The Prophecy

Chapter 1

FIVE YEARS OLD EARL MALORY

“Wait for me too!” He yelled in a small voice, but the other boy was racing through the forest without looking back.

“I’ve told you,” he yelled back, “You are the Alpha’s son and you need to behave like one! There’s no room for weakness in our bloodline. Mother says you must emulate our father if you want to become an Alpha someday.”

They came to a halt and a five-year-old Earl Malory gave up on catching up with them. He leaned against a tree and watched his older brother, Lambert, play with the Erik’s wolf.

Lambert, a robust boy with tousled brown hair and a mischievous grin, chased after the wolf as it performed different chases for him, his laughter echoing through the tranquil woods.

But Earl felt anything but tranquil. He stood in the shadows, seething with jealousy as he watched Lambert bask in their parents' attention. It seemed like Lambert was always the center of their world, leaving Earl feeling forgotten and invisible.

With a furrowed brow, Earl's small hand clenched around a rough stone, his anger bubbling to the surface like a simmering cauldron. Without a second thought, he hurled the stone with all his might, watching as it sailed through the air and landed with a thud near a lone healer who happened to be passing by.

Earl’s eyes widened and he shook in fright, everyone knew better than to cross the man, some even rumored him to be a witch because of his different weird visions and his addiction to the woods.

The healer, a weathered man with piercing eyes, startled at the sudden disturbance. But as his gaze fell upon Earl and Lambert, a look of profound realization dawned on his face, as if a veil had been lifted to reveal a hidden truth.

"You are the Alpha’s son," the healer murmured, his voice tinged with an otherworldly solemnity.

“I am Earl Malory.” Earl confirmed with sudden boldness, he had to act like a prince, he reminded himself.

"What mischief have you committed to attract such fate?" The man suddenly asked, making the boy shift in fright.

Earl took a step back, his heart pounding in his small chest as the healer’s words hung in the air like an ominous prophecy.

Lambert, oblivious to the gravity of the moment, strolled over to join Earl, his face alight with excitement.

"What's going on, Earl?" Lambert asked, his eyes wide with curiosity.

But before Earl could respond, the healer's gaze fixed on them both with an intensity that sent shivers down their spines. He looked from Earl to Lambert and then back, then he shook his head slowly and turned away. But almost like there was a magnetic force pulling him back, he turned and came back to stand closer to them.

"Listen well, young ones," he intoned, his voice carrying the weight of ages. "For I have been granted a vision—a revelation of your fate."

Earl exchanged a nervous glance with Lambert, his unease growing with each passing moment. What could this stranger possibly know about them?

"The prophecy foretells of two brothers," the preacher continued, his eyes shimmering with an otherworldly light. "Bound by blood yet torn apart by destiny. A woman shall come, bearing both destruction and salvation in her wake. One of you shall find redemption in her embrace, while the other shall meet his end."

Lambert's brow furrowed in confusion, but Earl felt a chill run down his spine as the weight of the prophecy settled over him like a suffocating blanket. Was this some kind of cruel joke, or could there be truth in the healer's words?

"Who is this woman?" Lambert asked dismissively , his voice trembling with fear and uncertainty. “I’ll have my father kill him. Or my mother can cast a spell and make her go mute and ugly so we don’t meet her at all.”

But the healer merely shook his head, a solemn expression crossing his weathered features. "Her identity remains veiled in shadow," he replied cryptically. "But mark my words, young ones—for the prophecy is immutable. There is no escaping fate."

“Then you are only spinning tales because you need my father to favour you. Or perhaps you just have a death wish, old witch, because I can order my wolf to eat you raw.” Fearlessly, Lambert stepped closer to the old man, “Or could just tell my father that you were caught practicing magic, he’ll have your head if I say the word!”

The old man shook his head again, “Your father shall not always be there, boy. You especially should beware of your fate.”

With those haunting words echoing in their ears, Earl and Lambert watched in silence as the preacher vanished into the depths of the forest, leaving them alone with the weight of the prophecy hanging heavy in the air.

As they stood in the clearing, a sense of foreboding settled over them like a shroud, casting a pall over the once-idyllic scene. Earl's mind raced with questions, but deep down, he knew that the answers lay beyond his grasp, woven into the fabric of fate itself.

And as the shadows lengthened and the forest grew silent around them, Earl couldn't shake the feeling that their lives would never be the same again. For the prophecy had been spoken, and its echoes would reverberate through their lives with a force that could not be denied.

With a heavy heart, Earl turned to Lambert, his eyes filled with an unspoken fear. What lay ahead, neither of them could say.

But that didn’t matter much to Lambert at the time, because with a shrug of his shoulders, he whistled for his wolf and the big hound came running to him.

“Disregard the nonsense he just said and stop looking like you’ve seen a ghost.” He said with a note of disgust in his tone, “Mother says we are too young to think about women.”

Although why their mama had said that was not certain, one thing was certain though—their journey had only just begun, and the path they walked was filled with danger, destiny, and the ever-looming specter of the woman who would shape their fates for eternity.