Grayson’s silence confirmed her worst fear.
“They won’t unlock my powers,” she shouted. “I can’t live like this. I can’t—”
“Cora, focus,” Grayson cut in, gathering her shoulders. “You don’t need the potion to survive this. I’ll protect you. We just need to get out of here, and we’ll figure out the rest later.”
The words felt hollow, but she swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded. There wasn’t time to panic, even if her chest felt like it might cave in.
They reached the back door, where Grayson fumbled with the bolts. Cora glanced over her shoulder, and her stomach flipped as the door behind them buckled under another impact.
“Fantastic. So, you pissed him off, and now he’s here to collect.”
“Would you rather I hadn’t?” he shot back. The last lock slid free, and he shoved the door open. “Move.”
The alley outside was narrow and dark, and the uneven pavement was littered with trash and broken glass. Cora’s bare feet protested with every step but didn’t stop.
“You can’t run forever, Kane!” Voss’ voice followed them. “You know how this ends. False pretenses make our contract null and void. The witch is mine.”
Grayson kept his focus laser-sharp as he led her down the alley into another tight corridor between two crumbling buildings. The footsteps behind them grew louder, accompanied by the unmistakable sound of claws scraping against concrete.
“Tell me you’ve got a plan,” Cora hissed, glancing over her shoulder again. She caught a glimpse of movement—two massive figures shifting into hulking wolves—and her stomach plummeted.
“Stay alive,” Grayson declared. “That’s the plan.”
“That’s not a plan! That’s a wish!”
He didn’t answer. Instead, he veered to the right and dragged her into another alley. This one ended in a high chain-link fence.
“Oh, great. Dead end,” Cora groaned.
Grayson crouched and moved his stormy eyes to hers. “I need to shift.”
Her brows shot up. “What?”
“They’ll catch us if I don’t. You can ride. It’ll be faster.”
“You want me to ride you?” she asked, incredulous. “Like, on your back?”
“Yes. Or you can stay here and try to convince Voss he’s not getting his witch back.”
Another howl echoed behind them, closer this time. The wolves were gaining.
“Fine,” she relented. “Just don’t drop me.”
Grayson’s body blurred and twisted in a way that should have been horrifying but wasn’t. It was fluid and natural as if this was who he was at his core. Within seconds, the massive wolf stood in his place.
He was enormous, easily larger than any wolf she’d ever seen, with a thick coat of ash-brown fur streaked with darker tones. He was beautiful in a wild, untamed way, making her stomach somersault.
“Okay,” she muttered, shaking off the thought. “Let’s do this.”
The wolf sank even lower on all fours, and she scrambled onto his back. Her fingers dug into the coarse fur at his neck. The moment she was secure, he bolted. The sudden burst of speed nearly knocked the air out of her, and she tightened her grip, locking her legs around his sides.
The city clouded around them as the world was reduced to the pounding of Grayson’s paws against the ground and thewild hammering of her heart. She risked a glance over her shoulder and immediately regretted it. The two wolves were still chasing them, and their massive forms cut through the narrow alleys with terrifying speed.
“They’re gaining!” she shouted, unsure if he could hear her. “Do something!”
Grayson didn’t slow, but she felt the subtle shift in his movements as he veered into an even tighter alley. The walls scraped against her knees, and she winced, but they emerged onto a wider street moments later. The wolves were still behind them but lost a few seconds in the turn.
Cora’s grip on his fur tightened as he picked up speed again, and the buildings around them grew sparser. The city gave way to trees with dense trunks and tangled roots, creating a maze that Grayson navigated with uncanny precision. The howls behind them grew more distant as the forest swallowed the sound.
