The tension in the air was thick as they moved deeper into the forest, following Dorian's lead. The canopy above blocked out most of the moonlight, leaving the ground dimly lit, but Kael and Dorian navigated with ease, their senses sharp as they listened for any sign of danger. Aurora, on the other hand, felt as if she were in a completely different world—one that she didn't understand, and one that she couldn't fully trust.
They had made an uneasy pact with Dorian, and despite the promise of help, she couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't quite right. Dorian's pack might not have been under Ashar's control, but that didn't mean they were completely innocent. She had learned early on in this new world of wolves and shifting alliances that nothing was ever as it seemed.
As they walked, Aurora glanced up at Kael. His face was set, his jaw tight, and she could see the conflict in his eyes. He was still wary of Dorian, even though he had agreed to work with him. Aurora had never seen Kael so torn before. She could feel the weight of the choice pressing down on him, the burden of trusting someone he didn't fully know.
"How much further?" Kael asked Dorian, his voice calm but edged with impatience.
Dorian paused, turning slightly to look at them. "Not far now. We'll reach my camp soon."
Aurora nodded, though she couldn't help but feel unsettled. It was strange—this alliance with someone so different from Kael. Dorian's pack was known for its ruthless nature, and while they weren't as extreme as Ashar's rogues, they had a reputation for being just as dangerous.
But as they continued on, something strange happened.
Dorian, who had been walking ahead without a word, suddenly slowed. He seemed to soften, almost as if something had shifted inside him. His posture relaxed, and when he glanced back at them, there was a flicker of something in his eyes—something human.
"I wasn't always like this," Dorian said, his voice quiet. The words surprised Aurora, who hadn't expected him to speak of his past.
"What do you mean?" she asked, her curiosity getting the best of her.
Dorian glanced up at the sky, the moon casting a soft glow on his face. For a moment, his eyes weren't the fierce, glowing gold they had been earlier. They looked tired. Human, almost. He sighed, the weight of his thoughts heavy in his voice.
"I wasn't always a part of the pack," he said, his tone distant, as if he were reliving the past. "I was human once, just like you."
Aurora's breath caught. She hadn't expected that. She had always assumed that the wolves had been born into this world, that they had never known what it was like to be human.
Dorian gave a small, bitter laugh. "I was born in a small village, far from here. I had a family, a life. I didn't know about the wolves—didn't even know they existed. But one night, I was attacked. A pack came through my village, looking for food. They didn't care that I was just a boy."
Aurora's chest tightened as she listened, the image of a young, helpless Dorian being attacked flooding her mind. "What happened?"
He shook his head, his expression hardening once more. "I was saved by a wolf, but it wasn't an ordinary wolf. It was a shifter—someone who could change from human to wolf. I was taken by force, turned into something I never asked to be. My humanity… it was stripped from me."
Aurora felt her heart break for him. She could see the struggle in his eyes, the sorrow that had been buried deep inside for so long.
"I didn't ask for this," Dorian continued, his voice low. "But now, it's all I know. The pack, the war, the constant fighting. I've done things I'm not proud of. I've hurt people—good people—because it was the only way to survive."
Aurora could hear the pain in his voice. It was the same pain she saw in Kael sometimes. The pain of loss, of being trapped in a world that didn't offer any good choices.
"But you're not like Ashar," Aurora said quietly, trying to reassure him. "You're helping us. You're not the same."
Dorian looked at her, and for the first time, his eyes softened. "Maybe not. But it doesn't change what I've done. I can't undo the past. All I can do now is try to fix what's left."
The forest around them seemed to grow still as Dorian spoke, as if the world was listening to his words. For a moment, there was silence between them, a rare, fragile moment where they all understood each other without needing to say more.
Kael spoke up, breaking the silence. "We all have our demons. But that doesn't mean we're lost."
Dorian nodded, a faint hint of gratitude in his eyes. "Maybe not. But it's not always easy to know which side we're on. That's why Ashar's dangerous. He plays on that—on the darkness in us all."
Aurora thought about his words. She had never seen the wolves as humans before—just as powerful, dangerous creatures. But now, after hearing Dorian's story, she understood that they weren't so different from her. They had once been human, too. They had once had dreams, hopes, families. And somewhere along the way, they had lost it all.
"We have to stop Ashar," Aurora said quietly, a new resolve forming inside her. "We can't let him take everything."
Kael nodded. "We will. But we'll need more help. We can't do this alone."
Dorian glanced at them both, his eyes shifting between Aurora and Kael. "You're right. We need allies, and we need them fast. Ashar's forces are already on the move. The longer we wait, the stronger he becomes."
Aurora looked up at the dark sky above them, the weight of their mission pressing down on her. She had thought she was just a princess caught between two worlds, but now she understood that she was more than that. She was a part of something bigger, something that could change everything.
"We have to fight for the future," she said firmly, feeling a sense of purpose deep in her chest.
And as they walked together, deeper into the forest and toward the unknown, Aurora couldn't help but feel that she had just glimpsed a small part of what it meant to be human. That even in a world filled with wolves and monsters, there was still room for hope.