Chapter 14: Unseen threat

Ethan’s POV

The night air was sharp and unsettling as Lila and I decided to take another routine home. I waited for her to close the clinic and we walk together. We were talking and we didn't know when we wondered into the forest. we made our way through the dense woods, the darkness closing in around us. Lila walked beside me, her eyes scanning every shadow, every rustle of leaves. She was silent, her usual calm replaced with a simmering tension that made my instincts flare. Neither of us knew what to expect—or even where exactly we were going. 

I had a flashlight, but it only pierced a fraction of the night. My senses were on high alert, aware of every snap of a twig, every shift in the breeze.

“Are you sure we’re going the right way?” Lila asked quietly, casting a glance back over her shoulder.

I nodded, though truthfully, I wasn’t sure. This part of the forest was familiar, but not in a way I could easily explain. It was more like an echo, as if I’d been here before in another life. The trees grew denser the further we went, their gnarled roots curling up like twisted hands reaching out to stop us. The path was practically nonexistent, a narrow, winding stretch through brush and shadows.

“Just keep close,” I said, tightening my grip on the flashlight. “We’re almost there.”

It was then that I spotted something faint on the ground—a series of strange markings etched into the dirt. My heart quickened. They weren’t natural, more like symbols scratched hastily but purposefully, the lines sharp and deliberate.

“Look,” I murmured, gesturing to them.

Lila crouched down, brushing her fingers lightly over one of the symbols. “What do you think it means?”

“I don’t know,” I replied. “But it looks… old.”

We exchanged a glance, and I saw a flicker of apprehension in her eyes. I knew the feeling all too well. These woods had always had a reputation for being haunted—stories of strange sounds, whispers in the night, shadows moving where there shouldn’t be any. Even as kids, we’d been warned never to wander too deep. 

But here we were.

As we continued, the symbols grew more frequent, carved into tree trunks and rocks, each one slightly different, like pieces of a larger puzzle. Lila’s face was set in concentration, and I could tell she was trying to decipher them.

“What are you thinking?” I asked her.

She glanced up, biting her lip. “It’s hard to explain… but these symbols feel like a warning.”

The silence that followed was heavy, loaded with unspoken questions neither of us wanted to voice. We kept walking, deeper into the woods until we stumbled upon something that made us both stop in our tracks.

There, hidden among the trees, was a structure—a ruin, its walls crumbling with age. Vines and moss clung to the stones, but even in the dim light, I could see that it was unlike anything I’d ever seen in Silverwood. The air around it felt different, colder, and thick with an energy I couldn’t place.

“What is this place?” Lila whispered, her voice barely audible.

I shook my head. “No idea. But it feels… ancient.”

The door to the ruin was partially open, as if inviting us in. A chill ran down my spine, and I hesitated. My instincts screamed at me to turn back, to get Lila far away from here, but the pull was too strong. I couldn’t leave without knowing what this place was—or what it held.

“Stay close,” I told her, reaching for her hand.

She nodded, gripping my hand tightly as we stepped inside.

---

The interior of the ruin was dark, the air heavy and stale. Our footsteps echoed, each one louder than the last. I shone the flashlight around, illuminating stone walls covered in carvings and symbols. They were similar to the ones we’d seen outside but more intricate, more refined. As we moved deeper, I noticed the faint outlines of figures etched into the walls—wolves, mostly, but also humans, locked in some kind of ancient battle.

Lila’s fingers brushed over one of the carvings, her expression unreadable. “These wolves… they’re different from the ones I have seen. They look almost human.”

“It’s an old myth,” I murmured, my mind racing as I recalled the stories my father used to tell me. “Before werewolves were bound to any pack, they were thought to be solitary. Wild. Unpredictable.”

She looked at me, her brows knitting together. “And the humans?”

“They… hunted us. Thought we were monsters.” I swallowed, the weight of that history sinking in. “Some thought we were cursed.”

Her gaze softened, but before she could respond, we reached the end of the chamber. In the faint light, I could make out a large stone altar, its surface covered in even more carvings.

