The howl did not fade.
It lingered.
Echoing through the forest like something alive… something searching.
No wolf answered it.
No creature moved.
Even the night itself seemed to recoil.
On the ground, Aria lay motionless in Alpha Kael's arms.
Her breathing was faint.
Too faint.
Kael's jaw tightened.
"She should have woken up by now."
Beside him, Ikechukwu didn't respond immediately.
He was listening.
Not with his ears.
With something deeper.
"That sound…" Ikechukwu muttered quietly.
Kael glanced at him. "You know what it is?"
Ikechukwu's grip on his staff tightened.
"Not fully."
Pause.
"But I know say e no good."
The howl came again.
Closer this time.
Every warrior at the border stiffened.
Instinct.
Fear.
Recognition of something that did not belong.
Kael stood slowly, still holding Aria carefully.
"We move."
"Move go where?" Ikechukwu asked.
Kael's eyes scanned the dark forest.
"Back to the pack."
Ikechukwu shook his head immediately.
"No."
Kael turned sharply. "No?"
"That thing wey dey come…"
Ikechukwu's voice dropped lower.
"…it dey follow her."
Silence.
Kael's grip on Aria tightened.
"You're saying if we take her back…"
Ikechukwu nodded once.
"…we go carry death enter our own house."
The words hit hard.
Because they were true.
Kael exhaled slowly.
Thinking.
Fast.
Calculating.
Another howl.
Closer.
Too close.
Branches snapped somewhere in the distance.
Something was moving.
Fast.
Ikechukwu stepped slightly in front of them now.
"E don reach."
Kael's eyes sharpened.
"Get ready."
The forest shifted.
The shadows moved.
Then—
It stepped out.
Tall.
Not fully human.
Not fully wolf.
Its body looked like it was made of shadow and silver light twisted together.
Its eyes—
Empty.
Glowing faintly.
No scent.
No life.
Just presence.
A second one appeared behind it.
Then a third.
Ikechukwu exhaled slowly.
"Ah…"
Kael's voice dropped.
"…What are they?"
Ikechukwu didn't take his eyes off them.
"Judges."
The creatures didn't rush.
Didn't growl.
Didn't threaten.
They just stared.
At Aria.
Then—
One of them spoke.
Its voice was hollow.
Echoing.
Like it came from somewhere far away.
"Violation detected."
The words sent a chill through everyone.
Kael stepped forward slightly.
"She's not your concern."
The creature's head tilted.
Slow.
Unnatural.
"Correction required."
Aria's body twitched faintly in Kael's arms.
Ikechukwu whispered.
"Alpha… dem no dey negotiate."
Kael didn't move.
Didn't step back.
"Then they'll have to go through me."
For a moment—
Nothing happened.
Then—
All three creatures moved at once.
Fast.
Too fast.
Ikechukwu slammed his staff against the ground.
Tok!
A wave of force burst outward, slowing them for just a second.
"Move!" he shouted.
Kael didn't hesitate.
He turned and ran.
Branches snapped beneath his feet as he pushed through the forest, holding Aria tightly.
Behind him—
The creatures followed.
Silent.
Relentless.
Ikechukwu ran beside him.
"Dem no dey tire!"
Kael's voice was sharp. "Then we don't stop!"
Another presence appeared ahead of them.
Then another.
More of them.
Blocking their path.
Kael stopped abruptly.
Turning.
They were surrounded.
Ikechukwu exhaled.
"…This one don turn bad."
The creatures stepped closer.
Slow.
Controlled.
Closing in.
"Subject must be corrected."
Kael's grip tightened around Aria.
His eyes turned cold.
Dangerous.
"No."
The word came out low.
Deadly.
The air around him shifted.
His Alpha aura rising.
Pushing outward.
Even the creatures paused slightly.
Kael stepped forward.
Carefully placing Aria down behind him.
"I'm done running."
Ikechukwu stepped beside him.
Staff ready.
"Na now we go know wetin dey sup."
The creatures moved again.
Closer.
"Final warning."
Kael didn't respond.
He attacked first.
The moment he moved—
The forest exploded into chaos.
Claws met shadow.
Force met silence.
Power clashed against something that didn't feel alive.
Ikechukwu struck one with his staff—
The impact echoed—
But the creature barely staggered.
"Ah! These ones no dey feel pain!"
Kael dodged another attack, his movements sharp, precise
But even he could tell
They weren't fighting to win.
They were fighting to reach her.
Behind them
Aria's body began to glow again.
Faint.
Unstable.
The creatures noticed immediately.
All of them turned.
At once.
"Correction imminent."
Kael's eyes widened slightly.
"ARIA!"
The glow surged
And the ground beneath her cracked.
Something was about to happen.
Something worse than before.
Ikechukwu's voice dropped.
"Alpha…"
Kael didn't take his eyes off Aria.
"…we don run out of time."
And for the first time
It truly felt like they were too late.