Chapter 14 Briar
Briar
For a moment, I couldn’t breathe.
Vad’s presence—his weight, his heat, his shield of wings—stole the air from my lungs almost as much as the wolf had. He’d followed me through the portal, and now he was in danger.
Are you hurt? He moved in front of me, blocking me from the beast by flaring his wings wider. He snarled, and his back coiled tightly.
No, it just got my skirt this time.
Everything had gone deathly still.
I stood and prepared to fight. The run bag had fallen off my shoulder, and I didn’t have any weapons other than my human hands and teeth since shifting was out of the question.
Concern and confusion raced through our bond as Vad remained in front of me.
But the sensation of anger wanted to shred me from the inside out.
I had no doubt he thought he would lose me.
He moved to block me from the wolf again, but I caught his wrist. The jolt coursed between us, anchoring us to reality. You shouldn’t have come.
I always will. I protect what’s mine until I take my last breath.
He took my hand, and the fight that had built inside me dissolved just long enough to let me feel everything; the panic, the relief, the ache of still being alive.
Then silence hit.
No snarling. No growling. Still and unnatural.
Something shifted in the air. My wolf raised her hackles, uneasy but on defense, sniffing the currents with a low whine that curled in my throat.
Vad tensed again, his concern laced with confusion as his grip on my hand hovered between protective and cautious.
The air hummed around us like a taut wire pulled too tight, and I looked around.
We were surrounded.
We stood with our backs to the wall of a circular cavern. Wolves ringed the chamber, all standing with their attention fixed on me like statues carved from shadow and instinct. They weren’t attacking, but they weren’t retreating either. Every single one had crimson eyes.
A chill ran down my spine.
At the far end of the chamber stood a figure I knew wasn’t ordinary. Even in the dim light, it radiated presence. It was massive, silent, and also crimson-eyed.
Its fur was black as a void, the kind of darkness that drank in the light and gave nothing back. It stood motionless, tall as a stag, muscles coiled beneath a pelt that shimmered like shadow and smoke. The weight of its attention hit me like a tidal wave.
My wolf hunkered in my mind.
It’s another guardian beast. Vad stayed focused on it, ready to fight if it lunged.
Like the stag. A strange pulse of energy moved through me, stirring in my chest and then moving down my spine.
The memory of that moment with the stag flickered to life.
I couldn’t explain the awe, the fear, the overwhelming certainty that something ancient and powerful was trying to connect with me.
That same sensation pooled in my stomach now.
My wrist ached where the frozen butterfly tattoo had once burned. A ripple of cold coiled there, reaching outward, like roots digging into something deeper.
The guardian wolf took a step forward while every wolf in the circle remained still, not a tail nor an ear twitching.
My wolf eased in what I could only explain as recognition. She pressed forward with interest, her attention completely locked on the guardian.
The air between us vibrated as if alive and watching. A sharp realization cut through me. The guardian wolf had been waiting for me. Time slowed around me, each breath dragging as my nerves tightened like violin strings.
Though its paws were massive, they made only the softest sounds, claws whispering over the rough stone.
A strange but irresistible urge to approach curled through my nerves and down into my feet, the pull gentle but as absolute as the tide drawing out the ocean.
Vad moved to block my path, and I realized I’d started forward. The bond between us throbbed with rising alarm. Don’t. Stay behind me. We’ll find an exit. If they turn on us in here, we’re finished.
I didn’t answer because I wasn’t sure he was wrong. Still, I couldn’t ignore the pull inside me either.
The guardian’s gaze didn’t waver. Every step it took closer, I became more certain that it wasn’t a threat. Not to me.
Maybe to everyone else. Maybe even to Vad. But not to me.
It’s all right. I have to go to it. My throat dried, and my pulse stumbled, but I knew approaching the shadow beast was what I needed, too. It pulled both at me and my wolf.
The guardian wolf’s crimson gaze locked with mine, unblinking, as if summoning me forward. With a grace that should be impossible due to its sheer size, it stepped closer, its fur rippling like smoke stirred by a windless current.
Vad’s wings flexed as he angled his body in front of mine like a living shield. “Stay behind me,” he growled, low and lethal.
The wolf’s gigantic head dipped. A deep sound rumbled from its chest, part growl, part breath, part something older than language. The vibration thrummed through the stone, through my bones, until my ribs ached from holding in my breath.
