Chapter 20

SOME HOURS BEFORE

Orion sat hunched at his desk in the dim light of the office, the heavy oak table littered with scrolls and parchment. A stack of reports demanded his attention, trades, patrol routes, supply inventories, but his mind wasn’t here. His fingers tapped the edge of a page absentmindedly as his gaze drifted to the flickering candle by the window.

The night outside was cold and silent. The only comfort was the faint crackle as he absently flipped another sheet, wishing the tedious chores would drown out the darker thoughts invading his mind.

Brynhild still avoided him, the silence between them growing thick with unspoken grievances. The words from their last argument echoed relentlessly. He hated the distance and resented himself for it. The weight of leadership felt heavier tonight, strangled by a gnawing dread.

A cold shiver crawled down his spine, not from the chill in the room, but the vivid nightmare refusing to loosen its grip.

In the dream, Sophia was trapped beneath snow-white limbs, her breath ragged, eyes wide with terror. Above her loomed a monstrous beast, énormous, pale as a ghost, and with a savage snarl, it tore into her. The monster was one Orion had only seen once in his life because they were rare and are mainly found on the northernmost side of Nirvana. Yes, more north than their pack was located. It had the wild elegance of a wolf but something profoundly unnatural, something from the dark heart of Nirvana itself, a Skylur.

He had woken with a start, sweat clinging to his skin, heart hammering like a battle drum.

Ronan’s voice dragged him back to the present. " I didn’t think you ever touched those papers willingly."

Orion shot him a glare, then forced a rough laugh. "There’s no rest for me."

Ronan gasped in shock. "No rest for you? Wow! And here I was, thinking that I was the one without rest since you tend to avoid the office. Tell me, does your being here have anything to do with a certain black haired and sharp tongued woman?" He asked with a wide smile.

Orion ignored him, choosing to go back to his work when suddenly, a faint but distinct sound snapped him to alertness, a sharp, piercing whistle cutting through the quiet. His breath caught.

The whistle.

He rose instantly, heart pounding as memories surged: Tobias’s warning, the enchanted necklace, and Sophia’s lone figure disappearing down the snowy paths. The urgency burned in his chest; he couldn’t waste a moment.

"Ronan," he barked, grabbing his coat. "Get Brynhild. You lead the hunters. We have to move!"

Ronan frowned because this was so sudden. Orion turned to him with a glare then remembered he was the only one who could hear the whistle.

"It’s Tobias’whistle." He told Ronan.

That was all Ronan needed to hear. He sprang to action immediately.

Within minutes, the pack was in motion, soldiers and trackers, moving with precision as though the very earth hummed beneath their feet. The enchanted whistle’s power was remarkable, its magic allowed Orion to pinpoint the signal’s source, a pulse of ethereal light guiding them through the dark forest with unerring accuracy. They traveled fast, shadows flitting between ancient trees, the cold biting but adrenaline sharpening their senses.

The journey was swift but tense as Orion’s mind spun with anticipation and dread.

Soon, the woods opened into a frozen clearing bathed in the soft morning light. There, gripping the edge of the shadows, stood the beast. They were farther from the pack buildings. The northernmost side of Nirvana.

The clearing was vast, a monstrous creature standing taller than any wolf Orion had known, or any man for that matter. Its pure white fur shimmered in the moonlight, each muscle rippling beneath a thick, matted coat that flickered with frost. But its head, larger than a horse’s skull, bore teeth like carved obsidian blades, curved and jagged. Its glowing yellow eyes were eerily intelligent, radiating cold fury and an intense hunger.

This was no mere animal. It was a Skylur, a feared predator whispered about in the darkest legends of Nirvana, creatures said to roam in packs but neither wolf nor bear, hunting tirelessly with brutal cunning. Their rarity made them all the more dangerous, an encounter almost always meant death. Orion had managed to escape one when he was younger but that was by luck. And why the fuck was the Skylus similar to the one he had seen in his dream? He shook his head. That was not important right now. They needed to get rid of this beast.

He looked to Brynhild, whose silver eyes sparkled beneath her hood, lips compressed in grim resolve. Without hesitation, she stepped forward, raising her hand sharply, an unspoken command that the soldiers understood instantly.

Swift as shadows, they closed in around the Skylur. Brynhild moved like a blade through ice, her every gesture precise and deadly, honed from years of leading hunts. She knocked aside a large branch with her gauntleted hand and launched forward, her spear flashing in the moonlight as she struck.

The beast snarled, twisting its immense frame with terrifying speed. One hunter fell beneath its swipe, clawed and bleeding, but Brynhild’s warriors acted as one, forcing the creature back step by step.

The Skylur struck out, teeth razing a hunter’s shoulder; another soldier’s blade pierced through fur, drawing a roar that echoed like thunder.

Through the chaos, Orion’s sword gleamed as he lunged, cleaving at the thick neck of the creature. The beast bellowed, staggering beneath the blow, eyes wild with rage and pain.

Brynhild was already circling, spear ready. With a grim nod from her, another hunter threw a spear that struck true, embedding deep in the beast’s flank.

The monster collapsed with a final shudder, its breath a wet, rattling kill-note as the pack closed in.

Brynhild didn’t wait for cheers or calls.

"Search! Find the others!" she ordered sharply.

Her voice rolled over the hushed camp like thunder.

As the pack fanned out into the woods, Orion’s gaze was drawn to the fallen Skylur, its wild eyes dulling even as its powerful chest slowly stilled.

Then, a cold shock ran through him as his eyes caught the shimmer of the whistle necklace nestled in the snow nearby.

His mouth fell open; a curse tore from his throat, ragged and raw.

"Tobias,"he called out even if the scent of fear he had perceived didn’t seem like Tobias.

But if it really was him then he was going to have a word with him for going into this part when it’s been made known just how dangerous it is.

At that moment, movement flickered through the trees.

But instead of Tobias, Sophia stumbled into the clearing, breath ragged, wide eyes darting frantically as reality crashed into her. She saw Brynhild first and then Orion, alive, fierce, in full hunt mode, standing mere yards away.

Her legs betrayed her, weak and trembling, unable to hold her as she sank to the frozen ground. Fear lanced through her like jagged ice.

"Why are you here?" she whispered, voice trembling.