Liam Wolfe's Arc

Chapter 4 of 10

The creatures were gone. The willow stood empty and quiet. But the hunters were still coming, and Luna Thornwood had just watched Liam nearly break. He wiped his palms on his shirt. Night pressed in around the glowing blossoms. "You should go," he told her. "They bring iron. I can't guard the tree and hold the wolf at once." Luna did not move. "You won't have to." She knelt and opened the wooden box at her hip. The carved leaves on the lid caught the willow's light. Inside lay seeds and dried roots. "I fight with the ground. You fight with your hands. We split the work." Luminara flared bright above the branches. "She's right. Alone you'll lose control the second iron touches you." The little fairy dropped close to Liam's face. "Breathe with me. Let her hold the earth." Boots crunched the far brush. Torchlight flickered between trunks. Liam counted four hunters, maybe five. The smell of iron hit him hard. His spine burned. Fur pushed under his skin. The wolf clawed to get out. "Now," Luminara said. "In. Hold." Liam breathed in. He held it. Luna pressed her seeds into the soil and spoke low. Roots ripped up through the moss. They coiled around the first hunter's ankles and yanked him down. His torch hissed out in the wet earth. A second hunter swung an iron blade at the willow's trunk. Liam breathed out and stepped between them. He caught the man's wrist. The wolf surged, wild and fast, begging to tear. Liam held it back. He stayed a man. He twisted the blade loose and threw it into the brush. "Keep breathing," Luna said, sharp. She didn't look up. Vines lashed out and dragged two more hunters back from the roots. They shouted and hacked at the green. But the forest had too many hands. The last hunter aimed a crossbow at Luna's back. Liam saw the iron tip. His control snapped thin. Heat tore up his throat. He almost let the wolf come. "In," Luminara whispered. "Hold." Liam held. He crossed the moss in three strides and knocked the bow down. The bolt buried in the dirt. He shoved the hunter hard toward the trees. "Run," he growled. His voice was half wolf. It was enough. The hunters fled. Torches scattered into the dark. Roots slid back into the earth. The willow stood untouched, its blossoms still glowing. Liam dropped to his knees, shaking. He was still a man. He had fought beside iron and held the wolf. But he had needed her to do it. Luna brushed dirt from her hands. "They'll bring more next time," she said. "And a blade. They know the roots now." Liam looked at her. She was right. The willow was safe tonight. But he had won by leaning on Luna, not by mastering himself. The wolf was still a stranger he could not trust alone.