The cabin shook violently.<\/p>\n
Cold wind exploded through the shattered doorway as Silverpine enforcers stormed inside with curved blades drawn, their silver armor glinting beneath the weak lantern light. Snow swirled across the wooden floor while Aurelia stumbled backward in fear.<\/p>\n
But the massive wolf never moved.<\/p>\n
His glowing golden eyes remained locked on the intruders as shadows twisted unnaturally around his towering body like living smoke.<\/p>\n
One enforcer pointed his blade forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere it is!\u201d he shouted. \u201cKill the beast!\u201d<\/p>\n
The wolf\u2019s lips slowly pulled back, revealing enormous silver fangs.<\/p>\n
Then the voice echoed inside Aurelia\u2019s mind again.<\/p>\n
\u201cStay behind me.\u201d<\/p>\n
A deep growl rolled through the cabin.<\/p>\n
Not like an animal.<\/p>\n
Like thunder.<\/p>\n
The air itself suddenly became heavier.<\/p>\n
Several enforcers hesitated instantly.<\/p>\n
One of them lowered his weapon slightly, fear spreading across his face.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat aura\u2026\u201d he whispered shakily. \u201cImpossible\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
Then the wolf stepped forward.<\/p>\n
The wooden floor cracked beneath his weight.<\/p>\n
Silver light pulsed through his storm-gray fur while ancient symbols began glowing faintly beneath his skin. Shadows spiraled around his claws as the temperature inside the cabin dropped so fast that frost crept across the walls.<\/p>\n
The lead enforcer raised his sword anyway.<\/p>\n
\u201cAttack!\u201d<\/p>\n
Three warriors lunged at once.<\/p>\n
They never reached him.<\/p>\n
The wolf moved like a storm unleashed.<\/p>\n
A violent wave of darkness erupted outward, smashing the warriors across the cabin like leaves in a hurricane. Wood splintered. Furniture exploded apart. One enforcer crashed through the wall entirely and disappeared into the snowy night outside.<\/p>\n
Aurelia gasped in shock.<\/p>\n
The remaining warriors stumbled backward in terror now.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis can\u2019t be a shadow wolf\u2026\u201d one muttered.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d another whispered fearfully. \u201cIt\u2019s one of the old bloodlines\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
The wolf\u2019s burning eyes narrowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cCorrect.\u201d<\/p>\n
The word echoed directly inside every mind in the room.<\/p>\n
Several warriors dropped to one knee instantly, unable to withstand the pressure pouring from the creature\u2019s presence.<\/p>\n
Then suddenly\u2014<\/p>\n
A strange silver mark appeared on Aurelia\u2019s wrist.<\/p>\n
Glowing.<\/p>\n
Burning.<\/p>\n
She stared at it in horror while ancient energy spread up her arm like flowing light.<\/p>\n
The wolf turned toward her slowly.<\/p>\n
And for the first time, Aurelia realized something even more terrifying than the creature standing before her.<\/p>\n
The mark on her wrist matched the glowing symbol hidden beneath the wolf\u2019s fur.<\/p>\n
The enforcers saw it too.<\/p>\n
One of them went completely pale.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe bond\u2026\u201d he whispered. \u201cThe prophecy is real.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before Aurelia could speak, distant horns suddenly echoed across the frozen mountain village outside.<\/p>\n
More warriors were coming.<\/p>\n
Many more.<\/p>\n
The wolf stepped protectively in front of Aurelia as silver energy crackled through the darkness around him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey know who you are now,\u201d he said inside her mind.<\/p>\n
Aurelia\u2019s heart pounded.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho\u2026 what are you?\u201d<\/p>\n
The massive beast slowly turned his glowing eyes toward her.<\/p>\n
Snow blew violently through the ruined cabin while ancient power filled the air around them.<\/p>\n
Then the wolf answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am the last king of the Shadow Fang line.\u201d<\/p>\n
Outside\u2014<\/p>\n
Hundreds of armored warriors began surrounding the cabin.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The cabin shook violently. Cold wind exploded through the shattered doorway as Silverpine enforcers stormed inside with curved blades drawn, their silver armor glinting beneath the weak lantern light. Snow swirled across the wooden floor while Aurelia stumbled backward in fear. But the massive wolf never moved. His glowing golden eyes remained locked on the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":2692,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2691","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-trending-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2691","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2691"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2691\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2692"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2691"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2691"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2691"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}