Theo

Theo’s POV

For eighteen years, it felt like all I was doing was hunting shadows. Eighteen years of watching the borders, chasing rumors, and finding every scrap of information I could about the Sun Wolves. But all I found was empty forests, abandoned trails, and silence. It was as if the Sun Wolves had vanished from the world…

However, I should have known that something was wrong by how quiet things were. Because when I least expected it, reports started trickling in again. Sun Wolves and Rogues had been spotted within my land—out west, of course. They were always coming in from the west.

This was the first time in nearly two decades that they had dared to set foot in my territories since the human kidnappings. And they hadn’t come quietly. Reports said there was a large camp, moving further and further into our borders. Farmlands near the Outer Territories were torn apart. The abandoned human villages were picked clean of whatever scraps still remained.

It was as if the Sun Wolves were running low on resources. Which meant they had come to take ours.

I could have called in wolves from nearby areas to wipe them out, but that would leave their packs exposed. No… I needed to see for myself their numbers and strength.

So, I gathered ten of my most experienced warriors, as well as my newest companion, Zachary. The twelve of us would go out there, scout out the camp, and vanish before they knew we were there.

That was the plan…

After hours of traveling in our wolf forms, I slowed us down to a halt when we were close to the camp. The tree line ahead opened up into a wide clearing, which was mostly covered in a low-hanging fog.

I shifted into my human form, standing up tall so I could get a better vantage point. Mist swirled in front of me with each breath I took, and the cold air seeped into my skin despite the warmth from my wolf.

Beyond the clearing, I could make out the faint glow of dying campfires. Tents seemed to be scattered around, but the place looked still. Almost too still. I scanned the tree line and camp perimeter, searching for movement—but I saw none. There was no one patrolling or standing guard. It was just… silent.

“Do you think they’re sleeping?” Someone muttered from behind me.

“It’s still early,” I replied, shrugging as I went through all the possibilities in my head. “Maybe as we get closer, we’ll see guards lying low.”

I kicked at the patch of grass beneath me with the heel of my boot until it was nothing but dirt. Crouching down, I placed a small rock in the center to mark the camp’s position.

“All right. We’ll go low through the clearing. At that outcropping ahead, we’ll split into four teams of three. Two teams head north, swing wide, and get eyes on the camp from the west. The other two go south. Once in position, we’ll have one hour to count the tents and wolves before regrouping at Jade Lake. Any questions?”

“You’ll stick out in this clearing,” Zachary, my companion, snorted.

“That’s why I’m going to sneak up in my human form,” I replied with a glare. “All northbound teams will stay human. There’s little cover out that way. Those going south can stay in wolf form. Just keep several hundred feet from the tree line in case they’ve got eyes on us.”

“And if we’re spotted?”

“Howl,” I answered without hesitation. “We’ll all shift and rush in. Just be sure to keep a few wolves alive—I want prisoners to question this time.”

After everyone agreed to the plan, we split into groups. I got Zachary and another warrior. By the time we were ready to go, the moon was fading away into the distance. I whispered a quick prayer to the Goddess under my breath before stepping out onto the damp grass.

The meadow stretched wide, and the fog laid heavily on the ground. It made my skin prickle… With each step, I carefully scanned the tree lines—to the north, things were quiet, and to the south, I saw some deer grazing. My men were close behind, remaining silent as we got further out into the clearing.

We were minutes away from the outcropping when something shot through the air near my ear. I instantly froze as a warrior behind me screamed in pain. That was when I noticed more arrows being shot through the fog. Some landed in the ground beside me with a thud, while others struck a few of my warriors.

My heart stopped as it dawned on me…

The clearing. The fog. My mother’s vision. It wasn’t Calliope’s death she saw—it was mine.

“Theo!” Calliope shouted through our mind link.

She was watching me, watching everything through my eyes. Everything started to connect and finally made sense. The oracle’s words—the future that could not be changed. Calliope’s life had a purpose. And the cost was my life…

“Stop watching!” I yelled at her.

But she didn’t stop. She was back at the palace, surrounded by some of our other warriors, mapping my location from what she was seeing.

“No! Theo! It’s an ambush! Run!”

It was too late… Torches began to light up in the trees—to the north, south, and behind us. We had been funneled here on purpose. But the problem was, I couldn’t smell or see them clearly in the early morning light.

“Everyone shift!” I commanded my warriors.

However, as I gave Amarok control and shifted into our wolf form, another arrow flew past me, hitting another one of my wolves. I went to his aid, pulling the shaft free from his shoulder with my teeth. But as Amarok tossed the arrow onto the ground, I noticed something sparkle in the low light—silver. Not only that, but it reeked of wolfsbane.

I took a moment to look around, trying to find a way out. Going west wasn’t an option—it was where they were trying to lead us. After scanning the tree line, I realized that behind us, there were fewer torches, which meant fewer Sun Wolves.

