Alaric was still standing in front of Zara.
His gaze never left the three Grimclaw members facing him.
The forest grew even more ominous.
The night wind moved through the trees, carrying the scent of wet earth and something stranger.
The smell of blood.
Not human blood.
The blood of wolves who had just been wounded.
Alaric slowly rolled his shoulders.
“Leave my territory.”
The Grimclaw man sneered.
“Still so arrogant.”
“I don’t repeat myself.”
Standing behind Alaric, Zara swallowed hard.
She still didn’t understand what was happening.
Grimclaw.
Moonforge.
The shield.
Clans.
All those words sounded like pieces of stories she had always thought were nothing more than legends.
But tonight, they were all standing right in front of her.
The Grimclaw man attacked again.
Alaric dodged with ease.
He moved so quickly that Zara could barely see him.
One punch.
One kick.
His opponent was sent flying again.
The other two wolves lunged as well.
Alaric growled.
This time, the sound that came from his throat was not human.
Low.
Heavy.
It sent a shiver through Zara's entire body.
The two wolves froze for a moment.
Alaric took advantage of the opening.
He struck one of them hard enough to send it rolling across the ground, then seized the other wolf by the throat.
“How dare you come in here.”
His eyes sharpened.
“After what you did to my family.”
The Grimclaw man who had been thrown back slowly got to his feet.
He sneered despite the blood covering his face.
“So you still remember.”
Alaric went rigid.
“Don’t.”
His voice dropped low.
“Don’t talk about them.”
“Your parents died years ago.”
Alaric's gaze hardened.
“And you’ll pay for all of it.”
The man laughed.
But before the fight could break out again, he glanced toward Zara.
“Looks like we found something far more interesting tonight.”
Alaric moved at once.
But the man had already signaled to the other two wolves.
They retreated.
Then they ran into the darkness of the forest.
Alaric was about to chase after them.
But he stopped.
His gaze shifted to Zara.
The girl was still standing there, her face pale.
Alaric let out a quiet sigh.
He didn’t know why his feet had chosen to stop.
He should have chased his enemies.
He should have made sure Grimclaw didn’t get any farther into his territory.
But leaving that human alone also felt like a bad decision.
“You.”
Zara flinched.
“Yes?”
“Don’t move.”
Alaric turned around.
Zara immediately panicked.
“Wait!”
Alaric stopped.
“What am I supposed to do?”
“Stay here.”
“But you’re leaving?”
“I’ll be back.”
Zara stared at his back.
“Are you sure?”
Alaric glanced over his shoulder.
His gaze was cold.
“If you want to live, don’t go anywhere.”
After saying that, he disappeared among the trees.
Zara stood there alone.
A few seconds later, fear began to fill her all over again.
She stared in the direction Alaric had gone.
Then she looked at the forest surrounding her.
Dark.
Silent.
Too silent.
“He said he’d come back…”
Zara tightened her grip on her small knife.
But the longer she waited, the more restless she became.
The sounds of battle had faded away.
Alaric might have gone too far.
Or—
Zara didn’t dare think about the other possibility.
She decided to look for a safer place.
Maybe she could find a way out.
Maybe she could make it back to the village.
She started walking.
Meanwhile, Alaric ran through the trees.
His senses caught the increasingly faint scent of Grimclaw.
But something else bothered him more.
Zara's scent.
It still clung to his body.
Alaric frowned.
Why was that human's scent so strong?
He had encountered humans before.
None of them had ever been like this.
Even from the first moment he saw Zara, his wolf instincts had been restless.
As if there were something in the girl's blood that his body recognized.
Alaric stopped.
He looked back.
There was no one there.
But he could still smell Zara in the area.
She was still there.
Alaric was about to turn back.
But Troy's voice came through the mindlink.
Alaric.
Speak.
We've taken most of the Moonforge members to safety.
Alaric gave a small nod.
How's the shield?
The cracks are spreading.
Alaric fell silent.
There's a chance they're trying to get in from the other side.
I know.
What should we do?
Alaric looked up at the darkening sky.
Stay hidden. Don't come out until I give the order.
And you?
Alaric didn't answer for several seconds.
I'll take care of this.
The mindlink was severed.
But before he could chase Grimclaw again, Alaric suddenly smelled something.
The scent of fear.
The scent of a human.
Zara.
His eyes changed at once.
He turned and ran.
Zara had no idea how far she had walked.
All she knew was that this wasn't the path she had taken before.
The trees grew denser.
The fog thickened.
And the sunlight had almost completely vanished.
“I shouldn't have left…”
Zara bit her lip.
She was beginning to regret it.
But if she'd stayed where she was, she didn't know what would have happened either.
She walked faster.
Then she heard a sound behind her.
Grrr...
Zara stopped.
Her body went rigid.
She slowly turned around.
There was nothing there.
She let out a relieved breath.
“Maybe it was just…”
The growl came again.
This time, from the left.
Zara spun around.
A gray wolf emerged between the trees.
Zara backed away.
“No…”
The wolf stared at her.
Then another growl sounded from behind her.
Zara turned.
A second wolf.
Her heart began pounding harder.
“Don’t…”
She backed away again.
Then a third wolf appeared behind her.
Zara spun around.
The three of them had surrounded her.
She gripped her knife.
Her hand trembled violently.
“Go away!”
Zara raised the knife.
One of the wolves growled.
Zara tried to look brave.
“I’m not afraid.”
Even though her legs could barely support her.
The largest wolf stepped forward.
Zara backed away.
One step.
Two steps.
Three steps.
Until her back hit a tree trunk.
There was nowhere left to retreat.
Tears began gathering in the corners of her eyes.
She thought of her little brother.
That small body.
The pale face that always tried to smile at her.
“I only wanted to save my little brother…”
Zara's voice trembled.
“Why does it have to be this hard?”
The wolf in front of her lowered its head.
Its fangs came into view.
Zara closed her eyes.
She knew she wouldn't be able to fight.
Her hand slowly dropped.
The small knife nearly slipped from her grasp.
I'm sorry.
Tears streamed down her cheeks.
I'm sorry I failed.
For the first time since entering the forest, Zara truly lost hope.
She no longer thought about Emberrose.
She no longer thought about finding a way out.
She wanted only one thing.
For someone to save her.
“Please…”
Her whisper was barely audible.
“Please save me…”
The largest wolf suddenly raised its head.
Then it lunged.
Zara screamed.
But just before its fangs reached her body—
a thunderous voice rang out from beyond the forest.
“Stop.”
All three wolves abruptly stopped.
Zara opened her eyes.
Her breath caught.
Footsteps sounded from between the trees.
One.
Two.
Three.
Coming closer.
Zara couldn't see who was approaching.
But the wolves in front of her began backing away.
And from the darkness, a pair of sharp eyes slowly appeared.
Alaric had returned.