Seraphina didn't sleep that night. Her body felt too full, like her skin wasn't big enough to hold everything inside her. Power buzzed beneath her veins. Her senses had sharpened—she could hear the mice in the walls, the hush of the wind across the grass, even the heartbeat of the boy watching from the trees. Kael. She knew he was there without seeing him. He hadn't approached her since she stepped out of the forest, but she could feel his eyes. Curious. Regretful. Maybe even afraid. She sat by the fire in the old healer's hut—the only one who hadn't run when she returned. The old woman didn't say much, just gave her tea, a blanket, and a space to breathe. But Seraphina didn't want to breathe. She wanted answers. She wanted to know what the silver wolf meant by heir. Why her mother had never told her the truth. Why her blood felt hot like lightning and cold like night at the same time. And why her heart still reacted to Kael, even after everything.
At sunrise, the ground shook again. A tremor. Small but deep, like the earth warning of something buried, waking up. The villagers whispered again. Some believed Seraphina had brought a curse with her. Others called her a blessing. She didn't listen. Her mind was still trapped in the memory of the forest, in the wolf's voice. "You carry her blood." The Moon Queen. Seraphina didn't know much about the legend, only that she was said to have ruled the wolves before the packs broke apart. Some said she died in war. Others said she vanished with a child. That night, the priestess came to her in secret. Her hands trembled as she offered a scroll sealed with wax. "Your mother gave this to me the night she disappeared. She told me to give it to you only if you survived the forest." Seraphina opened it slowly, heart pounding. Inside was a drawing of the silver wolf, a symbol of the full moon, and a message in her mother's hand: "You are more than they told you. The forest won't take you. It will free you." Behind the letter was a name she had never seen before—Ruvan.
That night, Kael finally approached her. His presence filled the doorway like a shadow. "I need to talk to you," he said. His voice was low, like he was afraid the wind might steal it. Seraphina didn't look up right away. When she did, her eyes weren't angry. They were unreadable. "Talk, then," she said. Kael stepped closer. "You disappeared. Came back glowing. The earth shook. Wolves are howling when they shouldn't. The moon is brighter than ever. What happened in that forest, Seraphina?" She held his gaze for a long moment. "I was chosen," she said. "Not to die. To awaken." Kael flinched at her words. He didn't understand, and she didn't have the strength to explain. So she said the only thing that mattered. "There's something coming. I can feel it. And it's not coming for the village. It's coming for me." Kael opened his mouth to speak, but a scream tore through the night. They ran outside. The ground was cracked near the well. And in the middle of the village square, carved into the stone with burning claws, were four glowing words: THE HEIR HAS RETURNED.