What Lurks in the Shadows?

Sericea’s heart pounded in her chest, drumming a furious rhythm that echoed in her ears. She fixed her gaze on Setekh, her defiance refusing to wane under his looming presence. Her fur prickled as he circled her, the scent of him curling around her like an unwelcome shroud. His words swirled in her mind, a mixture of riddles and half-truths that prodded at the edges of her understanding. Every instinct screamed at her to flee, to escape the strange wolf and his cryptic messages. Still, she stood her ground, a burgeoning flame sparked by both defiance and curiosity.

A chill ran down Sericea's spine at Setekh's words. Blood? Hers and his? Her mind whirled, and for a moment, all she could do was stare at him, her acidic green eyes wide and unblinking. But even as fear gnawed at her, something akin to fascination began to weave its way through her shock. She looked at Setekh again, not as a threat now, but as a puzzle; a complex, swirling enigma wrapped in an ivory fur coat. Her blood pulsed through her veins, pounding the rhythm of a half-understood truth into her ears. If what Setekh said was true, if their blood was indeed shared, then she was not only bound to him in some unfathomable way but also bound to understand him.

A shiver of anticipation coiled in her belly, cold and hot all at once. She found herself stepping closer, drawn to the enigma that was Setekh with an intensity that left her breathless. Her gaze held his, transfixed. Her mother’s father? He was claiming to be kin of Absinth. She didn’t know any better to argue the information he had presented her. Her brows furrowed, her mind buzzing with questions. Trust? Trust was earned, not given. And yet... there was a pull, a nagging sense of familiarity that curled around her heart, making it beat faster. Her mother and father always said that they want their pups to be better prepared than they were. And if her grandfather wanted to teach her … wouldn’t that be what her parents wanted? To be able to learn more? "What is there to learn?" she questioned, her voice a mere whisper against the hum of the tundra wind.

"Sericea Praetor-Inferos"