The forest didn't just echo with roars anymore—it vibrated with them. Deep, rolling, primal sounds that didn't belong to any creature I'd ever heard on Earth. They came from all directions, closing in like a tightening net.
Owain didn't wait for me to catch up. He grabbed my arm—firm but not painful—and pulled me behind him.
"Stay close," he said, voice rough, chest still heaving from fighting a literal dragon. "If you get separated, you won't survive."
I was too terrified to argue.
Behind us, Yllas—the dragon-man—shifted partially back into his human form, ice swirling around him like a living storm.
In front of us, the elf and the leopard stood absolutely still, listening.
Owain tensed. "They're surrounding us."
"The others?" I asked.
He didn't answer.
Gerrin, the elf, responded instead as glowing markings pulsed faintly under his skin.
"Dragons. Wolves. Leopards. Bears. Maybe phoenixes if the air keeps shifting like this."
That made me stop dead in my tracks. "PHOENIXES?!"
Helion—the leopard—gave me a small, amused look. "Aetheryon has… variety."
I stared at him in disbelief. This couldn't be real. I refused to believe it. My mind was seconds away from breaking.
Owain stepped back to my side and gently nudged me forward. "We don't have time for explanations."
No kidding.
Leaves shook violently above us. Wings—large ones—beat overhead.
"Move," Yllas ordered.
"You don't give orders to her," Owain snapped.
"You are too young to protect something this important."
"Wanna bet?"
"Enough," Helion murmured, eyes narrowing. "They're here."
I turned—and froze.
Eyes glowed from the darkness between the trees. Dozens. Maybe more.
Golden. Green. Red. All sizes. All heights.
Predators. Watching. Waiting.
The forest grew unnaturally silent.
And every glowing eye was fixed directly on me.
My entire body locked. "Why—why are they all staring?"
Owain's jaw tightened. "Your scent."
"I don't HAVE a scent!"
"That's the problem." His voice dropped. "Beasts can't read you. So they react like you're an anomaly—or prey—or a mate."
"Mate?!" I nearly choked.
Too late.
The creatures moved.
Owain cursed. "Run."
This time, he didn't wait for me to comply. He lifted me off the ground—one arm wrapped around my waist like I weighed nothing—and sprinted deeper into the forest so fast that branches blurred into streaks.
"Put me down!" I shouted.
"No."
"I can run!"
"You'll slow us down."
"That's—"
"Kanah." His voice deepened in warning. "Not now."
I shut up.
Behind us, something roared—no, a LOT of somethings. Leaves exploded as beasts gave chase. A mix of footsteps pounded the earth—heavy like bears, fast like wolves, light like leopards.
"Are they chasing YOU," I yelled, "or me?!"
Owain snarled over his shoulder. "You!"
"Great! Fantastic! Love that for me!"
He leapt over a fallen log, boots hitting the ground so hard I felt the impact through his grip. I clung to his shoulders, fingers digging into his skin.
His speed was inhuman.
Tree roots, rocks, steep slopes—he crossed them in seconds. At one point, he actually jumped off a small cliff, twisted in the air, and landed running.
My head spun.
A shadow swooped overhead—a dragon in full form.
Yllas.
He flew low in pursuit, frost trailing behind his wings.
"Give me the human!" Yllas roared.
"Over my dead body!" Owain shouted back.
"That can be arranged."
A blast of freezing mist shot down from above.
Owain twisted mid-sprint, curling his body protectively around me. The frost exploded harmlessly over his back and onto the ground, instantly freezing a line of trees.
"HEY!" I screamed upward. "STOP TRYING TO KILL ME BY ACCIDENT!"
"It was not aimed at you," Yllas called down.
"NOT BETTER!"
Owain growled. "You freeze her, I'll take a fang to your heart."
"And if you drop her," the dragon replied coolly, "I'll tear off your arm."
"Oh my god," I muttered. "This is insane."
Helion suddenly appeared to our left—literally appeared, like he stepped out of a shadow. He ran lightly and quickly, keeping pace with us.
"Branches ahead," he warned, voice low and calm. "High roots. Sloped terrain. Don't trip."
Owain shot him a glare but adjusted his stride.
Gerrin appeared next, stepping gracefully onto a thick branch above us. His body glowed faintly with mana, lighting his path.
He raised a hand. "They're coming from the north as well."
"Who?" I shouted.
"More dragons, more wolves, and at least two phoenixes."
"I don't know what a phoenix is here, but I don't want to meet one!"
"No," Gerrin said dryly. "You do not."
A massive roar echoed behind us.
