The forest is deathly silent.
A heartbeat passes. Then another. I hadn't even had the ti to gather montum.
Before The dark-furred wolf with amber eyes ets my gaze. Its body is tense, ears flicked forward, muscles coiled like a bowstring. The others shift behind it, waiting for a signal.
Waiting to strike.
Wolf snarls at my side, his fur bristling. My horse shifts nervously beneath , sensing the danger.
I don't wait again.
I dig my heels into my horse's sides, urging her forward. She bolts, hooves pounding against the damp earth. Branches whip past , the wind tearing at my cloak.
And then, the howls erupt behind .
They're chasing.
I risk a glance over my shoulder. Shadows blur through the trees—fast, too fast. The wolves are closing in, their glowing eyes slicing through the mist like lanterns in the dark.
Damn it.
I lean lower, urging my horse faster. Wolf keeps pace beside , his breath coming in sharp pants.
The trees blur as I weave through them, but the wolves are relentless. They move as one, cutting through the forest with terrifying precision.
Then—
A snarl to my right.
One of them leaps.
I yank the reins, twisting at the last second. The wolf's massive body crashes into the ground where I had been a second ago.
Too close.
I grit my teeth. I can't outrun them forever. I need to lose them.
Up ahead, the trees thin, opening into a rocky incline. My best chance is to reach higher ground—make it harder for them to surround .
I steer my horse toward the slope, but the mont we break from the trees, another wolf lunges.
This one is white-furred, with piercing blue eyes.
It goes straight for my horse's legs.
"NO!"
I yank hard on the reins, but it's too late.
The wolf's teeth sink in. My horse screams, rearing back. I lose my grip—
And I fall.
The world spins.
Pain explodes through my shoulder as I hit the ground, the breath knocked from my lungs. My vision blurs.
The mont I try to move, a heavy weight slams into .
I gasp.
Teeth snap inches from my face. Hot breath fans over my skin.
The white-furred wolf has pinned.
I struggle, shoving at its chest, but it's like trying to move stone. My dagger—where is my dagger?
Wolf lunges, slamming into the beast, knocking it off .
I scramble to my feet, my head spinning. My dagger—there! A few feet away, half-buried in the dirt.
I dive for it.
But before my fingers can close around the hilt, a heavy paw slams onto my wrist.
I freeze.
The dark-furred wolf—the leader—looms over . Its amber eyes gleam with sothing almost... human.
It doesn't bite.
It doesn't kill .
Instead, it studies .
A mont of breathless silence stretches between us.
Then, to my horror—
It shifts.
The fur recedes. Limbs lengthen. Bones snap and reshape.
And in the wolf's place, standing tall and deadly, is a man.
Naked, of course. Because the gods clearly hate .
He has sharp, angular features, his dark hair tousled from the shift. His skin is sun-kissed, his muscles honed from a life of war and hunting. A long scar slashes across his collarbone.
But it's his eyes that hold captive.
Amber. Intense.
And filled with amusent.
His grip tightens just enough to remind who holds the upper hand. The weight of his strength presses against my wrist, pinning to the ground.
Wolf snarls beside , hackles raised, but the man—because that's what he is now, a man—doesn't even glance at him. His full attention is on .
"Well, well," he drawls, his voice deep and smooth, edged with amusent. "Didn't expect to find a little hunter wandering so far from ho."
His pack shifts around us, still in their wolf forms, their glowing eyes locked on . They don't attack, but they don't back down either. They are waiting for him—whoever he is—to decide my fate.
My breath is ragged as I glare up at him. My free hand twitches toward my thigh, where a smaller dagger is strapped beneath my cloak.
He notices.
His grip on my wrist tightens, pinning it above my head. "Ah, ah, none of that," he murmurs, smirking.
Cocky bastard.
"Let go," I snap, my voice hoarse.
His smirk widens. "Now, why would I do that? You and I both know you'll try to stab the second I do."
He's not wrong.
Still, I bare my teeth at him. "And what? You're going to kill instead?"
His expression flickers—sothing unreadable passing through his gaze. "No," he says, almost thoughtfully. "Not yet."
Not *yet*?
I scowl, struggling against his grip, but his strength is impossible to fight. My pulse thrums wildly in my throat. He's not killing , not imdiately, but that doesn't an I'm safe.
Who is he?
A deep chuckle rumbles from him as if he can hear my thoughts.
"You're lucky, hunter," he says, releasing my wrist abruptly. He steps back, towering over as I push myself upright. "Had it been anyone else, you'd be dead."
I rise to my feet slowly, keeping my stance firm despite the lingering ache from my fall. Wolf moves protectively to my side, his teeth bared.
I keep my dagger at my hip, fingers brushing the hilt. "Who the hell are you?" I demand.
His smirk remains, but there's sothing sharper in his gaze now, sothing calculating.
"You don't know?" He tilts his head, almost amused. "And here I thought all hunters did their research."
I clench my jaw. *He's testing .*
But I refuse to play into his arrogance.
"I know you're not Zain," I say instead. "So that ans you're his second."
His amusent fades slightly. "Zain?" He raised his eyebrow in question. "You dare speak his na! You are a brave and Clever girl. But also stupid"
Beta.
Zain's Beta.
Shit. I might as well be struck dead by Selene.
This close to their territory, I shouldn't be surprised. Of course, the Demon Alpha wouldn't send his entire pack to hunt a single trespasser. He'd send his second-in-command to deal with nuisances like .
The realization does nothing to ease the weight pressing against my ribs.
I'm in danger.
Real, undeniable danger.
Because if this is his Beta, then I am already far too close to enemy territory.
"I'll ask again," I say, voice steady. "Are you going to kill ?"
He watches for a long mont, sothing unreadable in his amber eyes. Then—
"No."
A single word.
Sharp. Decisive.
I exhale, but the relief is brief.
Because his next words send a chill racing down my spine.
"But I am taking you with ."
I stiffen. "Like hell you are."
His smirk returns, dangerous this ti. "Oh, little hunter." He steps closer, voice dropping into sothing almost mocking. "You don't really have a choice."
I don't wait.
I strike.
My dagger flashes in the moonlight as I lunge, aiming for his side.
He moves fast—too fast.
One second, I'm attacking. The next, he has my wrist in an iron grip, twisting my arm behind my back. I hiss in pain, my dagger slipping from my grasp.
He leans in, his breath warm against my ear. "Nice try."
I snarl, twisting, kicking, fighting—
But it's useless.
His pack surrounds us, the wolves watching with keen, intelligent eyes. They don't intervene. They don't need to. Their Beta has already won.
I hate it.
I hate him.
"You're coming with , hunter," he murmurs, his tone almost amused. "And trust —you're going to want to behave."
His grip tightens for a fraction of a second before he releases .
Before I can react, strong hands shove forward.
And then—
Everything fades into darkness.
User Comments
0 comments from readers