Chapter 7 Wilderness

• The stranger's raised hand held Bobby frozen on the hillside overlooking the cabin. Something about the gesture felt familiar, though she couldn't place why. The figure below waited with infinite patience, as if they had all the time in the world.
• "We should approach," Bria urged. "That scent... I know it from somewhere deep in our memories."
• Bobby descended the slope cautiously, every instinct screaming warnings even as curiosity drove her forward. The cabin's occupant remained on the porch, watching her approach with eyes that seemed to see too much.
• Up close, Bobby could see the stranger was a woman who seemed to be in her sixties, had silver hair braided down her back, and whose dark eyes held depths that suggested centuries of accumulated wisdom. She gestured for Bobby to follow her inside. Despite every survival instinct screaming warnings, Bobby felt an inexplicable pull drawing her forward.
• "Elena," the woman introduced herself, closing the door behind them. Her voice carried the weight of centuries. "I've been expecting you."
• The cabin's interior defied its modest exterior, carrying notes of sage and something Bobby couldn't identify—something that made Bobby's pendant pulse with sudden warmth. Ancient symbols carved into wooden beams pulsed with faint silver light.
• "You don't know me," Bobby protested, remaining near the door.
• Elena smiled, her eyes reflecting light like a wolf's. "I know what you carry." Her gaze dropped to Bobby's wrist, where the crescent-shaped mark had darkened since her escape. "That mark hasn't appeared in over three centuries."
• Bobby instinctively covered her wrist, though the gesture felt futile. "It's just a birthmark."
• "No, child." Elena moved to the fireplace, stirring something in a copper pot. "That mark identifies you as a descendant of the Moon Goddess' original guardians. Ancient wolf spirits who walked between worlds, protectors of the sacred bloodlines. The first wolves who were blessed with her divine power."
• The pendant around Bobby's neck grew warm, responding to Elena's words. Bria stirred restlessly, memories that weren't quite memories flickering at the edges of Bobby's consciousness.
• "Your bloodline traces back to Lykaios himself, the great silver wolf who stood at her right hand," Elena continued, ladling steaming liquid into a clay mug. "He sacrificed himself to seal away a great darkness, but his bloodline survived, hidden among the common packs. Your mother knew what you were—why do you think your true nature was hidden, even from you?" she stated without preamble. Her voice held the cadence of someone accustomed to speaking uncomfortable truths.
• "That's impossible," Bobby whispered, though something deep in her soul recognized the truth in Elena's words. She accepted the offered drink, inhaling its earthy aroma. "You're talking about legends."
• "Legends built on truth." Elena's expression grew grave. "The mark awakens only when the ancient enemy stirs. Your very existence means the darkness is returning."
• "What darkness?" Bobby's voice cracked with the question she wasn't sure she wanted answered.
• Elena opened her mouth to respond, then froze. Her head tilted, listening to something Bobby couldn't hear. In one fluid motion, she stood and moved to the window, peering through curtains that suddenly seemed inadequate protection.
• "You need to leave. Now." Elena's demeanor shifted completely, urgency replacing her previous calm. "They've found your trail."
• "Who's found my trail?"
• "Trouble, child. And you're at the center of it. I was foolish to keep you here so long." Elena pressed a wrapped bundle into Bobby's hands. "Ancient herbs. They'll mask your scent for a time, nothing more."
• Bobby rose, setting down her untouched tea.
• Elena pulled weapons from the chest—silver blades that gleamed with their own inner light. "They've been tracking the mark's awakening. Your power grows stronger with each passing hour, and they can sense it now."
• "Who are they?"
• "Those who fear what you represent. What you could become."
• Through the cabin walls, Bobby heard the distant sound of howls—not the wild calls of forest wolves, but something darker, more purposeful.
• "Follow the river north. Trust your wolf's instincts—they're stronger than you know. The prophecy cannot be fulfilled if you're dead."
• "What prophecy?" Bobby demanded, though Elena was already opening the door.
• Before Bobby could protest, Elena ushered her toward the back door. "Blood calls to blood, child. The Moon's Shadow rises, and only her chosen guardian can stand against the darkness that follows.”
• "Remember what I told you about the mark. When the time comes, you'll understand."
• The door closed firmly behind Bobby, leaving her alone in the pre-dawn darkness with more questions than answers.
