Chapter 33
Seraphina had never been this afraid in all her life.
She stood frozen, her gaze locked on Kayla, her feet trembling beneath her.
Even the letter in her hand quivered, the fragile parchment rustling against her shaking fingers.
Fear gripped her so tightly that she could hardly breathe.
“The path is not clear. The Alchemist of Lythos does not grant wisdom. She steals it,” Seraphina muttered under her breath.
But what terrified Seraphina most was not just the danger of the journey itself.
It was the simple, devastating truth that Kayla was pregnant.
And she couldn’t even shift.
Without her wolf, Kayla had no defense against whatever lay ahead.
No protection against the Alchemist’s traps, no way to escape if things went wrong.
She was vulnerable in a way she had never been before, and that vulnerability sent a cold, bone-deep terror coursing through Seraphina.
The letter slipped from her trembling fingers and drifted to the ground like a dead leaf.
She didn’t even notice.
Her mind was consumed with one horrifying thought after another.
The Alchemist had been waiting for Kayla.
The mysterious woman was willing to do anything back then just to see her.
Now, Seraphina couldn't help but feel Kayla was walking straight into the alchemist's grasp.
Seraphina tried to speak, to call out, to say something, anything, to stop her niece.
But her throat had gone dry, her voice trapped beneath the weight of her fear.
Then, suddenly, a loud noise shattered the heavy silence.
A deep, thunderous roar, like the earth itself had split apart.
It echoed across the landscape, rattling Seraphina’s already unsteady heart.
She turned sharply, her eyes darting toward the source of the noise.
The noise was coming from the Silver Mountain pack.
A thick plume of smoke curled into the sky in the distance, dark and ominous against the pale afternoon light.
Cries rang out in the distance, carried by the wind.
A deep, guttural howl followed, one that sent shivers racing down her spine.
Something was happening.
Something terrible.
Kayla, who had been standing a few feet away, her phone pressed to her ear, turned as well.
Her eyes widened as she watched the dark smoke rise, the sound of chaos carrying through the air.
Without hesitation, she pulled the phone from her ear.
“Seraphina, keep talking to the trees,” Kayla said. “I’ll find out what’s going on.”
Then she ran.
Seraphina barely had time to react before Kayla had disappeared, her dark hair whipping behind her as she sprinted toward the Silver Mountain pack.
Seraphina exhaled sharply and her entire body sagged.
Her hand reached out for support, fingers pressing against the rough surface of a nearby boulder.
Slowly, she lowered herself down, feeling the weight of her exhaustion settle into her bones.
She was weak.
Not just physically, but in her heart.
Seraphina had always been strong, always known what to do, always found a way to stand tall no matter what obstacles lay ahead.
But this time, she felt powerless.
Kayla was slipping through her fingers, heading toward dangers she could not even comprehend.
Seraphina had vowed to spend her whole life protecting her only niece, guiding her, keeping her safe from the very monsters that lurked in the shadows.
And now, all she could do was sit here, helpless.
“Tell her the road is cursed. Tell her the price is too great. Tell her something, anything, that will make her turn away.”
Seraphina heard whispers around her.
As though one of the trees was reading Helena's letter.
Seraphina’s voice rang through the still forest, her patience snapping like brittle twigs.
“Stop talking!” she shouted.
The whispers around her ceased, leaving an eerie silence in their wake.
Even the wind held its breath.
She exhaled sharply and muttered under her breath.
“Speak one by one!”
Her command echoed through the ancient trees.
A voice, neither near nor far, drifted toward her.
“If she cannot save the Alpha, no wolf would.”
“You have said this countless times! Tell me how she’s supposed to do it!” Seraphina demanded.
“Follow her instincts?” a voice said.
“Are you asking me or telling me? Because I swear, you’re just spouting riddles!” Seraphina yelled.
“I am telling you,” the voice interrupted.
Seraphina’s anger increased.
“So if her instincts tell her to go to the Alchemist of Lythos, you mean she should walk straight into that trap?”
“Yes.”
The answer came swift and sure, sending a chill down Seraphina’s spine.
