It came from below, low and guttural, too deep to be the wind. A growl. Long and deliberate, the kind that belonged to something hunting.
Layla froze, every muscle locking in place. The air, moments ago, electric with energy, now feltwrong.Thick. Heavy.
Her gaze flicked toward the tree line just below the ridge. Nothing moved, but the shadows between the pines looked darker than they should have been.
“Hello?” she called, instantly regretting it. Her voice sounded small, absurd against the vastness of the peak.
The answer was silence. Then, another sound. A step. Heavy. Slow.
Not a bear. Not a wolf. Something else.
Her heart stuttered once, then slammed into a sprint. She turned off her phone. Darkness swallowed her instantly, but she didn’t dare make herself a target.
The forest below shifted again, a rustle, a branch snapping. She took a step back, and her boot crunched on ice. The noise seemed deafening.
The growl came again, closer now, echoing through the hollow.
Layla’s pulse roared in her ears.No. Not now. Not after this.
She fumbled for the small knife clipped onto her belt, the one she brought along “just in case.” It felt pathetic in her shaking hand. Still, she raised it.
The air shifted.
And then she saw it.
Between the trees, something moved. Tall, lean, its shape wrong. At first, her mind tried to make sense of it—a wolf, yes, but standing upright. Its fur was patchy, slick with something dark. Its face…God, itsface.Too long, too narrow, teeth bared in a grin that wasn’t human. Its eyes glowed faintly, reflecting light that wasn’t there.
It stepped out from the shadows, and the moonlight hit its claws, curved and black, hooked like blades.
Layla’s body reacted before her mind could. She ran.
The pack on her shoulders thudded against her spine with every step. The path was steep and treacherous; loose rock and snow made every stride a risk. But she didn’t look back. The sound of her own breath was drowned by the thunder of pursuit, heavy footfalls, faster than any man, any wolf.
She could hear it breathing now, close behind. Hot and wet, a stench of rot and blood filling the air.
Layla’s vision blurred from tears and wind. She nearly fell when the path narrowed, her hand catching on a sharp outcrop of stone. Blood slicked her fingers, but she didn’t stop.
The growl came again, louder, closer, threaded with something almost human, a rasp of laughter.
Her lungs burned. Her mind screamedshift,but nothing happened. The sense of power that had filled her minutes ago was gone, drained by terror. She was human. She was slow. She was prey.
Behind her, the creature roared, a sound that shattered the night, primal and furious.
Layla risked one glance over her shoulder. It was closer now, climbing on all fours, claws gouging into the stone. Itsmouth hung open, fangs slick, a glint of saliva catching the moonlight.
She turned and ran harder. Her boots slipped; she caught herself on a branch, the bark tearing up her arm. Pain lanced through her. She pushed off again, down the path, through the dark.
For the first time since she left Skymist, Layla Hawthorne prayed not for divine intervention. She prayed for survival.
Chapter 17 - Dominic
He hadn’t stopped running since Julian had confessed what Layla had told him. The moment he’d heard her name, something in him had snapped. He’d shifted before the others could argue and run until his body was nothing but momentum and fury.
Stupid girl.Stupid girl.
He’d considered gutting Julian then and there for daring to hide this from him, for notwarninghim so he could keep an eye on her.
But panic had cut through the anger. Julian had said she’d assured him she’d warn him if she wanted to try make the climb, even if it meant going behind her mate’s back.
