Kael hit the ground hard.
Snow exploded around him, his breath ripping from his lungs in a hoarse gasp. His sword slid from his grasp, spinning across the frozen earth. He clawed at the ground to push himself up—but a heavy weight dropped on him before he could even get to his knees.
The Wendigo.
It landed like a falling boulder, knees and claws digging into his shoulders. Its breath washed over him—cold, chemical, wrong. Frost spread beneath its palms as it pinned him down.
Kael strained with everything he had, but the strength wasn't there.
His body was bruised, sliced open, blood freezing wherever it touched the air.
His vision wavered.
The creature's face came into focus only inches from his own—childlike, cracked, skin splitting in unnatural lines across its skull.
It smiled.
Then its mouth stretched.
At first Kael thought it was just baring its teeth again—but the skin around the corners of its lips tore, ripping upward toward its cheekbones. Flesh split like wet paper. Bone creaked. Its jaw unhinged wider than any human's ever could.
Kael felt his heart seize.
"Just one bite," it whispered, voice bubbling, distorted.
"One taste. Then I'll give you the Lord's blood."
Its tongue slithered out—longer than it had been moments before, thin and flexible, writhing like something alive on its own. A clear, viscous liquid dripped from its edge, sizzling where it hit Kael's cheek.
He tried to turn away.
The tongue followed.
It dragged slowly across his face, cold, wet, acidic. Kael's breath hitched in disgust as goosebumps erupted across his skin. The creature inhaled deeply, savoring—
"You'd make a beautiful monster…"
The Wendigo raised one claw, poised to sink into his ribs.
Kael shut his eyes, teeth gritted—
I can't... move—
Not strong enough—
Not fast enough—
The Wendigo leaned down, jaws gaping, tongue dragging toward his mouth—
And then—
SHLK—
A blade burst clean through the side of the monster's skull, punching horizontally out its mouth. The tip stopped just inches from Kael's face, dripping pale blue blood.
The Wendigo's head jerked violently to the side, its body momentarily stunned.
Kael snapped his eyes open.
Behind the creature—
The Alpha hunter.
Breathing ragged. Barely standing. His chest heaving in broken, uneven gasps. His entire torso soaked in blood—most of it his own. His eyes were unfocused, glazed with pain, but somehow still burning with stubborn fire.
Kael's relief hit like a collapsing wave.
"You're—alive?" he breathed.
The hunter coughed thickly, blood dribbling from the corner of his mouth.
Barely audible, he rasped:
"Don't… waste it… Kael… find a way out…"
He swayed, knees shaking, sword still embedded in the Wendigo's skull.
"Leave me. I'm done. But you—still have a chance…"
Kael's throat tightened.
"No," he said, voice cracking. "I'm not leaving you."
The Wendigo's claws clenched. Its tails whipped wildly, blue veins pulsing with fury as it pulled itself back, the sword still lodged between its jaws. Its childlike whimper warped into something guttural, enraged.
Kael felt the shift instantly.
It's angry now. Really angry.
He forced himself upright—
ignoring the screaming pain in his ribs—
ignoring the dizziness—
His hand shot beneath his coat.
Ignition tags.
He pushed off the snow, sprinting toward the creature as it finally ripped the blade from its own mouth with a roar that shattered through the forest.
It swung at him—claws wide—
Kael ducked, slid under its arm, and slammed all three tags onto the creature's chest armor.
Sticky seal. Flash charge.
The Wendigo snarled, swatting at him—
Kael rolled back, diving away—
BOOM—
The tags detonated at once.
A column of fire spiraled outward, ripping through the clearing. Snow vaporized. Trees bent. The Wendigo was thrown backward like a ragdoll, disappearing in a storm of flame and smoke, its scream twisting into something feral and inhuman.
Kael shielded his face as heat washed over him. His ears rang. The world became white noise and burning light.
When the flames finally thinned, Kael scrambled to his feet and sprinted toward the Alpha hunter.
The man was on the ground now—on his side—blood pooling beneath him, breath faint and uneven.
"Stay with me—hey—stay with me," Kael said, dropping to his knees beside him.
The Alpha hunter barely managed to tilt his head, eyes glassy.
Kael grabbed his shoulder. "I'm getting you out. I don't care how—just hold on."
A weak, broken sound escaped the man's throat—half laugh, half pain.
Behind them, the burning treeline crackled.
Kael swallowed hard.
Please don't die…
Not here. Not like this.
He thought of his team—
Rin's last look before he split off,
Lira's warning tone,
Taro's calm mask cracking into worry.
Please be alive. Please.
He looked up—
back toward where the Wendigo had been thrown.
The fire dimmed.
Smoke rolled out in long, slow waves.
The forest held its breath.
Then—
A monstrous, distorted howl cut through the night, vibrating the bones in Kael's chest.
Footsteps followed.
Fast.
Heavy.
Closing from every direction at once.