As I approached, my heart began to pound, my pulse echoing in my ears. Something about this altar felt… wrong. Ancient. Dangerous. I could feel the energy radiating from it, a steady thrum that seemed to reach out and pull me in.

Lila must have sensed it too because she took a hesitant step back, her grip on my hand tightening. “What is this place, Ethan?”

I shook my head, unable to answer. My hand brushed against the surface of the altar, and I felt a sudden jolt, like an electric shock. Images flashed through my mind—a forest, a moonlit sky, wolves howling in the night. And then… darkness.

“Are you okay?” Lila’s voice broke through the haze, grounding me.

I blinked, the images fading as quickly as they’d appeared. “Yeah,” I said, though my voice sounded hollow. “I’m fine.”

But I wasn’t. Something was wrong, something I couldn’t explain. I looked down at the altar, and that’s when I noticed it—a faint carving on its surface, one that hadn’t been visible before. A symbol, ancient and powerful, etched deep into the stone.

“Lila, look,” I said, pointing to it.

She leaned in, studying the symbol with a frown. “This is the same symbol I saw on my door.”

My stomach dropped. “Are you sure?”

She nodded. “Positive. It’s the same one.”

A chill ran through me. The symbol was part of the prophecy, the one Elena had spoken of. It was a warning, a curse—something that had been hidden here, waiting to be found.

“This can’t be a coincidence,” I murmured, my mind racing. “There’s something connecting all of this—the illness, Dominic, the prophecy…”

Lila’s gaze was steady, her eyes dark and intense. “And now us.”

The weight of her words settled over me like a shroud. She was right. Whatever was happening here, whatever dark force was at play, we were in the middle of it now.

As we turned to leave, a sound echoed through the chamber—a low, rumbling growl that sent chills down my spine. I froze, my heart hammering in my chest, as the shadows seemed to shift, closing in around us.

“Did you hear that?” Lila whispered, her voice barely audible.

I nodded, scanning the room. The air was thick, suffocating, and I could feel the presence of something lurking in the darkness, watching us.

Slowly, I turned, shining the flashlight around the chamber. The beam caught a pair of glowing eyes in the shadows—eyes that were far too large to belong to any wolf I’d ever seen.

“Ethan,” Lila murmured, her voice trembling. “What… is that?”

I took a step back, pulling her with me. “We need to get out of here. Now.”

We moved toward the exit, my heart pounding in my chest. But as we reached the door, the ground shook, and a deafening roar echoed through the chamber, sending a wave of terror crashing over us.

I pushed Lila forward, urging her to run, but just as we reached the doorway, something slammed into the wall beside us, blocking our path. I turned, my fists clenched, ready to fight whatever was coming.

And then I saw it—the creature. It was massive, its form twisted and monstrous, with eyes that glowed a sickly yellow. It looked like a wolf, but there was something wrong about it, something unnatural. Its body was covered in scars, its fur matted and dark, and its jaws were lined with jagged, broken teeth.

“Run!” I shouted, pushing Lila forward. “Get out of here!”

She hesitated, looking back at me, fear flashing in her eyes. But before she could argue, the creature lunged, its massive body hurtling toward us.

I grabbed a stone from the ground, hurling it at the creature to distract it, buying Lila a few precious seconds. She took off, sprinting toward the trees, and I followed, my heart pounding as I listened to the sound of the creature crashing through the ruins behind us.

As we ran, the woods seemed to close in around us, the shadows growing darker, the air colder. The creature was close—too close—and I could feel its presence behind us, like a storm ready to break.

Just when I thought we were safe, the creature let out a piercing howl, and I felt a surge of energy ripple through the air, powerful and malevolent. I glanced back, catching a glimpse of its glowing eyes through the trees, and a chill ran down my spine.

“Ethan!” Lila’s voice called from ahead, and I turned, forcing myself to focus, to keep moving. We couldn’t stop not now, not when we were so close to getting out of here.

But as we stumbled into the clearing, a new terror settled over me.

Because the creature wasn’t chasing us anymore.

It was waiting.