My wolf pressed harder, pacing just under the surface of my skin like a caged storm.
I placed a hand on Vad’s arm. “It’s all right,” I whispered, though I wasn’t sure if I meant it for him or myself. Then I took another step forward, but Vad didn’t move.
Briar. His voice scraped through the bond like gravel. His claws dug into my arm, not hard enough to break skin but enough to make my pulse jump. It’s not letting me come with you.
I swallowed, the memory of the stag rising in my mind. It had prevented him from staying with me, too. I have to do this alone. We have to trust Fate right now. It’s calling me.
Trust Fate? I would rather freeze to death than trust her an inch. Vad’s panic choked me, but I couldn’t stop the tug toward the animal.
The guardian wolf gave another low growl, steady now. Like an ancient drumbeat counting down.
My wolf answered firmly and resolutely, stating we were equal, not prey. I have to go. I need you to trust me.
Vad’s grip faltered. His throat bobbed as he swallowed hard. Then, with clear effort, he released me. I don’t like this.
Neither do I. But the pull inside me wasn’t stopping. It had locked on to something deep and hidden… something primal and absolute. I squeezed his arm once, then let go.
The guardian’s eyes followed my every movement. It matched me stride for stride, closing the gap until the massive bulk of its shadowed form blocked out everything else. It was over fifteen feet tall at the shoulder, but it moved like a whisper of claws on stone.
The room changed again. Colder now, threading with a static charge. My breath frosted between us while the pulse in my wrist flared sharp and burning cold, like fire forged from ice. The long-frozen butterfly scar blazed to life, no longer dormant but alive with power.
I cradled my wrist against my chest as if I could muffle the magic unraveling beneath my skin. The sensation wasn’t just painful. It felt like something was being woken inside me, but I didn’t know what.
The guardian stopped inches away, lowering its head until its muzzle hovered at my chest level. Its breath hit my skin like a heavy winter wind tinged with the metallic scent of ozone and ash.
My instincts screamed to run, but my muscles locked. I lifted one trembling hand.
Briar, Vad connected, and even mentally, his voice was strained.
I’ll let you know if something goes wrong. My voice was steadier than I felt.
The wolf’s wet nose brushed my forehead. The touch was feather-soft, almost reverent, and the heat of its breath sliced through the surrounding cold like a flame in winter.
Something ancient stirred deep inside me…and tightened.
A surge of power slammed into me—first glacial, then molten. My knees nearly buckled, and my vision blurred. The butterfly mark on my wrist ignited, heat searing down to the bone. A scream lodged in my throat but refused to break free.
My wolf whimpered, claws scraping just beneath my skin.
The guardian’s gaze held mine, unflinching. Light flickered in its eyes.
I can’t get to you. Come back here. Vad’s fear crashed into me thunderously. His anger flared in warning, rising like a storm against the walls. He was ready to burn down the world.
My wolf knows it. I forced the thought through the bond, though every cell in my body trembled. Energy pulsed inside me, unfamiliar, yet familiar all at once. The butterfly sigil burrowed deeper with each beat of my heart.
The air thickened with unbearable electricity. My hair lifted at the roots, and the shadow wolf exhaled. Its power rolled through the chamber and made the stone vibrate.
Then the pain struck. Not just in my wrist, but ripping through my chest, clawing up my throat, and burning behind my eyes. The guardian's power wrapped around me like a tether, sinking in deep.
We were locked together now.
Suddenly, the wolf stepped back, like a cord had been cut. The motion broke my trance and nearly sent me stumbling. Around the chamber, the other wolves stirred, muscles twitching, eyes tracking.
Then the guardian tilted its head back and howled, a sound so powerful it shook the air. The others joined, one by one, until the cavern trembled and the stone walls thrummed.
I couldn’t move or blink. My muscles had fused to the stone, bound by some force beyond comprehension. The howling didn’t sound like an ordinary sound anymore. It became pressure, thick and oppressive, seeping beneath my skin and pushing into my lungs and blood and marrow.
Briar! Vad’s desperate voice lashed through the bond. He still couldn’t move. Whatever had locked me in place had shackled him, too.
I’m trying— I tried to push to him, but my mind refused to form words. I was drowning in the wolf’s gaze. The guardian’s crimson eyes pulled me down and deeper still.