• Bobby ran until her lungs burned, Elena's warnings echoing in her mind. The cloth bundle contained dried meat and herbs, along with a small vial of silver liquid that seemed to glow with its own light. She didn't stop until she reached a dense grove several miles from the cabin.
• "What did she mean about the mark?" Bobby asked aloud, examining her wrist in the moonlight. The crescent shape seemed darker, more defined than before.
• "She spoke truth," Bria replied, her mental voice heavy with recognition. "I remember fragments—flashes of another time, another wolf. The guardians were real, Bobby. And their enemy was something beyond normal werewolf understanding."
• "You remember?" Bobby pressed. "What aren't you telling me?"
• Bria's presence grew stronger, more solid within Bobby's consciousness. "The memories were locked away, hidden even from me until now. Elena's words awakened them. We are connected to something ancient, something that was meant to stay buried."
• Bobby traced the mark with her finger, feeling warmth pulse beneath her skin. "The pendant, the journal, now this mark—everything points to secrets Mom never told me."
• "Madeleine protected you the only way she knew how," Bria offered gently. "Sometimes ignorance is safety."
• "Not anymore." Bobby stood, shouldering her makeshift pack. "Elena said to follow the river north. Maybe we'll find more answers there."
• "Or more danger," Bria warned. "The guardians' enemies won't have forgotten. If they sense what you are..."
• "Then we face them." Bobby's jaw set with determination. "I'm tired of running from truths I don't understand."
• The sound of distant howls drifted through the forest—hunting calls that made Bobby's blood run cold. Whatever had been tracking her was closing in, and Elena's mysterious warnings suddenly felt far too real.
• The howls grew closer, forcing Bobby to abandon her contemplation of Elena's cryptic warnings. She moved swiftly through the underbrush, following the river's winding path northward as instructed. The woman's words echoed in her mind with each footstep—ancient guardians, awakening darkness, enemies beyond normal understanding.
• "The mark burns," Bobby observed, pausing to examine her wrist again. The crescent shape seemed to pulse with its own rhythm, matching her accelerated heartbeat.
• "It responds to proximity," Bria explained, her mental voice tense with newfound awareness. "The closer we get to our destination, the stronger it becomes. Elena was right—we carry something ancient."
• Bobby pressed forward, using fallen logs to mask her scent trail. The hunting party behind her moved with methodical precision, their coordination suggesting they weren't ordinary pack enforcers.
• "Tell me about these locked memories," Bobby demanded as she navigated around a steep ravine. "What else have you been hiding from me?"
• Bria's presence shimmered, becoming more substantial within Bobby's consciousness. "I remember fragments of Lykaios—the first guardian Elena mentioned. He wasn't just a protector; he was a bridge between worlds. His descendants inherited that connection, though most never awakened to their true nature."
• "What made them special?"
• "They could see beyond the veil that separates our world from the shadow realm. The ancient enemy Elena spoke of dwells there, feeding on chaos and conflict among the packs. The guardians were meant to keep that darkness contained."
• Bobby stumbled over a root, catching herself against a tree trunk. The bark felt warm beneath her palm, responding to her touch with faint silver luminescence.
• "The trees recognize you," Bria whispered in wonder. "Your awakening affects everything around us."
• "This is insane." Bobby pushed away from the glowing tree, disturbed by its response. "Days ago, I was just a prisoner in Silvercrest. Now you're telling me I'm some mystical guardian descended from legends?"
• "Legends that shaped our world," Bria corrected gently. "The reason packs exist at all is because of the guardians' sacrifice. They maintained the balance that kept the shadow realm sealed."
• A branch snapped somewhere behind them, too close for comfort. Bobby quickened her pace, Elena's bundle of supplies bouncing against her hip.
• "The guardians meant to maintain balance, what happened to them?"
• "They were hunted," Bria's voice grew heavy with ancient sorrow. "Not by the shadow creatures, but by their own kind. Fear of their power, jealousy of their connection to the Moon Goddess—it turned pack against pack until the guardian bloodlines were scattered and hidden."
• Bobby crested a hill and saw the river opening into a wider valley below. Mountains rose in the distance, their peaks shrouded in clouds that seemed to swirl with unnatural patterns.
• "Those aren't normal clouds," she observed.
• "No," Bria agreed grimly. "Something stirs in the north. The awakening of your mark hasn't gone unnoticed."
