The arena stood frozen.<\/p>\n
Cold wind swept across the sand while weathered banners snapped high above the stunned crowd. Hundreds of villagers stared in complete silence at the impossible sight before them.<\/p>\n
The colossal white wolf remained lowered before the trembling child.<\/p>\n
Head bowed.<\/p>\n
Still.<\/p>\n
Respectful.<\/p>\n
Like the terrified little girl standing barefoot in the sand was someone far greater than anyone realized.<\/p>\n
The Viking leader\u2019s grin vanished.<\/p>\n
Confusion darkened his face.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is this?\u201d he growled.<\/p>\n
The wolf ignored him completely.<\/p>\n
Instead\u2014<\/p>\n
Its massive nose brushed gently against the girl\u2019s trembling hand.<\/p>\n
A soft sound escaped the creature.<\/p>\n
Not threatening.<\/p>\n
Protective.<\/p>\n
The little girl stood frozen.<\/p>\n
Fear slowly gave way to confusion.<\/p>\n
Behind her, the crowd shifted uneasily.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat beast kills everything,\u201d someone whispered.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt obeys no one,\u201d another muttered nervously.<\/p>\n
Even the guards gripping spears near the gates slowly stepped backward.<\/p>\n
Because every person there knew the truth\u2014<\/p>\n
The white wolf had never spared anyone.<\/p>\n
Not once.<\/p>\n
Then the deep voice echoed again from above the arena.<\/p>\n
\u201cStop the judgment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Every head turned.<\/p>\n
Standing high atop the wooden stairs overlooking the battleground stood a tall man wrapped in a dark fur cloak soaked by the cold wind. A weathered sword rested against his side while silver threaded through his beard.<\/p>\n
His expression remained calm.<\/p>\n
Unshaken.<\/p>\n
But his eyes\u2014<\/p>\n
Locked directly onto the little girl.<\/p>\n
The Viking leader\u2019s face twisted immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou dare interrupt me?\u201d he thundered.<\/p>\n
The man descended the wooden steps slowly.<\/p>\n
Steady.<\/p>\n
Unafraid.<\/p>\n
The crowd parted instinctively as he walked toward the center of the arena.<\/p>\n
Even the wolf watched him.<\/p>\n
Waiting.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou call this judgment?\u201d the stranger asked calmly. \u201cAgainst a child?\u201d<\/p>\n
The Viking leader slammed the butt of his axe into the sand.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe carries cursed blood.\u201d<\/p>\n
The little girl lowered her head.<\/p>\n
Fresh fear returned to her eyes.<\/p>\n
But the stranger crouched slowly beside her.<\/p>\n
Gentle.<\/p>\n
Careful.<\/p>\n
For the first time\u2014<\/p>\n
He noticed the faint cross-shaped scars near her chest.<\/p>\n
His expression changed instantly.<\/p>\n
Recognition.<\/p>\n
Shock.<\/p>\n
Then something deeper.<\/p>\n
He slowly lifted his eyes toward the wolf.<\/p>\n
The creature lowered itself even farther.<\/p>\n
Like it already knew.<\/p>\n
The stranger stood again.<\/p>\n
Cold fury entered his face.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou fools,\u201d he said quietly.<\/p>\n
The arena fell silent.<\/p>\n
The Viking leader stepped forward aggressively.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you talking about?\u201d<\/p>\n
The man looked toward the frightened child standing beside the giant wolf.<\/p>\n
Then spoke words that seemed to drain all sound from the world.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe isn\u2019t cursed.\u201d<\/p>\n
A pause.<\/p>\n
Heavy.<\/p>\n
Dangerous.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe belongs to the Bloodline.\u201d<\/p>\n
Whispers exploded through the arena.<\/p>\n
The old gray-bearded elder near the crowd suddenly stumbled backward.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo\u2026\u201d he whispered shakily.<\/p>\n
The Viking leader frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat bloodline?\u201d<\/p>\n
The stranger\u2019s voice lowered.<\/p>\n
Steady.<\/p>\n
Certain.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ones who commanded wolves.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence crushed the arena.<\/p>\n
Because suddenly\u2014<\/p>\n
The giant beast beside the little girl no longer looked wild.<\/p>\n
It looked loyal.<\/p>\n
And deep in the crowd\u2014<\/p>\n
Fear quietly began replacing doubt.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The arena stood frozen. Cold wind swept across the sand while weathered banners snapped high above the stunned crowd. Hundreds of villagers stared in complete silence at the impossible sight before them. The colossal white wolf remained lowered before the trembling child. Head bowed. Still. Respectful. Like the terrified little girl standing barefoot in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":2994,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2993","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\/2993","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=2993"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2993\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2994"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2993"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2993"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2993"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}