I let my pride, anger and fear get the best of me and now my sick familiar was valiantly trying to keep up with me in these miserable conditions.
I kept walking for another five minutes before I admitted defeat. We needed shelter and though we could find a log to huddle under, a perfectly dry cabin was less than half an hour away.
I swallowed and took a deep breath. All it would cost me was my pride.
I glanced at Nala, looking more like a drowned rat than a fierce wolf.
Nala was worth it. I could humble myself and admit I was wrong. I would confess I overreacted, if it meant she was safe and dry.
“Let’s go back, Nala,” I said.
She perked up, swished her tail, and turned toward the path leading to Ace’s cabin.
Even my familiar knew this outing was ridiculous.
I slapped the wet hair from my face and trudged along the path after Nala. The dark clouds had rolled in, blotting out what was left of the daylight. With each step, the world around me darkened, the colours fading to muted grays.
A warm band of magical wind wrapped around me—a silent warning from the forest. Danger was close.
Nala stopped abruptly on the path. Her whole body stiffened. I waited, trusting my familiar and the forest magic. Slowly, I slipped the bow from my shoulders.
Nala’s ears swivelled, twitching as she lifted her snout to sniff the damp air. Her breath came out in a soft, tense huff, and her hackles rose in a sharp line down her spine.
Not good.
I turned slowly, scanning the dark forest around us. The trees stood silent, their branches dripping with fat raindrops, shadows folding between trunks. No rustle of small creatures. No bird calls. Just the steady hammer of rain against leaves and earth. The dark forest stared back at me, motionless, but I knew better than to relax.
The magical band of air tightened around my chest and squeezed.
“Run, Nala,”
Nala let out a low, menacing rumble. She wasn’t going anywhere.
I glanced at her over my shoulder. Her gaze was locked on the thicket to our left, and her ears were pinned back.
From the shadows of the forest, a deep and threatening growl answered Nala’s.
My skin prickled as every hair on my body rose.
A wolf.
Another growl, this time to my right.
Then a third behind us, closing in.
Not a lone wolf.
Wolves.
A large black wolf stepped from the shadows onto the muddy path ahead. Rain slicked its coat, and his muscles rippled. The eyes gleaming with intelligence.
We were surrounded.
These weren’t familiars. Magic didn’t warm their cold gazes. These were wild predators, circling wounded prey.
My hand shook as I reached for an arrow.
I didn’t want to kill them. Killing for survival was one thing. But wolves?
