The air shifted the moment the figure stepped out of the trees. My heart skipped a beat, and I froze, unable to tear my eyes away from him. He wasn't like the others I'd encountered. This man was different. There was something about him, something I couldn't quite place, but it sent an electric jolt through my veins.
Hunter, always alert, reacted before I could blink. He moved in front of me, his broad shoulders blocking me from view. His eyes narrowed, focusing on the stranger who had just appeared out of the forest, as though he'd been waiting there for a while.
The man didn't seem to care. He stood tall and unafraid, looking at Hunter with a sense of calm arrogance. He was unnervingly composed, his body language casual as if he wasn't facing the Alpha of the Bloodfang Pack.
Hunter didn't wait for him to speak. His voice was firm, cutting through the tension. "Who are you?"
The stranger smiled, but it wasn't a friendly smile. It was sharp, predatory. "I'm not here for a fight," he said, his voice smooth, as if he were making a casual statement. "At least, not unless I have to." His eyes flickered toward me, and I felt a strange, uncomfortable weight settle on my chest. "But I'm definitely here for her."
I couldn't breathe for a moment. The way his eyes zeroed in on me felt like being trapped in a cage. I instinctively took a step back, my body screaming for me to run. But my feet felt glued to the earth. It was as if his gaze had some invisible power, and I couldn't escape it. I swallowed hard, my mouth dry.
Who was he? Why was he so focused on me?
Hunter didn't move, his posture tense but unwavering. His hand shifted toward the hilt of his blade, a warning in his stance, but the man just laughed softly, as if the threat was nothing more than a joke.
"I think you misunderstand," the stranger said, his gaze still fixed on me. "I'm not here to harm her. At least, not directly." His smile was chilling, like he knew something we didn't. "But you, Alpha, you're in my way."
Hunter's jaw tightened, the muscle flexing beneath his skin. His eyes narrowed, cold with authority. "Leave. Now."
The stranger's smile only deepened. "You think you can stop this?" He stepped forward, not taking his eyes off me, as if I was the only thing that mattered in the world. "You can't stop what's already in motion."
I wanted to speak, to ask what he meant, but the words caught in my throat. The tension was thick, suffocating, as if the entire forest was holding its breath. I could feel the weight of his words, even if I didn't fully understand them. "What do you want from me?" I finally managed to ask, my voice shaky.
The man's gaze flickered to me, his expression almost bored. "You know what you are, don't you?" His words were low, like he was speaking to a child. "You're not just some Omega, Raven Silversong. You're the last of an ancient bloodline. You're the key to the prophecy."
My heart skipped a beat. I didn't know what he was talking about, but I felt the fear crawling up my spine. The key to a prophecy? My name seemed to hang in the air, heavy with meaning, but I didn't understand any of it. My world had already been turned upside down. And now this man was telling me things I couldn't grasp.
Hunter's voice broke through my daze, low and lethal. "If you're here to threaten her, you'll regret it."
But the stranger didn't seem afraid. He just looked at Hunter like he wasn't even worth his time. His eyes slid back to me. "You don't even know the half of it, do you?" He spoke like he was revealing a secret, a truth too dark to bear. "You're the key to ending the war. Or you'll be the one to destroy everything."
I blinked, trying to make sense of his words, but nothing clicked. The weight of the prophecy felt like it was hanging over me, suffocating me, and I didn't know how to shake it off.
"I think you're in over your head," Hunter said, his voice now a low growl, like a wolf ready to strike. He stepped forward, closer to the stranger, and I could feel the tension building. It was about to explode.
The stranger's lips twisted into a smile. "I'm not here to fight. Not yet," he said, as though he were enjoying the moment, savoring the fear that clung to the air around us. "But soon. I'll be back." His eyes darted to the trees, like he'd sensed something in the distance, and then he turned and walked away without another word.
For a moment, I just stood there, frozen. My mind was spinning. The prophecy, this man—everything felt like it was coming at me too fast. I didn't understand it, and the more I tried to make sense of it, the more the pieces seemed to slip through my fingers.
Hunter, still tense, finally turned to face me. "Are you okay?"
I nodded, even though I wasn't. My heart was racing, my breath shallow. I wanted to run, to find somewhere safe, but I knew there was no running from this. Whatever that man had said, whatever prophecy he was talking about, it was about me. And there was no escaping it.
Kieran stepped forward, his face set in a hard line, his voice low and urgent. "We need to move," he said. "Now."
Hunter didn't hesitate. "He's right. We can't stay here."
We started moving, quickly, but my mind was still back in that moment, with the stranger's words echoing in my ears. The key to the prophecy? The last of an ancient bloodline? I didn't understand what any of it meant, but I could feel the weight of his words, the way they settled deep in my chest, making everything else seem insignificant.
As we walked, I kept glancing over my shoulder, half-expecting the stranger to reappear. But nothing. The forest was still, too still, like it was holding its breath, waiting for something.
And I felt it too—this terrible, gnawing sense that the world was changing, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.
Hunter's voice broke through my thoughts. "You're safe, for now."
I didn't feel safe. None of this felt safe. But I nodded anyway, too exhausted to argue.
Kieran's footsteps sounded beside mine, but he didn't say anything. It felt like everything was hanging in the air between us, unspoken, but I could sense the shift. There was tension between us all now, and the strange man's visit had only made it worse.
I kept walking, one foot in front of the other, not knowing what to expect, but feeling the weight of it all bearing down on me. Whatever was coming, I wasn't prepared for it. And I was afraid it w
ould change everything forever.