The long, sterile corridor of the hospital carried a stillness that made Kael’s skin bristle. The overhead lights flickered for a second, and his sharp werewolf senses caught a scent in the air—unmistakable, cold, metallic.
Vampires.
He halted his steps, his eyes narrowing as a group turned the corner at the far end of the hallway.
Three young men and two girls, all cloaked in hooded sweatshirts, walked together in eerie unison, their movements graceful yet unnaturally fluid. The smell of ash, blood, and earth trailed them like a second skin. Kael stiffened, his wolf instincts flaring to the surface.
They stopped too. Tension sizzled in the air like a wire about to snap. One of the girls slightly lowered her hoodie, her pale silver eyes meeting Kael’s with quiet curiosity rather than hostility. The other girl exchanged a glance with the boy beside her, a silent conversation happening in a blink.
But Kael didn’t miss the subtle shift in their postures—the poised readiness, the alert st
