"Hey!" I yelled, drawing the werewolf's attention. Its head snapped towards me, its gaze feral. The power within me stirred, reaching out to the creature’s human core.
My magic struck, and I felt it, electric and powerful. A force of nature, unlike the unnatural beast before me. The strength of Karma vibrated through the air, like lightning sizzling around us, and I knew my powers would do what they needed to do.
I just hoped they helped in time.
The werewolf lunged, claws extended and eyes wild. I braced for impact, but the ground betrayed it. With a thunderous crack, the earth opened up, swallowing the beast whole. It vanished with a snarl cut short by a thud from the pit where another victim of this cursed place lay—a dead unicorn, its once majestic form now lifeless and discarded.
It was gone. We were safe. We were going to be alright.
"Are you okay?" Daniel was close, his hand on my shoulder. He’d already shifted back.
I nodded, unable to tear my gaze from the pit. "It fell."
"Good riddance," Beth muttered, her breaths heavy from the chase.
"Wait," I said, stepping closer to the edge, peering down into the darkness. The werewolf moaned, a pained sound that echoed up to us. It had hurt itself in the fall. My heart clenched. Despite everything, it was still human at its core.
"Don’t even think about it," Daniel warned, reading my expression.
"Listen," I called down to the creature. "You won't be let out until you shift back. Understand? You need to remember who you are."
It growled in response, but beneath the aggression, there was fear. Fear of being trapped, fear of what it had become. I held onto that fear, hoping it would be enough to reach the person inside.
"Shift back," I repeated, my voice firm. "We can help you, but not like this. Not as a monster."
The werewolf tried to stand, its hind legs collapsing beneath it with a pained yelp. It snarled, snapping at the empty air, a desperate attempt to frighten us. But it didn’t work. He was trapped and injured, and we were safely together away from its reach.
"Look at it," I said quietly, my eyes never leaving the creature. "It can't walk."
Beth crossed her arms, her brows knitted in concern. "We can't just leave it there."
"Well, we very well can’t help it either," Wade said, his gaze flicking between the pit and Daniel. "It's dangerous."
"Help me out here, guys. What are we supposed to do?" I looked around at them, hoping for an answer.
"Can't you do your karma thing?" Beth suggested, glancing at me.
"Karma doesn't fix broken bones," I pointed out. "And it's not going to make him shift back any faster."
"Then we wait," Daniel said.
"Wait? For how long?" Wade scratched his head and looked down at the werewolf.
"Until it decides to be human again," I replied, locking eyes with the werewolf.
"Or until we figure out plan B," Beth added, though no one had a clue what that would entail.
"Right. Plan B," I echoed, still staring down at the creature that was now whimpering softly, its viciousness waning with each failed step.
"Who do you think it is?” Daniel asked.
"Well, we’ve got two choices,” Wade said. "Andrew or Broth, although I have no idea how either of them tie into this.”
They were right. We’d missed something with our investigation. One of the two men had lied to us. One of them was sitting in this pit right now, but I had no idea which one of them it could be.
"I believed both of them,” I said.
Beth frowned. "I did too. I also don’t see either of their motivation to do this, especially if they weren’t using the horns to save themselves.”
