The corridor stank of smoke and fear. Narrow stone walls pressed close, wide enough for two people shoulder to shoulder but no more. The ceiling dripped with condensation, each drop echoing far too loud in the silence between screams.
Elara's lungs burned. Her silver thrummed so hard under her skin it felt like she was glowing from within. Caleb ran just ahead, Corin limp across his shoulders, her blood soaking down his back in a dark line. Torvee stumbled on his other side, still clutching the child, jaw set in a grimace that was half rage, half terror. The girl's sobs came muffled against Torvee's chest.
Amber herded them forward, blade drawn, eyes darting between the shadows ahead and the light behind. Garrett and Luke brought up the rear, every step slower as the snarls behind them grew louder. The ferals had caught their scent.
"They're gaining," Amber snapped.
"I know." Garrett's voice was low but carried down the stone throat of the passage.
Elara risked a glance back. The dark boiled with shapes — too many. She couldn't count them. Eyes gleamed yellow, claws scraped stone. The sound of their breath filled the corridor like a storm.
Her legs wanted to give out. She forced them to keep moving.
---
The faint glow of daylight spilled ahead, a promise that the passage ended soon. But Elara's heart sank when she remembered what waited outside. The tree line was distant — a hundred metres, maybe more. Open ground stretched between, flat and exposed. Anyone crossing would be nothing but prey.
Garrett must have read the fear in her eyes. "The Alpha knows," he said, not breaking stride. "They'll be waiting at the trees."
"You're sure?" Elara gasped.
"Yes." His tone was final, unshakeable.
They hurried on, but the ferals were too close. The scrape of claws grew sharper, the stench of blood thicker. A shadow lunged, nearly reaching Luke before Garrett swung and slammed it into the wall. The creature shrieked, twisting, before another crashed into its back.
"We won't outrun them," Amber snapped.
Garrett stopped dead. He turned, placing himself in the centre of the corridor, a wall of golden aura. "Omega, on me. We hold here."
Luke froze for a heartbeat, then nodded once, eyes sharp. He stepped into place at Garrett's side without question.
Garrett's gaze cut to Amber. "Gamma, get them to the pack."
Amber's jaw clenched, but she nodded. She shoved Elara forward. "Go!"
"No!" Elara cried, twisting back. "You can't—"
Garrett's voice was iron. "If we don't hold, none of you reach the trees."
The ferals surged closer, a wave of claws and teeth. Garrett looked to Luke, and for the first time since Ravenholt had fallen, Elara saw something like relief in his eyes. "On three."
Luke bared his teeth. "Yes, Beta."
---
The change began.
Garrett's body stretched, muscles swelling, bones cracking audibly. His cloak shredded as fur burst through skin, golden light pouring off him like fire. In seconds he stood a wolf the size of a horse, teeth bared, eyes burning gold.
Luke followed, younger, leaner, his form snapping and twisting until a grey wolf stood at Garrett's flank, hackles raised, a growl deep in his chest.
The corridor shook with the force of their roars.
Elara staggered back, eyes wide. Caleb froze, Corin slipping in his arms. Torvee swore violently. The child screamed and buried her face in Torvee's chest, shaking like a leaf.
Elara's silver surged in answer, her skin alive with cold fire. She couldn't look away. For the first time she understood what they were — not men, not beasts, but something both and neither.
Garrett lowered his head, eyes burning. "Go."
Amber yanked Elara's arm. "Move!"
And then the wolves leapt.
---
The corridor became carnage. Garrett and Luke slammed into the tide of ferals, claws tearing, jaws snapping. The sound was like thunder, snarls and screams ricocheting off stone. Blood sprayed, teeth shattered against stone walls. The wolves held the line, bodies filling the narrow passage, turning it into a killing ground.
Amber drove the others forward. Caleb stumbled, Corin's limp body heavy across his shoulders, but he didn't stop. Torvee clutched the child, muttering curses through her teeth. Elara's dagger was slick in her palm though she hadn't struck anything. Her silver pulsed, urging her to fight, to turn, to do something — but all she could do was run.
They burst into daylight. The sudden brightness blinded her, but she kept moving, boots slapping hard-packed earth.
The open ground yawned before them. The tree line seemed impossibly far. Behind them, the snarls of the fight echoed, joined by fresh howls spilling from Ravenholt. More ferals were pouring into the passage.
"Run!" Amber barked.
They ran.
---
The ground stretched forever. Every step was a heartbeat, every heartbeat a prayer. Caleb panted, each breath ragged with Corin's weight. Torvee clutched the child, her arms trembling. Elara's lungs burned, her legs screaming, but she didn't dare slow.
The forest loomed closer, shadows thick between trunks. Then shapes emerged. Wolves, massive and bristling, fanning out from the trees. Men followed — swords drawn, bows ready, eyes hard.
The pack had come.
Amber raised her blade in salute. The wolves at the treeline snarled, low and ready, but did not charge. They were waiting.
Elara stumbled to a halt just short of the first line of trees. She turned, chest heaving, eyes locked on the dark mouth of the passage.
The sounds of battle still echoed within. Snarls, shrieks, the crash of bodies. Then silence — heavy, ringing.
The pack shifted uneasily.
Elara's silver thrummed like a drumbeat in her chest. Her gaze clung to the passage mouth, every nerve screaming for Garrett and Luke to appear.
The trees pressed close around them, shadows deep. Caleb knelt, lowering Corin carefully to the ground, his face pale with exhaustion. Torvee still clutched the child, who sobbed quietly into her shoulder. Amber stood tall, blade ready, her gaze never leaving the passage.
They waited.
And waited.