The largest Kazgar Wolf lowered its head.
A deep growl rolled through the clearing.
Razan tightened his grip around the dagger Zailthar had given him.
The wolf didn't move.
Neither did Razan.
For several seconds, they simply stared at one another.
Then—
The alpha gave another low growl.
The entire pack moved.
Razan's eyes widened.
Two wolves rushed toward him from the front.
Three more spread out behind him.
The remaining wolves moved toward both sides, cutting off the paths between the trees.
They weren't attacking randomly.
They were surrounding him.
They're hunting as a pack.
Razan immediately understood.
If he stayed where he was, they would close the circle.
If he ran in a straight line, another group would intercept him.
And if he tried to fight—
He would be torn apart.
Think.
The two wolves in front accelerated.
Razan looked toward the trees.
There.
A narrow gap.
He moved.
The wolves lunged.
Razan sprinted toward the opening.
One wolf tried to intercept him.
Razan suddenly changed direction.
The creature's claws swept past his chest.
He ducked beneath them and continued running.
Another wolf appeared ahead.
Razan's eyes widened.
They predicted my path.
He immediately veered toward a fallen tree.
He jumped over it.
The wolf behind him followed.
Razan landed hard and kept running.
He could hear paws pounding behind him.
Closer.
Closer.
He looked back.
Three wolves were chasing him.
The others were spreading through the forest, trying to cut him off.
Razan's heart hammered.
They're herding me.
He looked ahead.
A steep slope.
Beyond it was a narrow ravine.
Razan remembered the area from his first journey through the forest.
He had passed this place on the night he first encountered the wolves.
He had never noticed how dangerous the terrain was then.
Now he saw it differently.
The ravine was narrow.
The wolves couldn't surround him there.
Razan ran toward it.
One of the wolves suddenly accelerated.
It was catching him.
Razan pushed himself harder.
His lungs burned.
His legs screamed.
The wolf lunged.
Razan threw himself forward.
Claws ripped through the back of his shirt.
He landed on the edge of the ravine.
The wolf landed behind him.
Razan looked down.
Then smiled faintly.
The ravine was deeper than he remembered.
He jumped.
The wolf followed.
Razan grabbed a thick root jutting from the cliffside.
His body swung beneath the edge.
The wolf landed on the narrow ledge above him.
It looked down.
Razan held his breath.
The creature growled.
Then it stepped closer.
Its claws scraped against the stone.
Razan looked around.
Another root.
He grabbed it and pulled himself sideways.
The wolf lunged toward him.
Razan released the first root.
He dropped.
The wolf's claws missed.
Razan landed on a lower ledge.
Pain shot through his ankles.
But he was alive.
The wolf stared down at him.
It couldn't reach him.
Razan looked around.
The ravine continued deeper into the forest.
He spotted another opening.
He climbed.
Razan emerged from the ravine several minutes later.
He was breathing heavily.
His shirt was torn.
Blood covered his shoulder.
But he was alive.
He looked behind him.
The wolves were gone.
For a moment, he thought he had escaped.
Then he heard them.
Howls.
Not one.
Several.
Razan's expression changed.
They were moving around the ravine.
They were coming from both sides.
They've found another way.
Razan cursed under his breath.
"Of course they have."
He ran again.
The forest blurred around him.
Branches struck his face.
Roots caught his boots.
He stumbled but didn't stop.
Behind him came the sound of paws.
The pack was pursuing him.
Not rushing blindly.
They were spreading out again.
Razan looked over his shoulder.
One group was chasing him.
Another was moving parallel to him.
A third was heading ahead.
They're trying to trap me.
He looked around desperately.
Then he saw it.
A narrow passage between two enormous rocks.
Razan sprinted toward it.
The passage was barely wide enough for one wolf at a time.
He slipped inside.
The first wolf followed.
Razan continued running.
The wolf was gaining.
There was nowhere to turn.
No room to dodge.
The passage ended at a dead wall.
Razan stopped.
His heart dropped.
Dead end.
The wolf growled.
It advanced slowly.
Razan looked around.
Nothing.
Then he noticed something above him.
A massive boulder rested precariously on the edge of the rock wall.
Razan's eyes widened.
Maybe...
The wolf lunged.
Razan jumped aside.
The wolf slammed into the wall.
Razan grabbed a loose branch and swung it against the base of the boulder.
Nothing.
He hit it again.
The wolf turned.
Again.
The boulder shifted.
Razan's eyes widened.
"Come on..."
The wolf charged.
Razan struck the boulder one last time.
CRACK!
The stone broke loose.
It rolled down.
The wolf looked up.
Too late.
BOOM!
The boulder slammed into the ground.
The passage shook.
Dust filled the air.
Razan covered his face.
When the dust cleared, the wolf lay motionless beneath the stone.
Razan stared.
His breathing slowed.
He had killed it.
Not through strength.
Not through skill with a weapon.
Through the forest itself.
He looked at the dead wolf.
"I'm sorry."
A howl suddenly echoed behind him.
Razan's expression changed.
More were coming.
He ran.
The night became a blur.
Razan stopped trying to fight the pack.
He ran whenever he could.
He climbed when the ground became too open.
He crossed streams to confuse their scent.
He squeezed through narrow gaps between rocks.
He used fallen trees as barriers.
Whenever the pack tried to surround him, he moved toward terrain that forced them into a narrower formation.
But the Kazgar Wolves adapted.
They were intelligent.
Every time Razan escaped one trap, they created another.
Eventually, they cornered him near a steep hillside.
Razan looked around.
Three wolves blocked the path ahead.
Two were behind him.
The rest were moving around the sides.
The alpha stood farther back.
Watching.
Razan's eyes met its red gaze.
The alpha wasn't rushing.
It was waiting.
