The sun rose gently, lighting the village in a warm, golden light. Zayne woke in bed, the noise of movement outside caressed his ears. The sense of unease had carried through the night, and the village felt strangely still, as if in a silent breath.
He leapt to his feet and ran to the window, and his heart raced when he saw Orion casting over the brush in his wake with his troops. Relief washed over Zayne's chest at the view of his father's broad back, his assured gait, but the more Orion drew close, the tense determined look in his jaw and the burn in his gaze, overwhelmed Zayne.
"Father's home!" Zayne called out, racing to the door. Liora was already there, her hands clasped tightly together as she watched Orion approach.
Orion took the first step into the room and his fur cloak hung low and sodden with condensation from damp moss, while his own features bore witness to fatigue. Liora reached out, resting a hand on his arm. "You're safe, she whispered, the relief evident in her voice.
"For now," Orion replied, his tone low but steady. He looked down at Zayne and smiled faintly. "The forest is quiet, but not for long. We must prepare."
Breakfast was a somber affair. The family sat around the table, the comforting aroma of fresh bread and herbs doing little to lift the weight that hung over them. Orion ate little with his mind lost in a future plan.
Zayne sat across from him, watching his father intently. For the first time he understood the creases of Orion's eyelids, the slight droop of his shoulders. Leadership, Zayne learned, was not only power and poise, it was a weight.
"Zayne, eat," Liora urged gently, her own plate untouched.
Zayne nibbled at his food with an appetite sapped by the tension in the room. He wanted to ask questions, to figure out what happened in the forest, but his words choked in his throat.
After the meal, Orion and Liora moved to the far end of the room, their voices low but urgent. Zayne feigned work at setting the table in order, his ears straining to hear bits of the conversation.
"They're closer than we thought," Orion said. "Tracks near the river, too fresh to ignore. They're watching us, testing our defenses."
"And the village? Liora asked, her voice tight with worry.
"We'll fortify the borders and double the patrols, " Orion replied. "But if they come in force. He trailed off, his words heavy with implications he didn't dare voice.
Zayne's chest tightened. He had always considered his parents unyielding, pillars of stability and inevitability. Now however, for the first time, he caught a glimpse of what they felt—the burden of the protection that comes with being pack leader.
When the conversation ended, Orion left to oversee preparations, and Liora turned to Zayne with a small, strained smile. Just stay in today," she said, stroking his head with a hand. "There's much to be done."
Zayne smiled, but the jittering of his stomach would not let go. With the sun and hours passing the day turned into he paced the small house, his mind whirring. He always wanted to be an Alpha like his dad, but now he wondered whether or not he really knew what that entailed.
When the day ended, the vanishing light coloured the village in tones of amber and gold. Liora was hard at work in the kitchen, her actions quick and efficient, leaving Zayne for a moment by himself.
The pull of the forest was irresistible. Unbeknownst to all ears Zayne quietly went out of the house, leaving his footsteps as light as snow on his way along the road's edge of the village. The air was cool, carrying the faint scent of pine and earth, and the forest loomed ahead, dark and mysterious.
He broke off a moment before the tree line, his eyes zigzagging across the dark. At the beginning, he observed only the swaying of the leaves by the wind. Then, a flicker of movement caught his attention.
There, deep within the forest, a pair of glowing eyes stared back at him.
Zayne froze, his heart pounding in his chest. The eyes didn't move, didn't blink—just watched him with an unsettling stillness. A low, guttural growl reached his ears, barely audible but enough to send a shiver down his spine.
It bound him to the spot, but a sense of curiosity ignited with it. This was his first glimpse of the danger Orion had spoken of, the threat that loomed just beyond their borders.
Suddenly, the sound of footsteps behind him made him whirl around. Liora stood there, her face pale with worry.
"Zayne!" she whispered harshly, grabbing his arm. "What are you doing out here?"
"I… I just wanted to see, he stammered, casting one last glance toward the forest. But the eyes were gone, swallowed by the shadows.
Liora pulled him hard back towards the village, her hand strong. "It's not safe," she said, her voice trembling slightly. "You must promise me you won't come out here alone again.
Zayne nodded, his thoughts whirling as they got back to being home. The weight of what he had seen, and the realization of what it meant, pressed heavily on his young shoulders.
That peace was short lived, a thin coat over the impending storm in the distance. For the first time, Zayne truly understood the gravity of what lay ahead. And while fear surged through him, so too surged a flicker of will.
Whatever was coming, he would face it, with his father, his family, and his pack.