“Avoid me! Avoid me! Don’t ever talk to me again!” she shouted, standing abruptly.
Her chest rose and fell with heavy breaths, her anger radiating off her in waves.
She whirled around, staring at the towering trees as though daring them to speak again.
A moment passed.
Then another.
Seraphina sat back down on the boulder, pressing her fingers against her temple.
“Next person!” she barked, but no voice came.
Her eyes narrowed and she screamed.
“I said next person!”
However, none of the eerie voices spoke.
Seraphina's rage flared hotter.
“If you think staying silent will make me leave, you’re mistaken. I’ll cut every single one of you down if you don’t speak! I swear it!”
A breeze stirred the branches, and then, at last, a voice slithered through the air.
“What do you want?”
Seraphina’s patience snapped.
“Don’t ask me that! You already know! Tell me what the Alchemist will demand from her! That’s the real answer we need, right? We can use it to save Zayron!”
A pause, deep and thoughtful, as though the trees themselves were considering their words carefully.
Then a whisper, barely audible but carrying the weight of ancient knowledge.
“The Alchemist of Lythos does not take. She trades.”
“Trades? Trades what?” Seraphina demanded.
She desperately wanted to know what the alchemist would ask Kayla to sacrifice.
“A life for a life. A secret for a truth. A dream for reality,” a voice echoed.
Seraphina clenched her jaw.
“You’re speaking in riddles again. Give me something useful!”
“Truth is a river that does not run straight. It bends around the mountains, carves through the valleys. It cannot be rushed.”
Seraphina let out a growl of frustration.
“Fine. Then tell me. What would Kayla have to give up in exchange for saving Zayron?”
The trees rustled, their voices like a chorus of whispers as eerie sounds filled everywhere.
“What the Alpha values most.”
Seraphina’s breath came short.
“And what is that?”
“A path not yet walked. A bond not yet broken. A destiny waiting to be claimed.”
“You mean what exactly?” Seraphina asked.
“A price is only high if the buyer hesitates to pay.”
“Kayla must surely hesitate, but this riddle doesn't answer my question. What price would the alchemist demand?”
“A heart does not bargain with logic. It trades in sacrifice,” a voice echoed.
“Tell me what the alchemist would demand!” Seraphina barked, her voice echoing through the quiet grove.
A whisper slithered through the air, rustling the leaves.
“The sun does not rise without asking for the night’s permission.”
Seraphina's nostrils flared.
“Don't play games with me! What does that mean?”
“What is given freely is rarely valued. What is taken by force is never truly owned.”
“Speak plainly! Kayla’s life is at stake! She is pregnant. I need to stop her! What will the alchemist ask of her?”
“A debt owed must be paid. A fate written cannot be erased.”
Seraphina exhaled sharply.
“You’re telling me nothing! You’re filling my ears with nonsense when I need the truth!”
“Truth is never handed to those who demand it. It is earned,” a voice echoed, sounding like Seraphina’s mysterious friends were playing games with her.
Seraphina let out a growl of frustration, standing up so suddenly that the loose earth beneath her shifted.
“Enough! I swear if you don’t stop playing games, I will have these woods cut down until not a single one of you remains!”
The grove fell eerily silent.
The wind ceased its murmuring.
The trees stood still, their silence louder than their words.
For the first time, they did not answer her.
Seraphina let out a humorless laugh and shook her head.
“Cowards.”
She turned on her heel, dusting the dirt off her hands.
“Fine. If you refuse to help, I’ll do it myself. I’ll go with Kayla. And if I don’t return, I’ll make sure every wolf in this land knows what you’ve done. They will come for you. They will cut you all down until there’s nothing left of you but dust and regret.”
Seraphina narrowed her eyes, taking one last glance at the unmoving forest before she stormed away, muttering curses under her breath.
She had wasted enough time.
Kayla arrived at the Silver Mountain pack and could hardly believe what she was seeing.
Her steps slowed as she took in the scene.
Slowly, she turned her head, her gaze locking onto Alpha Zayron, who stood tall in the arena beside his Gamma, Cross.