“Run east! Scatter!” I shouted through mind link.

I ran to my right, weaving around the onslaught of incoming arrows. Pain radiated along my left hind leg as one struck me, and the wolfsbane burned as it seeped into my skin. But I pushed away the pain and kept running.

There was yelping going out through the fog—it was my warriors, falling one by one. I came to a sudden stop and jumped back toward the nearest cry. A Sun Wolf was on top of one of ours. I clamped down on its arm, ripping it away. As I went to toss it to the side, I noticed the silver caps on its claws. But I didn’t notice the other paw coming toward me, scratching at my face. The sting went deep, and it didn’t take me long to feel that it was covered in poison.

“Silver claws! Arrows with wolfsbane!” I relayed to Calliope.

“Theo! You need to run!”

“No! I have to save our warriors!”

The sound of Zachary’s wolf yelping in pain made me come to a sudden stop. I turned around, barely seeing him through the fog as wolves tore into him. I rushed forward, ripping into the attackers blindly, not caring if I maimed or killed them. Arrows kept hitting me, but I didn’t stop. I couldn’t…

One by one, my warriors fell until I was the only one left alive. The enemy surrounded me—there were dozens of Sun Wolves, maybe more. Their fur and skin were caked in a layer of thick mud. Which would explain why I couldn’t smell them.

A few men in their human forms threw out silver hooks, catching me before pulling me down to the ground. The burning sensation immediately overwhelmed me, blistering my skin. Amarok thrashed against the chains until the muscles in our body began to give out. The scent of burning flesh filled my nose, and it took me several seconds to realize it was me that I was smelling.

“Theo!” Calliope’s scream echoed in my head.

“Please… don’t watch,” I begged as the urge to fight drained from my body. A man in human form approached, carrying a crudely made silver sword. But I could feel her still there… watching. “I love you, Calliope. Don’t ever forget that.”

“There is no love without you here! I can’t live on if you die, Theo… Please… fight!”

“You must continue on. You have to live, little wolf. You still have a destiny out there—a purpose worth living for.”

I shut my eyes as I saw the man lifting the blade. The last thing I heard was the hiss of silver as it cut through the air—and then, there was nothing.

It felt like I had fallen asleep without meaning to. However, my mind was still awake and aware, but I no longer had a body. There was no heart beating in my chest. I couldn’t breathe no matter how hard I tried. My pain was gone, but so was Amarok… I couldn’t feel my wolf’s presence.

All that was left was me—and my memories. The darkness around me seemed to stretch on forever. Everything felt weightless here, but it wasn’t peaceful. Just… empty.

I knew I was dead. I could remember the ambush in the meadow. The chains that held me down. The sword that severed my neck from my body. But most of all, I remembered Calliope—the sound of her voice, the image of her face, and the warmth of her scent. My chest, or where my chest should have been, ached at the thought of her being alone. If I could cry, I would have.

Time—if it even existed here—lost all meaning. I floated endlessly, with no sense of direction. Until I heard someone speak.

“Theo…”

A woman’s voice echoed from everywhere, all at once. She spoke my name, again and again, until something started pulling me. It was the first time since my death that I could feel something.

I was no longer floating, but instead, I was falling. The blackness faded away beneath me, and I fell—faster and faster—until my back slammed into something solid.

Air rushed into my lungs as I let out a pained gasp. My eyes opened up, only to immediately close again as blinding light burned them. I winced, lifting a hand to shield my face, squinting through the brightness until shapes began to form.

Marble… White, sparkling marble was the first thing I noticed. Pillars stretched upward into the air, and the ceiling above me was painted a light shade of gold.

I turned my head slowly, seeing a massive bed against one wall. A dresser stood nearby, along with a low table, and a chair... It took me a moment, but I soon realized I was in a bedroom.

I pushed myself up, groaning at how strange my body felt. My gaze dropped to my hands, but I didn’t see any blood, scrapes, or burns from silver chains. As my eyes traveled lower, it took me a few more seconds to realize that I was indeed alive.

“How?” I muttered in a hoarse voice. My throat burned, as if I hadn’t spoken in years. “Where am I?”

“You’re in my home,” a soft voice answered. It was the same one that had called my name while I was in the darkness. “It is a place known as the Temple.”

I turned toward the source of the sound, noticing a young woman standing only a few feet away. Her hair was long and dark brown, almost black. She had tanned skin and wore a white cloth wrapped around her body like some strange dress. Gold bands were on her wrists and upper arms.

“Who… are you?” I questioned.

“To your people, I am the Moon Goddess,” she replied with a smile. “But here, you may call me Dettia.”

I stared at her for several seconds, trying to process her words. However, it wasn’t long before I started getting dizzy, and my vision began to fade. My body was suddenly heavier than stone, and soon, the darkness came for me again, causing me to collapse back onto the floor.