price of Blood

The fire had burned low, its glow no more than dying embers. The clearing was quiet, but the forest wasn’t, Elara could hear it. The crack of branches too heavy for wind, the faint rustle of unseen predators circling just beyond the tree line.

She hugged her knees closer, her breath misting in the cool night. Sleep was impossible. Every time she closed her eyes, the Codex stirred, its whispers clawing against the walls of her mind.

Behind her, Dorian leaned against a tree, arms crossed, every inch of him taut vigilance. He looked calm, but Elara knew the way his gaze cut through the shadows, it wasn’t rest, it was waiting. Watching. Protecting.

Kael, on the other hand, was a storm barely contained. He stalked the tree line like a caged wolf, every step restless, golden eyes glinting in the half-light. The air smelled of his unease. Iron, smoke, and something darker beneath it.

The Codex pulsed faintly beside her, as though breathing with her heartbeat. When her fingers brushed the cover, the whisper sharpened.

Open me. Claim what is yours. Then no wolf, no man, no Elder will dare touch you.

Her throat tightened. The temptation coiled in her gut like fire.

“Don’t.”

Dorian’s voice was steady, but his tone carried weight, command. “It’s poison, Elara. Whatever it gives, it’ll take twice over. You know that.”

Kael stopped pacing, his gaze snapping to the faint glow from the Codex. His lip curled, half a growl. “And yet, it’s her blood that calls to it. You’d have her deny what she is? Pretend she’s just some fragile wolf?”

“She’s more than her blood,” Dorian shot back, his jaw hard.

Kael laughed once, bitter. The sound sent a shiver up Elara’s spine. “Spoken like someone who’s never carried a curse in his veins. You think noble words will keep her alive? She’ll bleed while you cling to your ideals.”

Elara surged to her feet, her voice raw. “Enough!”

Both men fell silent. The forest did not. Somewhere in the distance, a horn bellowed, low, metallic, ancient. The sound rattled through the trees.

Kael’s nostrils flared. His posture sharpened. “They’ve found us.”

The air thickened. Scents of iron and cold stone washed into the clearing. Elders. Their presence suffocated, even from afar.

“Move,” Dorian snapped, already pulling her arm.

Kael unsheathed his blade, but his claws had already pushed through, his wolf bleeding into his skin. “Stay behind me.”

The forest exploded into chaos. Shadows darted between the trees. Arrows hissed past, deadly fast. Kael struck first, a blur of claws and steel, ripping down the first Hunter that charged through.

“Elara, stay back!” Dorian parried another strike, his movements sharp, efficient, every cut precise.

But Elara didn’t stay back. She lunged for the Codex, clutching it even as it burned her palms. The whispers rose, frantic, feverish.

Blood spilled, blood claimed. Use me, and all will bow.

“No.” She shoved it beneath her cloak, heart pounding.

The battle raged. Steel clanged, claws tore. Kael staggered suddenly, a blade tearing deep into his side. He killed his attacker in a savage blur, but the wound bled fast, the air heavy with the iron tang of his blood.

“Kael!” Elara cried, rushing forward.

“I’m fine,” he snarled, even as his knees buckled. His hand shot out, gripping her arm like an anchor. “Don’t, stop—”

Dorian was already at his side, palm pressed to the wound. “You’ll bleed out if you don’t let me—”

Kael shoved him away, eyes burning, voice jagged. “She’s the only one I need.”

The words carved deep, leaving silence sharper than any blade.

Dorian’s breath flared, his hand curling into a fist. “This isn’t about you. It’s about keeping her alive.”

But Kael’s gaze never left Elara. Not even when they dragged him through the trees, away from the hunt, into a cave that smelled of damp earth and old stone.

Inside, Kael lay against the wall, his breathing ragged, his blood staining the ground. Elara pressed her hands desperately to his wound, her palms slick with his heat. Dorian crouched close, torn between stepping in and holding back.

The Codex hissed again, its voice vibrating in her bones. Two wolves, one heart. Choose soon… or I will choose for you.

Her chest ached. She looked at Kael, wild, burning, claiming even as pain wracked him. Then at Dorian, steady, unyielding, his strength a shield she could lean on.

And before she could breathe, before she could speak, the cave darkened.

Footsteps. Slow. Deliberate. Not Hunters. Not Elders. Something older. The air shifted, carrying the scent of smoke and wet fur.

A shadow stretched across the stone, tall and thin. A voice followed, smooth, curling like a claw against her skin.

“I see the Codex has chosen its keeper.”

Elara’s blood turned cold. Kael stiffened, teeth bared, a growl vibrating low in his chest. Dorian’s hand went to his blade.

And Elara, Elara couldn’t move. Because beneath that voice, beneath that shadow, she felt it. A presence. A wolf older than the packs, older than the Elders. Watching her. Waiting.