Chapter 2 — Into the Forest

Selina

The cold gnawed at Selina’s skin as she plunged deeper into the forest, her breaths ragged and uneven. Each inhalation burned, yet her legs refused to falter. The Ironfang Sigil in her pocket felt like an anchor and a curse, its edges digging relentlessly into her palm where she clutched it like a lifeline. The towering trees loomed above her, skeletal fingers twisted and clawing at the faint moonlight. Behind her, the sounds of pursuit were relentless—shouts, snapping branches, and the low growl of something that couldn’t possibly be human.

Selina’s foot caught on an exposed root, and she stumbled, barely catching herself against the rough bark of a gnarled tree. Her heart thundered as she pressed her back against the trunk, the frigid bark biting into her skin. She squeezed her eyes shut and strained to hear over the hammering of her pulse.

“Spread out!” The voice was sharp, commanding, and far too familiar. The headmistress. No—whatever she truly was. The sound of her voice sent a spike of fear through Selina, but it simmered alongside anger, red-hot and gnawing. The woman had lied to her for years, cloaking Selina in ignorance while hiding the truth of who—or what—she was. That truth was hunting her now, relentless and unforgiving.

She bit her lip until the metallic tang of blood hit her tongue. The muffled crunch of footsteps grew louder. Selina forced herself to move, darting between the twisted trees and their long shadows. The forest was alive with menace, the air thick with an energy that pressed against her like a physical weight. She couldn’t stop. She wouldn’t let them catch her.

The warmth in her chest stirred again—sharper this time, electric and raw, like the first crackle of lightning before a storm. Her hands trembled, and, as she glanced down, her skin caught the faint shimmer of something unnatural. A flicker of light danced across her arm, barely visible in the dim moonlight. Her breath hitched. Her senses sharpened suddenly, painfully—the snap of twigs, the rustle of leaves, the cruel, distant howls. Even the air itself seemed to hum, charged and alive, as her muscles coiled tighter with every step.

What’s happening to me? The thought clawed at her mind, desperate and wild. The sigil in her pocket pulsed in time with her heart, its heat seeping into her palm like a living thing. She wasn’t imagining it. Whatever was inside her wasn’t lying dormant anymore—it was waking up.

A mournful howl tore through the night. Selina froze, her breath catching. It was close—so close. Dread wrapped itself around her chest, squeezing tight. She pushed herself harder, ignoring the burning in her lungs and the branches clawing at her face and arms. The only thing that mattered was running.

The forest suddenly opened up, and Selina skidded to a halt, her boots slipping on frost-slick grass. A clearing stretched before her, bathed in moonlight that poured through the canopy like liquid silver. For a moment, the silence was deafening, broken only by her labored gasps. Her pulse pounded in her ears.

The back of her neck prickled. She wasn’t alone.

A low growl rumbled from the shadows.

Selina turned, her entire body trembling as a creature stepped into the clearing. Her breath hitched painfully in her throat. It was a wolf—massive, with fur as black as midnight and glowing amber eyes that seemed to pierce straight through her. Every movement it made was deliberate and fluid, its sheer presence radiating power. The air around it felt charged, alive, pressing against her like a storm about to break.

The sigil’s warmth flared suddenly, hot and urgent, and Selina gasped as a jolt rippled through her chest. The heat wasn’t just external—it burrowed deeper, into her very core. Something primal stirred, a trembling spark that both exhilarated and terrified her. She couldn’t look away from the wolf’s unblinking gaze. It wasn’t fear holding her still—not entirely. It was something else: recognition. She felt it in her bones, ancient and unyielding, as though a forgotten part of her had been found.

The moment shattered as shouts broke through the trees. The wolf’s ears flattened, and its head snapped toward the sound. A snarl curled from its throat, low and menacing, but Selina wasn’t waiting to see what would happen next. Her legs moved faster than her mind, carrying her toward the far end of the clearing. Her desperate flight sent brambles tearing at her skin, but she didn’t stop. She didn’t dare look back.

The shadows of the forest swallowed her once more, the canopy above blocking out the moonlight. Her lungs burned with every breath, her legs leaden, but she pressed forward. The wolf’s howl echoed again, closer this time, sending a chill down her spine. It wasn’t alone now—other howls joined it, deeper and darker.

“She’s close!” The enforcers’ voices taunted her, carried by the wind. “Don’t let her slip away.”

Selina clenched her teeth, her nails digging into her palms. Her thoughts were a storm of fear and fury, but beneath the chaos burned something fierce and unrelenting. She wasn’t going to let them take her. Not after everything. Not after what she’d seen.

The forest shifted around her, the trees growing denser, their roots rising like skeletal fingers from the damp earth. A faint mist clung to the ground, swirling around her ankles as if trying to drag her down. The air was heavier here, thick with decay and moss. Selina stumbled forward, her senses prickling with unease.

Then she saw them.

Cloaked figures emerged from the shadows, their movements eerily precise. They spread out like a net, their eyes glinting with an otherworldly light. Enforcers. Their leader stepped forward, voice cold and sharp as steel.

“There’s nowhere left to run, girl,” they said, their tone cruel and mocking. “You shouldn’t have taken what doesn’t belong to you.”

Selina’s lips parted, but no words came. Her chest burned, her mind a whirlwind. The sigil in her pocket flared with heat, searing against her skin. The warmth in her chest surged, wild and untamed, and her body trembled as power coursed through her veins like fire.

The enforcers lunged.

Selina’s body moved before her mind could catch up. She ducked under an outstretched arm, her fist striking an enforcer’s ribs with a force that sent them sprawling. Another reached for her, but she twisted away, her movements fluid and feral. She wasn’t fighting like herself anymore. She wasn’t fighting like a human. She was something else.

A howl ripped through the air, near enough that it sent vibrations through the ground. The wolf. It was coming.

The enforcers hesitated, their eyes flicking toward the sound, fear flickering across their faces. Selina didn’t wait for them to recover. She turned and bolted, her limbs thrumming with adrenaline. The forest blurred around her as she ran, the wolf’s howl chasing her like a shadow.

She didn’t know where she was running. But she knew she wasn’t fleeing the danger anymore.

She was running toward it.