Liam Wolfe's Arc

Chapter 1 of 10

Liam Wolfe smelled blood before he saw the creature. It dragged itself over the roots of the old willow, the tree whose pink blossoms he swore to guard each night. He had come to the forest for one thing: to hold the wolf inside him. He was learning to shift on his own terms, so he could protect the woman he loved without turning into something that hurt her instead. Rage made him lose that control. And blood, he knew, made him rage. The creature was small and four-legged, silver-furred, its flank torn open. A crossbow bolt jutted from its side. Someone had hunted it into his woods. Liam knelt. His hands shook. Behind him, the willow's blossoms trembled. A tiny ball of light darted from its branches and hovered near his face. Luminara, the fairy who kept the tree alive. She was no bigger than his thumb, her wings pale as frost. "They followed it here," she said. Her voice was small but sharp. "Two men. Close." Liam heard them now. Boots crushing leaves. Low voices. His pulse climbed, and the old heat rose in his chest. His teeth ached. The wolf pressed against his ribs, wanting out. "Liam." Luminara flew in front of his eyes. "If you turn now, you'll kill them. And you might kill this one too." He pressed his palm to the creature's warm side. It flinched but did not run. It trusted him. That trust was the only rope he had. Two hunters stepped into the clearing. One carried the crossbow. He grinned when he saw the wound. "That's ours," he said. "Step aside." The rage surged. Liam felt his fingers curl, felt claws pushing under the skin. One breath more and he would be gone. He looked at the fairy. "Talk to me," he said. "Keep me here." "Breathe with the tree," Luminara said. She flew slow circles by his ear. "In. Hold. Out." A soft glow spread from her wings and touched his shoulders. The willow's branches swayed with his breathing. Liam breathed. The heat did not leave, but it stopped rising. He stood, human, tall, his warm eyes fixed on the hunters. He did not become the wolf. He simply blocked their path. "This forest is mine," he said. "Leave." The crossbowman's grin faded. He saw the size of the man before him and the shine of the fairy at his shoulder. He lowered the bow. Both hunters backed away and vanished into the dark. Liam sank to his knees, drenched in sweat. He had held it. For the first time, he had stared down his rage and kept himself. Luminara settled on the creature's fur. "It's badly hurt," she said quietly. "The blossoms can heal it. But the men will bring more, and next time they'll bring iron. This little one drew a hunt straight to our tree." Liam looked at the trembling creature, then toward the dark where the hunters had gone. His victory had marked them all.