Page 39 of Haunted Crowns
With measured steps, he guided her forward, his arm braced around her spine, the bond between them as steady as his hold.
The flap lifted. Dawn streaked the sky, pale and still.
The pack waited, breath held, the air brittle with expectation. She stood at the threshold. Then took a single step into their gaze.
The silence broke like glass. A cry rose and shook the earth. The wave of sound crashed over her, but not all voices joined it. At the pack’s edge, Leira and Vatryk stood apart, untouched by the fervor. Leira’s gaze flicked to the bite on Kareon’s neck, her lips curling in disdain. Vatryk’s eyes narrowed coldly. The look they shared was clear… this would not go unchallenged.
Kaelioth stepped forward, and the pack stilled. He raised his hands, and they obeyed. Dawn’s light touched his face, casting him in something ancient.
“The spirits have spoken,” he said, voice ringing like a hymn. “Eris is the chosen one.” A hush fell. “The bridge between worlds. The beacon of hope.”
The words landed with brutal weight. The pack erupted—howls, shouts, voices calling her name. Bodies surged forward, wild-eyed and reaching, as if touch alone could make her real.
The sound blurred, distant, surreal. Inside her, fear twisted tightly. This was real. There was no turning back.
She stood silent in the storm of their worship. She had crossed a threshold. And she had not brought all of herself back. Some part of her still lingered in the fire, watching.
“The bond does not break. It breaks you.”
—Lycan proverb, origin forgotten
Chapter 8
The roar of the pack faded behind her, swallowed by the hush of the trees.
Eris drew a deep breath, desperate, but it didn’t help. Her chest stayed tight. The weight of it all—the prophecy, the spirits, the fire burning in her veins—pressed against her ribs like a chain. It had all happened too quickly. Too soon. Her identity was slipping through her fingers, and she didn’t know how to hold on.
She pressed a hand to her heart, as if she could keep herself from breaking.
Just one moment. That’s all I need.
And then, she wasn’t alone.
She felt him before she saw him, a shadow at the edge of the trees, watching, waiting. Golden eyes burned through the dark.
Eris exhaled sharply. “Are you tracking me now?”
He paused for a long moment, offering no answer. Then he spoke, voice low. “You shouldn’t be alone.”
Her laugh was dry. “You think I can’t handle a few trees?”
His jaw flexed. “I think too many people already see you as prey.”
Her pulse kicked.
“And you? What do you see?”
Kareon didn’t blink. “Something I can’t afford to lose.”
Something inside her shook. She turned away, needing space.
A mistake—because he moved fast. Too fast.
Before she could take another step, he was there, a blur of heat and muscle, blocking the path like he’d always known she would run. Like he had been waiting for it. She startled, not because he caught her, but because of how effortlessly he did it.
She inhaled sharply. Wildfire and steel clung to the air, his nearness burning like something barely restrained.
“Tell me something, Eris,” he said, voice low and rough. Too close.
