The voice cut through the night like lightning.
Before I could even register that there was a human in this maze of madness, a hand grabbed my wrist, yanking me upward with a shocking strength. I gasped, stumbling to my feet. The wolves snarled, enraged, but I barely had time to see their advancing forms before I found myself running.
"Run!" the stranger barked.
My legs obeyed on instinct, stumbling after him as he wove between the trees. I dared a glance at him, messy dark hair plastered to his forehead with sweat, his face smeared with dirt and cuts. He looked barely older than I was, his clothes torn, his eyes wide and wild. Yet he moved with desperate purpose, dragging me along through the undergrowth.
Behind us, the wolves gave chase. Their howls erupted again, furious and hungry.
My heart pounded so hard I thought it might burst. My lungs burned and i desperately wanted to stop, but somehow, with his hand gripping mine, I found myself still moving. I didn't know who he was. I didn't know if I could trust him. But in that moment, he was the only thing standing between me and the monsters.
Branches tore at my arms and legs, roots clawed at my feet, but the stranger pushed through with reckless determination. He half-dragged me, half-carried me at times when I stumbled, never slowing. His grip was bruising, but it anchored me, tethered me to something other than fear.
At last, after what felt like hours though it was likely only minutes, he yanked me toward a jagged outcropping of stone. "Here!" he hissed.
We slipped into a narrow cave hidden between two boulders, barely wide enough for us to squeeze through. The stone was damp, smelling of moss and iron. Once inside, the darkness swallowed us whole, broken only by the faint silver gleam of moonlight from the entrance.
I collapsed against the wall, my shaky feet unable to hold me uright while I gasped for breath.
The stranger crouched near the entrance, listening intently. Outside, the wolves prowled. I could hear their snarls, low growls, the sound of claws scraping against stone. They lingered just beyond the cave, pacing, waiting.
I pressed a trembling hand over her mouth, stifling a sob.
The stranger turned to me, my face grim. In the faint light, I could see how pale he was, his features sharp with exhaustion yet startlingly handsome. High cheekbones, storm-gray eyes, a mouth set in stubborn defiance. He looked as though he had been through hell, yet he carried himself like someone who refused to yield.
"You're lucky I found you," he whispered harshly. "Or you'd be pieces in their bellies by now."
I swallowed hard at the image, "Wh-what are they? Those… those aren't normal wolves, they are too large, too intelligent."
His gaze flicked to the cave mouth, then back to me. His expression darkened. "They are not wolves. They are much worse. Werewolves."
The word struck her like a physical blow. my blood ran cold.
"Werewolves?" I repeated, almost choking on the disbelief.
"Yes." His voice was grim, steady despite the fear etched into his eyes. "And not just any. They are from the packs that rule these lands. The Alphas are beasts. They do this for sport organize hunts in the forest, set prey loose just to chase them down."
My stomach turned violently and if not because i had not eaten in a long time i would have emptied the contents of my belly on the floor. "Prey…" The word tasted bitter, like ash on my tongue.
He nodded once. "Mostly humans. And any creature unlucky enough to fall into their hands."
I was trying to come to terms with the fact that i was supposed to believe that the oversized dogs outside were mythical creatures that i had only ever seen or heard off from books, the strangers words were jarring.
I shook my head violently. "No. No, this isn't real. This can't…"
"It is," he cut her off, his tone sharp, urgent. "And you need to understand, we can't stay here. They'll smell us out eventually. Their senses are sharper than you can imagine. If we wait, we're dead."
My body trembled, every instinct screaming to stay hidden, to never leave this fragile pocket of safety. But the certainty in his voice sank like stone into my gut.
"Escape…?" My voice cracked. "How? The forest is endless. They are everywhere."
His jaw tightened. "I've been running from them longer than you. There are ways. If we move fast, if we keep ahead of their noses, we stand a chance."
I stared at him, my chest aching with fear. "Why… why help me?"
For a moment, something flickered in his expression. Pain. Bitterness. But then he turned his gaze away, back to the mouth of the cave.
"Because," he said quietly, "no one deserves to be their prey."
My throat tightened. I didn't know what to say, so I said nothing.
Outside, the howls rang again, closer this time. The stranger stiffened. "We have to go."
My heart lurched. "Go? Now? They are right there."
"Now," he snapped, his voice low but firm. He reached for my hand again. "Trust me."
I hesitated only a heartbeat before letting him pull me to my feet. My legs wobbled, weak and scraped raw, but the warmth of his hand anchored me once again. Together, we slipped out of the cave, back into the unsure darkness of the forest.
The air outside was thick with the scent of earth and blood. The wolves were close. I could feel it, like a weight pressing against my chest. Every snapped twig, every rustle of leaves made me flinch.
We moved quickly, darting between trees, crouching low when the howls rose. The stranger seemed to know exactly where to step, how to move silently, but my fear betrayed me, I stumbled, cracked branches underfoot, my breaths too loud.
"Quieter," he hissed, steadying me with a firm grip.
I nodded desperately, biting my lip to stifle a sob.
For a moment, it seemed we might actually succeed. The forest opened slightly ahead, moonlight painting the ground in silver. The stranger pulled me toward it, his pace quickening.
Then…
A growl tore through the night, so close it rattled my bones.
I froze, my blood turning to ice.
From the shadows, a massive wolf leapt, golden eyes blazing. Its claws tore at the earth as it lunged straight for us.
"Run!" the stranger shouted, shoving me aside.
I stumbled backward, hitting the ground hard. I watched in horror as the wolf collided with him mid-stride, its weight slamming him to the dirt. The sound of impact was sickening, a mixture of flesh and fury.
The young man cried out, struggling beneath the beast as its jaws snapped dangerously close to his throat. He shoved against its muzzle, muscles straining, his face twisted in pain. Blood splattered across the leaves where the wolf's claws raked into his side.
A shrill scream tore from my throat, raw and panicked. "No!"
The wolf snarled, sinking its fangs toward his shoulder. He fought desperately, kicking, clawing, doing anything to keep it at bay, but the beast was too strong.
Another shape moved in the shadows. Another wolf, circling, waiting for the kill.
My body shook violently, frozen between terror and the desperate urge to move. My mind screamed run, but my heart screamed help him.
My nails dug into the dirt. my lips moved soundlessly. A strange heat pulsed, faint and flickering, somewhere deep within my chest.
The stranger's eyes found mine for a single, fleeting moment amidst the chaos. Gray, wide with fear but burning with the will to live.
"Go!" he choked, struggling under the wolf's weight. "Run! Save yourself!"
This was my chance to save myself, the stranger was too far gone and there was nothing i could do for him.
It would be a waste of his sacrifice to not run while the wolves were distracted with tearing the poor stranger's flesh apart.