The night air was thick with tension as Adrian and Alina pushed forward through the dense undergrowth. Every step was a battle against the exhaustion clawing at their limbs, but they couldn't afford to stop. The howls of the pack still echoed behind them, each one a haunting reminder that their enemies were relentless.
"We're almost there," Adrian panted, his voice strained from pain and fatigue. His hand pressed against his wounded side, blood seeping through his torn shirt. Alina cast him a worried glance but said nothing. She knew that words wouldn't help—they had to keep moving.
Ahead, the ruins loomed like skeletal remains of a forgotten era. Ancient stones, covered in moss and etched with symbols worn by time, formed the remnants of what had once been a grand structure. The air inside the ruins was colder, almost unnaturally so, sending a shiver down Alina's spine.
"This place... it feels different," she whispered, gripping the silver dagger tighter.
Adrian nodded. "The talisman's power lingers here. It's the only reason the pack hasn't rushed in yet. But we don't have long."
As if in response to his words, a guttural growl echoed through the night. The pack leader stood at the edge of the ruins, his golden eyes glowing like embers in the darkness. "You cannot hide forever, Blackwood," he sneered. "This place won't protect you for long."
Adrian clenched his fists. "We don't need forever—just long enough."
Alina scanned the ruins, her heart hammering. There had to be something, some clue as to where the talisman was hidden. The markings on the stones seemed to shift under the moonlight, forming patterns that felt just out of reach.
Then, she saw it. A circular indentation in the center of the floor, surrounded by an elaborate carving. "Adrian! Here!"
He stumbled forward, eyes narrowing as he took in the design. "It's a seal," he murmured. "The talisman must be beneath it."
Before they could act, a low, rumbling voice interrupted them. "You seek the power of the talisman?"
Adrian and Alina whirled around. The shadowed figure from before had reappeared, standing within the ruins as if he had materialized from the very stones. His presence sent waves of unease through Adrian's veins.
"Who are you?" Adrian demanded, instinctively shielding Alina.
The figure's red eyes glowed with eerie amusement. "A guardian. A judge. A reminder of what was lost. The talisman does not belong to you, Blackwood. Nor to the pack. It belongs to something greater."
Alina tightened her grip on the dagger. "Then why are you here? To stop us?"
"To test you," the figure responded. With a slow, deliberate movement, he raised his hand. The ground beneath them trembled, and a spectral energy surged through the ruins. Adrian and Alina barely had time to react before the world around them shifted—
The ruins dissolved into darkness, and suddenly, they were standing in a vast, desolate wasteland. The sky above was fractured, a storm of crimson and black swirling in the heavens. Shadows moved at the edges of their vision, whispering words they couldn't understand.
Adrian's breath caught. "What is this?"
The figure's voice echoed through the void. "This is the truth buried in your blood, Blackwood. You seek the talisman, but do you understand the price of wielding such power?"
A new form emerged from the darkness—a towering wolf with fur as black as night, its eyes glowing with an unnatural light. It exuded power, raw and untamed, a force beyond comprehension. Adrian felt its presence stir something deep within him, something primal and terrifying.
Alina reached for him, her voice barely a whisper. "Adrian, don't listen to him. We have to—"
But Adrian could hardly hear her. The beast before him... it called to him, to the part of him that he had always fought to control. The wolf within.
"Face your destiny, Blackwood," the figure's voice urged. "Or be consumed by it."
Adrian clenched his jaw, his body trembling as the world around him pulsed with ancient power. This was it. The moment of reckoning.
And he didn't know if he was ready.
To be continued...