Once Allies

After their harrowing escape from Morgath's darkness, Lyra became restless, her mind swirling with unspoken fears. The ocean currents called to her and she followed the call, gliding past towering coral formations and forgotten ruins, her bioluminescent glow pulsing in sync with her deepening breaths.

She swam aimlessly. Even if the ocean was her home, she is in dire need of space and fresh air. The cold waters wrapped around her, but the chill in her bones had nothing to do with the temperature. A strange current tugged at her with an unnatural pull that sent a shiver down her spine. The ocean was calling her somewhere. She hesitated, glancing around, but nothing seemed amiss. Then, in the distance, she saw it.

A shipwreck.

Not just any shipwreck—it was ancient, encrusted with corals and swallowed by the deep over centuries. Its skeletal remains loomed before her like the bones of some forgotten beast, its mast broken and reaching toward the surface like the outstretched hand of a drowning man. Something about it made her uneasy, but the pull was stronger now, insistent.

Her fingers trembled as she swam closer. The wreck whispered to her.

"Come closer… you are one of us… the past remembers..."

The voice wasn't real. It couldn't be.

Lyra clenched her fists, shaking off the strange sensation creeping up her spine. But as she moved through the wreckage, she realized something. This was not an ordinary human ship.

It was built from a strange mix of human craftsmanship and something else that she couldn't fathom. Familiar but foreign symbols lined the wooden planks glittering faintly with lost magic. She ran her hand over them, her breath catching as recognition struck her. These were merfolk symbols.

Her pulse quickened.

Why would merfolk symbols be on a human ship?

A sharp, sudden noise cracked through the silence. Lyra spun around, heart hammering. The wreck groaned as if shifting under some unseen force. Something was moving in the darkness.

Then she saw them.

Skeletons.

Dozens of them.

Not just human remains, but bones unlike any she had ever seen—elongated spines, twisted ribcages, skulls with elongated fangs. Some were wolf-like. Others… merfolk.

Her breath hitched.

What in the ocean's depths had happened here?

She reached out toward a rusted chest half-buried in the sand, its lid barely hanging on by its hinges. As her fingers brushed against it, the symbols on the ship's walls flared to life. A blinding light erupted that seared through the wreck, forcing Lyra to shield her eyes.

When the glow dimmed, she gasped.

The shipwreck was no longer just a ruin—it was alive, restored in an illusion of the past. The ocean around her shifted, the present blurring away.

She wasn't alone anymore.

Figures moved around her—ghosts of the past. A merfolk elder stood at the ship's helm, his silver hair flowing around him like seaweed. Across from him, stood a large, broad-shouldered werewolf warrior with piercing blue eyes. They weren't fighting.

They were shaking hands.

An alliance.

Then she saw the inscriptions on a tablet placed beside the merfolk elder, "The Covenant of Blood and Tide—Forged in Brotherhood, Betrayed in Darkness."

Her breath hitched. An alliance? Between wolves and merfolk?

Impossible.

Her father had always spoken of werewolves as dangerous, monstrous beings who could never be trusted. But this tablet told a different story. It spoke of unity, of a time when the sea and the land were bound together in friendship.

But if such an alliance had existed… what had torn them apart?

Lyra's heart pounded.

A deep growl rumbled through the ship, breaking the vision. The ghostly figures dissipated as shadows swirled through the wreck, twisting unnaturally.

Something else was here.

A low, wet chuckle echoed from the darkness.

"How great?" a voice rasped. "Our pretty princess has found the truth."

Lyra froze.

She knew that voice.

Morgath.

The shadows solidified, forming a grotesque, serpentine figure with clawed hands and hollow, soul-less eyes. Morgath's twisted form slithered forward, her skeletal grin stretching unnaturally wide.

"Curious little thing, you're always sniffing where you shouldn't," Morgath crooned. "Tell me, Lyra, what do you think will happen when your dear Kael learns the truth?"

Lyra clenched her fists, summoning her magic. The bioluminescent glow pulsed from her veins, casting back the darkness. " I won't allow you to get into my head again."

Morgath's grin never wavered. "It's not like I need to, kid. The past will do it for me."

