The growls came from everywhere.
Low. Sharp. Closing in.
My heart slammed violently against my ribs as I turned in slow circles, trying to track the movement between the trees. Shadows shifted unnaturally, slipping from one place to another like they had a mind of their own.
My wolf snarled beneath my skin.
Not playful.
Not defensive.
Territorial.
Afraid.
"They're getting closer," I whispered, my voice tight.
Kael didn't move.
He stood in front of me like he had all the time in the world—like the danger creeping through the forest wasn't worth his concern.
"They've been here longer than you think," he said calmly.
My stomach dropped.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
His gaze remained fixed on the darkness ahead. "They were waiting."
Waiting.
For me.
The realization hit like ice in my veins.
The mark burned again—hotter this time, almost reacting to the presence around us.
"They can feel it," Kael continued, his voice low. "The moment it awakened… you became visible."
Visible?
"To who?" I demanded, panic rising in my chest.
His lips curved slightly, but there was no humor in it.
"To everything that hunts power."
A branch snapped to our left.
Then another behind us.
Closer now.
Circling.
My breathing quickened. "What are they?" I asked.
Kael finally shifted, just slightly, placing himself more directly between me and the shadows.
"Not wolves," he said.
A chill ran down my spine.
"Then what—"
A figure lunged from the darkness.
Fast.
Too fast.
I barely had time to register the shape—larger than a wolf, leaner, its eyes glowing an unnatural red—before it was on us.
I gasped, stumbling back—
But Kael moved faster.
He caught the creature mid-air.
One hand.
Just one.
The impact alone should have thrown him back.
It didn't.
His grip tightened around its throat, stopping it completely.
The creature thrashed, snarling, claws slashing wildly—but it couldn't break free.
My breath caught.
"What… what is that?" I whispered.
Kael didn't look at me.
His eyes were locked on the thing in his hand.
"Scavengers," he said coldly. "They feed on power they can't create."
The creature let out a guttural screech.
More answered from the shadows.
My chest tightened.
"There are more," I said.
"I know."
The way he said it—calm, controlled—should have reassured me.
It didn't.
Because I could feel it now.
The forest wasn't just watching.
It was closing in.
"Kael…" I started.
He snapped the creature's neck.
Just like that.
Effortless.
Like it meant nothing.
Its body went limp in his grip before he tossed it aside like it was nothing more than a broken branch.
"Stay behind me," he said again, his voice darker now. "No matter what happens… you don't move unless I tell you to."
My wolf bristled.
Every instinct screamed to run.
But my body didn't move.
Because something else—something stronger—held me in place.
Him.
The mark pulsed.
Hard.
Hot.
Alive.
"I can't just stand here," I said, my voice shaking despite my effort to stay calm. "There are too many—"
"And you would survive them how?" Kael cut in, finally glancing back at me.
His eyes locked onto mine.
And everything inside me stilled.
"By running?" he continued quietly. "By panicking? By letting them chase you?"
My throat tightened.
"I—"
"You survive by listening," he said. "By staying where I can protect you."
The word protect did something strange to my chest.
It tightened.
Warmed.
Confused me.
Before I could respond—
Three more figures emerged from the trees.
This time, I saw them clearly.
Not wolves.
Not human.
Something in between.
Their bodies twisted unnaturally, movements jerky but fast, eyes glowing with hunger.
They weren't just hunting.
They were drawn.
To me.
My wolf growled violently.
"They want the mark," I whispered.
Kael didn't deny it.
"They want what it gives you," he corrected.
A chill ran through me.
"And what does it give me?" I asked, my voice barely audible.
His gaze flicked to me briefly.
"Power you don't understand yet."
The creatures lunged.
All at once.
This time, Kael moved like something unleashed.
Fast.
Precise.
Deadly.
He didn't just fight—
He dominated.
One creature barely reached him before he drove it into the ground with brutal force. Another tried to flank him, but he turned, catching it mid-motion and slamming it into a tree hard enough to crack the trunk.
The third came straight for me.
My heart stopped.
I froze.
"Kael—!" I shouted.
But he was already moving.
Too far.
Too fast.
Too late—
The creature lunged—
And something inside me snapped.
The mark burned.
No—
It exploded.
Heat surged through my entire body, wild and uncontrollable.
My wolf roared.
Not in fear.
In power.
My hand shot forward without thinking—
And the creature—
Stopped.
Mid-air.
Like it hit something invisible.
My breath caught.
"What…?" I whispered.
The creature struggled, snarling, trying to move—but it couldn't.
It was like something held it back.
No.
Like I held it back.
The heat in my veins surged stronger.
Faster.
Unstable.
I couldn't control it—
"Lyra."
Kael's voice cut through everything.
Sharp.
Commanding.
"Stop."
"I don't know how!" I cried, panic flooding me.
The creature shrieked, fighting against whatever force held it in place.
The pressure in my chest built—
Too much.
Too strong—
"I can't—!"
"Look at me."
His voice dropped.
Lower.
Steadier.
Grounding.
My eyes snapped to his.
And just like that—
Everything slowed.
The heat.
The chaos.
The fear.
"Breathe," he said.
I did.
Shakily.
Unsteadily.
The pressure eased.
The invisible hold broke.
The creature dropped—
And Kael finished it instantly.
Silence fell.
Heavy.
Thick.
Broken only by my uneven breathing.
I stared at my hands.
They were shaking.
"What… was that?" I whispered.
Kael didn't answer immediately.
He was watching me.
Carefully.
Intensely.
Like he had just seen something important.
Something confirming.
"You felt it," he said finally.
It wasn't a question.
I nodded slowly.
"It just… happened," I said. "I didn't mean to—"
"But you did it," he interrupted.
My chest tightened.
"That wasn't normal," I said.
"No," he agreed.
Silence stretched between us.
Then—
"That's why they came."
My stomach dropped.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
Kael stepped closer now.
Slower.
More deliberate.
"They didn't just feel the mark," he said quietly.
"They felt you."
My breath caught.
"They sensed your power awakening," he continued. "And they came to feed on it before you could learn to control it."
Cold fear spread through me.
"So this is my life now?" I whispered. "Being hunted?"
His gaze locked onto mine.
Unyielding.
"Yes."
The word hit hard.
Final.
Real.
My chest rose and fell unevenly.
"I didn't ask for this," I said.
"No," he said softly.
"You didn't."
Silence.
Then—
"But it chose you anyway."
The mark pulsed again.
Slower this time.
Heavier.
Like it agreed.
I swallowed hard.
"What happens now?" I asked.
Kael's expression shifted slightly.
Something darker.
More dangerous.
"Now…" he said,
"You come with me."
My heart skipped.
"What?"
"You're not safe here," he continued. "Not in your pack. Not alone. Not with power you can't control."
I hesitated.
"You expect me to just go with you?" I asked.
His gaze didn't waver.
"I expect you to survive."
My chest tightened.
"And if I don't?" I challenged quietly.
Something dangerous flickered in his eyes.
Then he stepped closer.
Too close.
Close enough that I could feel the heat of him.
The pull.
Stronger than before.
"If you don't…" he said softly,
"They will find you again."
His voice dropped lower.
More intimate.
More dangerous.
"And next time…"
His fingers brushed lightly against the mark on my wrist—
And my breath caught.
"They won't come alone."