Chapter Five: The Forest Whispers
“Elena, don’t move.”
Jonah’s grip tightened on my wrist until it nearly bruised. His voice was low, urgent, and edged with something primal.
I froze, breath caught in my chest. The forest had gone silent after that unearthly howl—no wind, no rustling leaves, no distant calls. Just one thing remained: a voice. My name, echoing like a ghost between the trees.
“Did you hear it?” I whispered, though I already knew the answer.
Jonah’s jaw clenched. His eyes scanned the dark, every muscle in his body taut. “Yeah. And it wasn’t the thing we just fought.”
The sound still rang in my ears. The tone—deep, commanding, almost desperate—was unmistakable. My stomach twisted. “It was Damien.”
Jonah turned sharply, eyes flashing. “No. It wasn’t him. It can’t be. He wouldn’t—” He cut himself off, but the unfinished thought hung heavy between us.
I pulled free from his grasp, arms wrapping around myself. “It was his voice, Jonah. I’d know it anywhere.” My throat tightened. “He’s out there.”
Jonah stepped in front of me, bracing a hand on the broken doorframe like he could hold me back with sheer will. His face was pale, drawn with the weight of what he wasn’t saying. “Or something wants you to think he’s out there.”
Anger sparked through my fear. “You think I can’t tell his voice from a trick? After everything—”
“Elena.” Jonah’s voice softened, though it trembled with urgency. “The forest doesn’t play fair. It preys on what you feel. What you fear. What you want.”
The words hit like a slap. My hands curled into fists. “So you’re saying I wanted to hear him? After what he did to me?”
Jonah didn’t answer right away. His shoulders sagged, but his eyes stayed locked on mine. “I’m saying you still care, even if you hate yourself for it.”
My chest burned, shame and fury tangling so tightly I couldn’t breathe. I wanted to scream at him, to deny it, but the truth pressed sharp against my ribs. Damien’s voice had stirred something in me I thought I’d buried.
Jonah reached for me then, gently this time, his fingertips brushing my arm. “Don’t let the forest use that against you.”
Before I could respond, the voice came again. Closer.
“Elena…”
This time it wasn’t faint. It drifted between the trees, carried by the wind, like Damien was only a few steps away.
I stumbled back, shaking my head. “That’s not an illusion, Jonah. That’s real.”
Jonah’s nostrils flared. He tilted his head, listening the way wolves do when tracking prey. His expression hardened. “If it is him, then he’s a fool for coming here.”
I swallowed hard. My nails dug into my palms until the skin broke. “What if he’s in danger?”
Jonah’s eyes flicked to mine. A storm brewed there—anger, protectiveness, something darker. He stepped closer, voice low. “After everything he did, you’d still risk yourself for him?”
Tears burned my eyes. “I don’t know what I’d do. That’s the problem.”
Jonah’s jaw worked, but before he could speak again, movement stirred at the edge of the trees.
A shadow slipped between the trunks, deliberate, unhurried. My breath caught. Jonah shifted in front of me, crouched low, muscles taut. His dagger gleamed faintly in his hand.
“Elena.”
The figure stepped into the clearing. My heart stopped.
It was Damien.
His dark hair was damp with sweat, his shirt torn at the collar, and dirt streaking his face. His eyes locked on mine, wide with something I’d never seen before—fear.
“Elena, you have to leave,” he rasped. His voice broke on the words. “Now.”
I staggered forward, but Jonah’s arm shot out, barring me. His glare fixed on Damien, lips curling just enough to show a hint of fang.
“You don’t belong here,” Jonah growled.
Damien’s gaze snapped to him, hardening. “And you do?” His words dripped venom, but the strain in his voice betrayed him. He turned back to me, eyes pleading. “Elena, you’re not safe. The forest—it’s awake. It knows who you are.”
My pulse thundered. “What do you mean?”
Damien took a shaky step closer, hand half-raised, then dropped uselessly to his side. His voice cracked with urgency. “You’re not just anyone, Elena. That thing—it came for you.”
My skin prickled. Jonah bristled, stepping forward, knife raised. “Stay away from her. You lost the right to speak her name.”
Damien flinched, throat bobbing. For once, the arrogance I knew so well was gone. He looked… broken. Desperate.
“Elena, please. If you stay here, you’ll die.” His voice cracked. “I—” He stopped, swallowing hard, eyes shining with something like regret. “I rejected you to protect you. Not because I wanted to.”
The words slammed into me like a blade. My knees weakened. Air caught in my lungs, sharp and painful.
Jonah’s growl deepened, trembling with rage. “You expect her to believe that? After humiliating her in front of the entire pack?”
Damien’s voice rose, frantic. “I had no choice!” His chest heaved. “There are things in that forest older than our kind. They made me swear—if I claimed her, they’d destroy her. Rejecting her was the only way to keep her alive.”
The night seemed to close in tighter, each word slicing through the fragile air. My heart pounded so violently I thought it might give out.
Jonah’s dagger glinted as he stepped forward, voice low and dangerous. “You’re lying.”
“I’m not!” Damien shouted, desperation breaking through. His eyes found mine again, raw and unguarded. “Elena, you have to believe me. The forest has chosen you. And if you don’t run—”
The ground shuddered.
All three of us froze. A rumble rose from deep within the earth, shaking the trees, sending dust and splinters raining from the cabin walls. The air thickened, heavy, as though the forest itself had taken a breath.
Jonah shoved me behind him, dagger raised high. Damien spun toward the trees, body taut like a bowstring.
“Elena,” he whispered again, this time not with pleading, but with dread.
The rumble grew louder, closer. The trees swayed violently, though no wind blew. A sound followed—low and guttural—a chorus of voices chanting in a tongue I didn’t understand.
Jonah cursed under his breath. Damien’s face went pale.
And then, from the blackness between the trees, dozens of glowing eyes appeared.
They blinked in unison, eerie and unnatural, like they shared one mind. The air grew colder. My breath fogged. My wolf stirred inside me, restless and alert.
Jonah stepped forward, dagger raised. “Inside. Now.”
But I couldn’t move. My feet were rooted to the ground, my gaze locked on the eyes watching us.
Damien grabbed my arm, his grip firm but trembling. “Elena, listen to me. You’re not just a Luna. You’re something more. That’s why they want you.”
“What are they?” I whispered.
He looked at me, and for the first time, I saw real fear in his eyes. “Ancients. Spirits. Cursed remnants of the first wolves. They’ve been waiting for someone like you.”
The chanting grew louder. The trees groaned. The forest was no longer just alive—it was awake.
Jonah pulled me back, Damien close behind. We stumbled into the cabin, the broken door barely holding.
And outside, the eyes kept watching.