Owain's grip tightened. "Hold on."
"Wait—what—?"
He crouched.
Then launched upward so quickly my stomach dropped. We flew through the air, clearing a ridge of jagged rocks, landing on the other side with a bone-shaking thud.
Owain didn't slow down even for a second.
He kept running.
Branches snapped behind us as other beastmen spilled into the chase.
And then—
The forest ended.
We reached a steep cliff.
The edge dropped into a deep ravine filled with fog. A river rushed below, roaring. There was no bridge. No safe path. No way across.
Owain didn't stop.
"OH GOD—STOP—STOP STOP STO—"
He jumped.
I screamed as we plummeted.
Wind whipped past us. My stomach twisted. For a moment, all sound blurred into static.
Then—
Owain shifted mid-fall.
Fur burst across his skin. Muscles shifted. His arms wrapped around me as his body expanded into a massive black wolf.
We hit the water like a bomb.
Cold shattered through my body. My lungs seized. Owain dragged me upward with strong strokes.
He swam fast—much faster than any wolf on Earth had a right to. The current swept us downstream, away from the cliff.
Above the ravine, I saw silhouettes of creatures staring down—wolves, leopards, dragons circling, unable to follow.
Owain surfaced, gasping.
My teeth chattered. "D-did we lose them?"
He shifted back to human as soon as he reached the shallows, pulling me against him as he waded to the riverbank.
"For now," he said, breathing hard. "But not for long. We need to get you into Fenr Vale."
"What's that?"
"My territory. If you're under my protection, others won't touch you. Not unless they want war."
"War?! Already?! I've been alive here for, like, one hour!"
"Yes," he said simply. "It's enough."
I stared at him in disbelief. "This world is freaking crazy."
He actually huffed a laugh. "You haven't seen anything yet."
Behind us, the forest roared with distant cries.
Owain looked toward the sound and then down at me. His expression softened for the first time.
"Can you walk?"
I nodded shakily. "I—I think so."
He lifted me anyway.
"HEY! I can—"
"You can't." He started moving. "Your legs are shaking."
"That's because YOU threw me off a cliff!"
"We lived."
"That is NOT the point!"
He adjusted his hold, keeping me securely against his chest. Despite my panic, the warmth of his skin fought off the cold river water clinging to me.
We traveled through quieter forest now—foggy, darker, but calm. No more roars. No more glowing eyes. Just distant wind and the rustle of leaves.
After several minutes, we ducked under thick branches into a shallow cave.
Owain set me down gently. "Rest. We can't enter wolf territory while you look like you're about to faint."
"I'm not fainting," I muttered.
"You're pale. And you smell like fear."
"I don't have a smell—"
"You do to us."
I opened my mouth to argue—but stopped.
Owain crouched in front of me, looking far more wolf than man. His golden eyes studied my face, scanning every detail like he was memorizing it.
"You're safe here," he said quietly.
"Am I?" I whispered.
"For now. I'll keep watch."
I swallowed, throat tight. "And the others? Will they come?"
"Yes."
"Great."
He didn't smile. "Kanah."
"Yeah?"
His voice dropped into something deeper.
"You need to understand something. You are not prey. You are not weak. But you are…" He searched for the word. "…rare."
"That is not helping."
He sat down beside me, shoulder brushing mine.
"That's not what I mean. You don't smell like anything in this world. That makes you unpredictable. Beastmen don't know whether to fear you, desire you, or kill you."
"Fantastic."
"Kanah."
"What?"
His eyes locked on mine, fierce and certain.
"I won't let them touch you."
Something in my chest tightened. Fear, maybe. Or instinct. Or something else I couldn't name yet.
Before I could respond—
A deep, thunderous voice echoed outside the cave.
"You cannot keep her hidden, wolf."
Cold slid down my spine.
Yllas—the dragon.
Then another voice—smooth, cutting, annoyed.
"You found her first. But that does not make her yours."
Gerrin.
Then a quiet, amused tone.
"Let's not disturb them too much," Helion murmured. "We all want her alive."
Owain stiffened.
The four of us were now trapped in a cave with wolves, dragons, elves, and leopards circling outside like predators.
Owain turned to me.
"Stay behind me."
I swallowed hard.
"What happens now?"
His jaw clenched.
"Territory. Instinct. Negotiations."
"And if they don't negotiate?"
His eyes flashed gold.
"Then I fight."
A shadow moved outside. A claw scraped rock. A magical glow lit the cave entrance.
Owain rose to his full height.
And I realized—
This world truly did want to eat me alive.
And he was the only thing standing between me and the chaos waiting outside.