With a flick of her clawed fingers, the illusion reappeared—only this time, it was not an alliance that Lyra saw. It was a betrayal.

The same werewolf warrior from before now stood over the merfolk elder, a sword driven deep into his chest. The water ran red.

Lyra shook her head. "No… this cannot be true."Oh, but it is darling," Morgath whispered, circling her. "Your people and his were never meant to be. History will repeat itself. It always does."

The weight of the revelation crushed her. Had she and Kael been doomed from the start?

But then, something inside her flared—something fierce. No. She refused to believe this fate was inevitable.

"You're wrong, old witch," she said, her voice stronger now. "We are not our ancestors."

Morgath's eyes narrowed. "Then let's see how strong your love truly is."

Before Lyra could react, Morgath lunged. Her claws slashed through the water, aiming for Lyra's throat. Lyra twisted just in time, narrowly avoiding the strike, but the force of it sent her crashing against the wreck.

Pain shot through her shoulder, but she pushed past it. She summoned a pulse of magic, blasting Morgath back. The sorceress screeched, the shadows around her writhing like angry serpents.

The wreck began to shake violently. The ghosts wailed as the vision shattered. The ocean raged.

Morgath hissed. "You cannot fight fate, child."

Lyra's vision blurred as something tugged at her consciousness. A pull stronger than the shipwreck, stronger than Morgath's magic. A connection—one she knew well.

Kael.

He was calling for her.

With the last of her strength, she reached out, letting the bond guide her. Light enveloped her, swallowing her whole just as Morgath's scream of rage echoed through the abyss.

Then, silence.

Lyra's eyes fluttered open.

She was no longer in the shipwreck.

She was in Kael's arms.

His grip was tight, his heartbeat a frantic drum against her cheek. "Lyra!" His voice was raw with emotion, his hands cupping her face, checking her over. "Are you hurt? What happened? I felt—"

She looked up at him, everything—the horrors, the revelations, the fear—crashing over her at once. But Kael was here. Alive. Safe. And at that moment, that was all that mattered.

Tears pricked her eyes, but she smiled. "I found something, Kael. Something important."

Kael searched her gaze, his grip never loosening. "Tell me everything."

Lyra swallowed, knowing the truth would change everything. Lyra exhaled shakily. Kael, It's a shipwreck… and proof that our kinds were once allies."

Kael stiffened. "What?"

She pulled back just enough to look into his eyes. "An ancient relic. It said there was a bond between wolves and merfolk—a covenant. But something destroyed it. An evil occurrence."

Kael's jaw tightened. "And you were attacked, weren't you?"

Lyra nodded. "Yea, by Morgath as usual, Kael. It was suffocating.

 Kael's expression darkened. "What exactly is her deal?"

A shiver ran down Lyra's spine. "You think she—"

"I don't think," he interrupted, his grip tightening protectively. "I know. If she's interfering with things this ancient, then whatever she's planning… it's worse than we thought."

A heavy silence stretched between them.

Then—

GROWL.

Lyra jumped.

Kael let out a low chuckle. "Relax, it's just my stomach."

Lyra blinked, then burst into laughter. "Seriously? We're having a moment here, and that is when your stomach decides to complain?"

Kael smirked. "What can I say? All this stress burns calories."

She rolled her eyes but smiled, the tension easing just a little.

Kael took her hands, his expression turning serious again. "Lyra, we need to figure out what this relic means. If our ancestors were once allies… maybe that means we can be again."

Lyra's heart pounded. The weight of their impossible love pressed between them, unspoken but ever-present.

"Do you really think that's possible?" she whispered.

Kael brushed a strand of hair from her face. "If there's even the smallest chance… I'll fight for it. For us."

Her breath hitched.

Then, Kael leaned in, his lips brushing hers in a kiss that was slow, deep, and filled with all the longing they could never say aloud.

Lyra melted into him, her fingers tangling in his hair, pulling him closer.

But just as the warmth of the moment threatened to consume them—

The waves behind them shifted.

A cold wind howled through the trees.

And from the depths of the ocean, a pair of crimson eyes flickered to life.