The leaves rustled, and a bird’s eerie cry echoed through trees whose thick branches blotted out any hope of moonlight.
A sharp crack had me opening my eyes wide. Whatever was out there was drawing closer. My heart thudded against the walls of my chest.
Teal stood, drew his sword, and whisper-yelled, “Flynn. Wake up.”
Flynn mumbled and drew his blanket tighter around his shoulders.
“Idiot.” Teal turned in a slow circle. “Grayson? Pierce?”
Neither man answered.
A second crack made my mouth go dry. I tightened my grip on the dagger and scrambled to my feet.
Teal glanced my way, gave a brief nod, then took a defensive stance. “Flynn, wake the fuck up.”
Flynn grumbled but didn’t budge.
“I can kick him.” It was a generous offer. One I’d be only too happy to make good on.
A small smile curled Teal’s lips, and then he gasped and retreated a step. “Run.”
Run? Where? Trees surrounded us in every direction, and sprinting blindly could mean running straight into danger. I slowly turned, scanning for escape routes, and then I saw it.
The thing standing behind me was nearly seven feet tall and covered in dark, matted hair. Its arms, which ended in enormous paws tipped with vicious claws, were too long for its body. Its head belonged to a wolf, but its eyes burned with intelligence. And, gods, the smell—rotting meat and wet dog. Istared, my mind struggling to process what I was seeing. This wasn’t possible. I was caught in a nightmare.
The monster’s lips curled into a fearsome grin, as if it sensed the icy tendrils of fear chilling my blood.
“Run, Haven.”
Yeah, that wasn’t going to work. The monster in front of me would catch me in seconds.
It shifted its gaze to Flynn, and its wolfish grin broadened enough for the firelight to reflect off its impossibly long canines.
“What is it?” If I died, I wanted to know what killed me.
“A wolven.”
“Immune to magic?”
“No.”
“Your vines?”
“The earth here is … sick.” Teal’s brow furrowed as he tried and failed to call on his powers. “My magic can barely touch it without recoiling. Offensive magic is beyond me.”
“Defensive magic?” I asked.
“Don’t have any.”
So it was up to me. I’d not accessed my magic since entering the forest. Would I fare any better than Teal?
The wolven sniffed the air, then stiffened before leaping forward and grabbing Flynn’s ankles. It turned its back on us and dragged Flynn from his warm spot by the fire.
The man finally spluttered awake. “What the fuck? Teal! Why didn’t you wake me?” He struggled uselessly against the wolven’s iron hold. When twisting and struggling didn’t work, he formed a ball of fire and flung it at his captor’s back.
Flynn’s flames flared brightly when they met the wolven’s fur, but the beast didn’t seem to notice.
I held my breath, hoping fire would slow the monster. It didn’t. Instead, Flynn’s flames gutteredand died.