• The sound of pursuit grew fainter as Bobby descended into the valley, though she knew it was temporary respite. Whatever tracked her wouldn't give up easily.
• "Elena said the darkness was returning," Bobby mused, pausing to drink from the river. "What does that mean exactly?"
• "The seals are weakening," Bria explained. "Without guardians to maintain them, the barriers between worlds grow thin. If they fail completely..."
• "The shadow realm bleeds through," Bobby finished, understanding flooding through her despite never having learned such things. "And everything changes."
• "Everything ends," Bria corrected quietly. "At least, everything as we know it."
• Bobby stood, wiping water from her mouth. The pendant around her neck had grown warm again, pulling her attention northward with increasing urgency.
• "Then we find answers," she declared, shouldering her pack with renewed determination. "Mom hid me from this responsibility my entire life, though now I understand why. The question is: am I strong enough to bear what she protected me from?"
• "We'll discover that together," Bria promised. "Guardian and wolf, as it was always meant to be."
• The distant howls had ceased entirely, replaced by an ominous silence that made Bobby's skin crawl. Whatever hunted her had either given up or found another way to track their quarry.
• "They've stopped," she noted, unease prickling along her spine.
• "Or they've found what they were looking for," Bria observed darkly.
• The implication sent ice through Bobby's veins. If Elena had been captured or killed because of their meeting, the blood would be on Bobby's hands. The mysterious woman had risked everything to share crucial information, and Bobby had led danger straight to her door.
• "We can't go back," Bria warned, sensing Bobby's thoughts. "Elena knew the risks. Our responsibility now is to the greater threat she warned us about."
• Bobby nodded reluctantly, forcing herself to continue northward despite the guilt weighing heavy in her chest. Each step carried her further from her old life and deeper into a destiny she was only beginning to understand.
• The mark on her wrist pulsed once more, stronger than before, and somewhere in the distance, something howled in response—a sound that belonged to no earthly wolf.
• ***
• Bobby awoke to darkness. Stars peeked through gaps in the canopy overhead, their light casting silver shadows across the forest floor. Her stomach growled furiously, reminding her she hadn't eaten since escaping Silvercrest territory two days ago.
• "Hunt," Bria suggested, her voice a warm whisper in Bobby's mind. "Let me show you how."
• The shift came easier this time, almost painless. Bobby surrendered control, allowing Bria's instincts to guide their shared body. They moved silently through the forest, paws barely disturbing the fallen leaves as they tracked the scent of a rabbit.
• The kill was quick, merciful. Later, human again and satiated, Bobby washed blood from her hands in the nearby stream. The metallic taste lingered on her tongue—wild, primal, satisfying in ways she'd never expected.
• "I never imagined freedom would feel like this," she murmured, addressing Bria directly, though it felt strange talking to herself. "Terrifying and wonderful at once."
• "Freedom always comes with responsibility," Bria replied. "What will you do with yours?"
• Bobby reached for the pendant around her neck—the only thing she'd managed to keep during her captivity. Inside the locket lay a tiny photo of herself as an infant, cradled in her mother's arms. The inscription on the back read simply: For our daughter, blood of my heart, heir to your father's legacy.
• "Mom never told me who my father was," Bobby whispered, clutching the pendant tightly. The metal warmed against her palm, almost pulsing with hidden energy. "Just that he wasn't the rogue everyone assumed."
• She reached for her mother's journal, the small leather-bound book the stranger had gifted her before fleeing. Bobby had read the relevant entries dozens of times already, searching for clues her mother might have hidden between the lines.
• July 15th: I cannot tell Bobby the truth. Not yet. Her father's pack would kill her if they knew she existed. The Alpha's bloodline must remain "pure"—whatever that means. Better she believe her father was a nameless rogue than know the danger her existence poses.
• August 3rd: She asked about her father again today. The pendant nearly burned against her skin when she touched it—the magic recognizes her heritage even if she doesn't. How long before others notice?
• Bobby closed the journal, jaw tightening with resolve. "I'm going to find him—my father. The Alpha who doesn't know I exist."
• "A dangerous journey," Bria cautioned. "We have no pack, no resources."
• "We have each other." Bobby stood, stretching her healed body. The marks from Chad's abuse had faded completely, leaving only faint silver scars that caught moonlight. "And I need answers. Mom died protecting this secret. I deserve to know why."