Selene froze.
The snap of a twig echoed through the thick forest. She held her breath, pressing her back against the rough bark of an old oak.
Her silver eyes, flecked with red, searched the misty darkness.
They had found her again. The Syndicate hunts moved like ghosts through the Ashenwood. Three people in black cloaks slipped between trees, their faces hidden beneath hoods.
Moonlight glinted off the silver knives in their hands.
"The Ruby Wolf can't hide forever," an angry voice whispered. "Her scent is fresh." Selene's heart hammered against her ribs. She'd been careless, staying too long in one place.
The small village had felt safe, the folks kind. For a moment, she'd forgotten what she wasa hunted creature, the last of her kind. Or so she thought. She slipped her hand inside her coat, fingers wrapping around the small ruby pendantthe only thing she had from her mother. It pumped warmly against her palm, as if warning her of danger.
"Split up," ordered the biggest hunter, his voice like gravel. "Remember, Lord Vex wants her living. The blood rite requires it." Blood ritual? Selene shuddered. Whatever they planned, she wouldn't let them take her.
As the hunters split, Selene crouched low and moved. Her feet made no sound on the forest floor a trick she'd learned years ago. Survive or die. Those were the only choices for the last Ruby Wolf.
The forest was her friend tonight. Thick fog rolled between the trees, hiding her escape. But the Syndicate hunters weren't regular men. They had been trained to track her kind for generations.
A twig snapped behind her. Selene spun, coming face to face with a hunter whose eyes burned with hate. "Found you, wolf," he growled, lunging forward. She ducked under his arm, twisting away as his blade cut through the air where her throat had been. Her reflexes took over. She kicked hard at his knee, feeling it crack.
The man howled in pain as he fell. "She's here!" he shouted. No time to think. Selene ran, her crimson-black hair streaming behind her like a flag in the moonlight. Stupid, stupid mistake! She should have covered it, dyed it brown like she usually did. Heavy footsteps pounded after her. Two more shooters, closing in fast. Selene's mind raced. The stream it was her only chance. She changed direction, running toward the sound of rushing water.
Her lungs burned, but fear pushed her forward. "Don't let her reach the water!" a voice called out. An arrow zipped past her ear, burying itself in a tree trunk. Selene didn't slow down. The rushing sound grew louder.
Through the woods, she glimpsed silver moonlight dancing on water. Almost there. Another direction, closer this time. A stinging pain across her arm told her it had grazed her. Blood dripped down, warm against her cold skin. With a final burst of speed, Selene broke through the treeline and jumped.
For a moment, she was flying, suspended between earth and sky. Then the icy water of the stream closed over her head. The river was stronger than she remembered, tumbling her downstream. She fought to the surface, gasping for air.
On the bank, the hunters ran alongside, their faces twisted with rage. "Follow the stream!" one yelled. "She can't stay underwater forever!" But Selene had a plan.
As she turned a bend in the stream, hidden briefly from their view, she grabbed an overhanging branch and pulled herself out.
Water streamed from her clothes as she climbed up the muddy bank.
Quick as a fox, she stripped off her wet outer cloak. She'd leave it floating downstream to fool them. Then she grabbed handfuls of mud and smeared it over her pale skin and unique hair. The scent would mask her tracks. The sounds of the hunters grew distant as they followed the floating cloak. Selene smiled sadly. It wouldn't fool them for long, but it might buy her enough time. She crept through the bush, moving away from the stream. The cut on her arm throbbed, but she ignored it. Pain was an old friend.
After an hour of careful travel, Selene found what she was looking fora hollow tree, big enough to hide in. She squeezed inside, pulling her knees to her chest. Only then did she check her arm.
The cut wasn't deep, but it wouldn't stop bleeding. Selene closed her eyes, reaching for the power that lived in her blood. The power of the Ruby Wolves. Nothing happened. As always, the magic stayed locked away, refusing her call.
"Why won't you work?" she whispered angrily to herself. The stories said her kind could heal with a thought, change form under the full moon, command the elements. Yet here she was, hiding in a tree with a bleeding arm.
A twig snapped nearby. Selene held her breath, hoping to the moon goddess that the hollow was deep enough to hide her. Footsteps approached, slow and deliberate. Not the heavy boots of the Syndicate hunts. These steps were lighter, careful. A shadow fell across the opening of her hidden place. Selene tensed, ready to fight.
"I know you're in there, Ruby Wolf." The voice was male, soft and strangely familiar. "You're bleeding. They'll smell it soon." Selene stayed silent. It could be a trick. "I'm not with them," the voice continued.
"Not anymore." Something about the voice tugged at her mind, like a half-remembered dream. Slowly, she peered out from her hiding place.
A young man crouched there, his face partly hidden by the hood of his cloak.
What she could see made her heart skipdark red hair tied back, and hazel eyes that seemed to glow gold in the darkness. "Who are you?" she whispered. He pushed back his hood, showing a face that sent a shock of recognition through her body. She knew him, somehow.
From where? "My name is Lysander," he said, offering his hand. "And if you want to live through the night, you need to come with me now.
The Syndicate has called creatures that can track bloodeven a single drop." As if to confirm his words, a bone-chilling howl echoed through the trees. Not wolf. Something else. S
Something wrong. Selene stared at his outstretched hand, torn between instinct and life. "Why should I trust you?" she asked. Lysander's eyes darkened. "Because I was sent to kill you, and I'm deciding not to. That's the best offer you'll get tonight." Another scream, closer this time. Selene made her choice. She grabbed his hand.
As he pulled her from the hollow tree, their skin touched. A jolt of energy passed between them, strong enough to make them both gasp. Images flashed through Selene's minda moonlit area, two children playing, a blood oath, a promise. Lysander's eyes widened.
He'd felt it too. "What was that?" she whispered. Before he could answer, the howl came againso close it froze the blood in Selene's veins.
"Run now, questions later," Lysander said, his voice tight with urgency. He pulled a silver knife from his belt and pressed it into her hand. "Whatever happens, don't let them take you alive."
Together, they disappeared into the forest as shadows darker than night slipped between the trees behind them, hunting for the scent of Ruby Wolf blood.