It knew Razan was exhausted.
Razan's knees trembled.
That one...
He remembered it from his first night.
The largest wolf.
The one that had been ready to tear him apart before Zailthar appeared.
It was still the strongest creature in the clearing.
And Razan knew something now.
He couldn't beat it.
Not yet.
The alpha took one step forward.
Razan stepped backward.
His heel touched empty space.
He looked down.
A steep drop.
Damn.
The wolves began closing in.
Razan's eyes searched desperately.
Then he noticed the hillside.
Loose stones.
Dry soil.
A narrow ledge.
An idea formed.
A dangerous one.
He grabbed a stone and threw it toward the hillside.
The stone hit the slope.
Several smaller rocks rolled downward.
The wolves paused.
Razan threw another.
More earth shifted.
The alpha's ears lifted.
Razan smiled faintly.
"Let's see if you can chase me here."
He turned and ran sideways along the slope.
The wolves followed.
The ground beneath them began giving way.
Razan jumped across a gap.
One wolf wasn't fast enough.
Its front paws slipped.
It fell several meters before landing hard on a lower ledge.
Another wolf barely managed to stop.
Razan kept moving.
The alpha remained on solid ground.
It watched Razan carefully.
Then it moved.
Fast.
Far faster than the other wolves.
Razan's eyes widened.
The alpha crossed the distance almost instantly.
Razan threw himself aside.
The alpha's claws struck the ground.
CRACK!
The force sent stones flying.
Razan rolled down the slope.
He grabbed a tree root.
His body swung over the edge.
The alpha stood above him.
For a moment, their eyes met.
Razan felt something he hadn't felt with the other wolves.
Pressure.
The alpha was different.
Much stronger.
Razan's fingers tightened around the root.
The alpha raised its paw.
Razan knew he couldn't survive another direct attack.
He looked toward the side.
A narrow ledge.
He pulled himself across it.
The alpha struck.
Its claws missed him by inches.
Razan crawled along the ledge.
The alpha followed.
Then—
Another wolf appeared behind the alpha.
The pack was closing in.
Razan's eyes widened.
No escape.
He looked ahead.
The ledge ended.
But below was a shallow stream.
Razan took a breath.
Then jumped.
He hit the water hard.
Pain shot through his body.
But he immediately rolled to his feet and ran downstream.
The wolves reached the edge above him.
They couldn't safely follow.
Razan kept running.
Hours later, Razan could barely walk.
He had lost track of how many times the pack had chased him.
He had managed to survive.
Barely.
One wolf was dead.
Another had been badly injured when Razan used a fallen tree to trap it beneath a heavy branch.
But the alpha was still alive.
And so were the remaining wolves.
They continued following him.
Razan eventually reached a large open area surrounded by ancient trees.
He collapsed against one of them.
His entire body was shaking.
He looked at the dagger in his hand.
It was covered in dirt and blood.
His own blood.
And the wolves' blood.
He closed his eyes.
I can't keep running.
A growl came from the darkness.
Razan opened his eyes.
The alpha stepped into the clearing.
Behind it stood the remaining wolves.
They had found him again.
Razan slowly pushed himself upright.
His legs almost gave out.
But he remained standing.
The alpha stared at him.
Razan stared back.
He knew the truth.
If the alpha attacked him directly, he would probably die.
He couldn't defeat it.
Not yet.
So he did the only thing he could.
He raised the dagger.
Not as a challenge.
As a declaration.
"I won't give up."
The alpha growled.
Razan's eyes burned with determination.
"I've already lost everything once."
His grip tightened.
"I'm not losing my life too."
The alpha took a step.
Then another.
Suddenly—
A howl echoed through the forest.
The wolves stopped.
The eastern sky had begun to brighten.
Dawn.
The alpha looked toward the horizon.
Then back at Razan.
For several seconds, neither moved.
Finally, the alpha turned.
One by one, the wolves followed.
Razan watched them disappear between the trees.
He slowly lowered the dagger.
His legs gave out.
He collapsed onto his knees.
A tired laugh escaped him.
"I..."
He struggled to breathe.
"...survived."
A familiar voice came from behind him.
"Yes."
Razan looked back.
Zailthar stood at the edge of the clearing.
The Black Dragon Tyrant walked toward him.
His golden eyes moved over Razan's injuries.
"You killed two."
Razan looked down.
"Two?"
"Two Kazgar Wolves."
Razan swallowed.
"I didn't want to kill them."
"I know."
Zailthar looked toward the forest.
"But you understood something important."
Razan waited.
"You cannot always win by being stronger."
Zailthar's eyes returned to him.
"Sometimes survival means running."
Razan nodded slowly.
"Using what surrounds you."
Another nod.
"Choosing when to fight."
Razan looked at the dagger.
"And knowing when you cannot win."
Zailthar gave the faintest smile.
"Now you're learning."
Razan let himself fall onto his back.
He stared at the brightening sky.
For the first time since entering Dhulmir Forest, he felt something he had never felt before.
Not strength.
Not power.
Confidence.
He had survived the same territory that had once made him believe his life was ending.
But something still bothered him.
He looked toward the direction the wolves had disappeared.
"The alpha..."
Zailthar glanced at him.
"I couldn't do anything against it."
"Good."
Razan frowned.
"Good?"
"If you had tried to defeat it, you'd be dead."
Razan sighed.
"So I'm still weak."
Zailthar turned away.
"Compared to the alpha?"
He paused.
"Very."
Razan's face fell.
"But..."
Zailthar looked over his shoulder.
"...you survived."
Razan smiled.
That was enough.
For now.
Neither of them noticed the faint black mark spreading across Razan's palm.
Or the strange warmth beginning to stir beneath his skin.
Something inside him had changed during the night.
Something had awakened.
And it was hungry.