{IRIS}
A cold dread washed over me, and I stumbled backward, my breath coming in shallow gasps.
"Y-You . . . you're a hag!" I gasped, my voice shaking with fear. The woman—the old woman—who had led me here, was no longer the kind and gentle figure she had appeared to be. Her features twisted with malevolent delight, her smile widening unnaturally.
Her laughter filled the air, an eerie, mocking sound that made my skin crawl.
"You're not the one who saved me!" I choked out, my heart pounding in my chest.
The truth slammed into me like a blow. The hag—this creature—she would never have saved me. She was one of them, a predator. The very kind of creature who would feast on someone like me.
We were delicacies to them.
Werewolves—unshifted, weak, vulnerable—were the perfect prey. And she would never have spared me.
Then who did? Who saved me?
The question echoed in my mind, but I didn't have time to answer it. The monsters were closing in, their heavy footsteps shaking the ground beneath me.
I took a step back, my legs trembling beneath me, the panic rising in my chest.
"S-Stay back . . ." I managed, my voice cracking, barely a whisper as I tried to steady myself. The creatures circled, their eyes locked on me, their hunger thick in the air.
The old hag's laughter continued, cruel and creepy. "A rogue, cast out by her pack. Unshifted. Unscented. Alone. An easy food," she crooned, her saliva thick, dripping out from her mouth.
"I've been watching over you for some time," the hag's voice slithered through the air, thick with malice. "But you were protected inside that cave, and I couldn't get to you. But now . . . now, you're finally within my reach!
Now, eat, my children! Eat!"
The command was sharp, insistent, like the final bell tolling for my doom.
The monsters surged forward, their eyes hungry, their teeth glistening with anticipation. I could feel their hot breath on my skin, the weight of their presence closing in around me, like a tightening noose.
My heart hammered, my limbs frozen in terror, as the sound of their growls filled my ears.
This was it.
I had been wrong. I had been foolish to think I could survive. This . . . this was the end. The hunger in their eyes told me all I needed to know—there would be no tomorrow for me.
The rain pounded down around us, washing away my resolve, leaving only fear. I closed my eyes for a brief moment, trying to brace for the inevitable. But even in that fleeting second, the questions lingered—who had saved me? Who had brought me in the cave?
But that didn't matter now. I was alone. Alone with the monsters of the night.
The first bite came without warning, sharp and sudden, sinking deep into the flesh of my arm. I barely had time to scream before another followed—this time, on my neck.
The pain exploded through my body like fire, radiating from the wounds and spreading in all directions. I tried to pull away, but their claws were like iron, holding me in place.
The second bite. It was worse. It felt like my very soul was being torn from me. The teeth sank into my side, ripping through skin and muscle. I could feel them tearing at my flesh, the wet sound of it sickening, like something not quite human.
Their hunger was insatiable. I couldn't breathe, couldn't think. The blood was flowing freely now, dripping from my body as they fed, each bite ripping more from me than the last.
And then the third. I lost count after that, the pain blending into one unbearable, endless wave. Each bite brought more agony, each shred of skin more vulnerable than the last.
Some of them even licked the blood that spilled from the wounds, their vile, wet tongues sending a new wave of disgust through me.
A sharp cry tore through my throat, raw and guttural, as the pain wracked every nerve in my body. My skin felt like it was on fire, each bite driving me closer to the edge of my sanity.
My mind flickered in and out of focus, each breath growing harder to take, my heart racing in a frantic beat I couldn't control.
This was it.
This was my fate. This is how I would die.
I could feel my life slipping away, my consciousness fading. The weight of everything I had lost—the mate bond, Lorcan, my pack—crushed me all at once. But in that crushing pressure, there was a strange release. A final surrender.
My vision blurred. The world around me spun and faded, the sounds of my torment growing distant. I could feel myself slipping into the darkness, my body giving in to the inevitable.
In the end, it was nothing but the merciful embrace of death.
I let go.
Finally. I could rest.
How pathetic, how utterly pathetic my life had been.
How utterly pathetic I had been . . .