Chapter 6 - Fire in the Woods
For three long nights, Meera’s wolf did not return.
The cabin felt impossibly cold, quiet, and empty. She tried to convince herself that she was relieved—that she didn't need a giant, moody beast tracking mud across her floors and glaring at her visitors. But every time she sat by the hearth, her hand instinctively reached out toward the empty rug, only to grasp at cold air.
On the third evening, the silence was shattered by a different kind of sound.
A sharp, whistling crack echoed through the clearing behind her home.
Meera dropped her sewing basket and bolted to her feet, throwing open the back door. Thick, black billows of smoke were pouring into the evening sky from the meadow behind her cabin.
Her beehives.
The neat wooden boxes she had built and tended for years were engulfed in roaring, unnatural orange flames.
“No!” she screamed, sprinting out into the grass, but before she could reach the burning hives, heavy boots crunched on the gravel behind her.
Four men stepped out of the tree line, clad in dark leather armor bearing no pack crests, their faces concealed behind iron masks. Their hands held heavy silver crossbows—weapons specifically designed to hunt and slaughter Lycans.
“Step away from the hives, Omega,” the leader rasped, leveling his crossbow directly at her chest.
Meera’s breath caught in her throat. She instinctively backed away, her hand slipping down to grab the utility knife tucked into her belt. “Who sent you? Is this Dayne? Or Thornmere?”
“We were hired to clear out the vermin living on royal property,” the lead assassin sneered, tightening his finger on the trigger. “And a marked Omega makes very good bait.”
The crossbow string twanged.
The silver bolt hissed through the air, aimed directly at Meera’s heart.
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There wasn't enough time to dodge. She squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for the impact.
Then, a black blur exploded out of the dark treeline.
