Chapter 4- The Wolf That Wept

At first, she thought her eyes deceived her as she stared at a shadow between the trees, tall and shivering against the pale moonlight. But then it moved, stepping into view, and her blood ran cold.

It wasn’t a wolf.

The creature’s body was wrong. Very wrong. It was stretched in a weird way, almost skeletal, its limbs too long for its frame. Its skin glistened like tar, and where its eyes should’ve been, two burning pits of sickly green light glared back at her. It reeked of decay and death.

Samantha froze.

The creature tilted its head slowly, as though studying her. Then, with a guttural snarl, it lunged.

Samantha screamed, stumbling back as claws slashed through the air where her face had been a heartbeat ago. The sound tore through the forest, sharp enough to wake the dead. Her heart slammed against her ribs, panic clouding her senses. She tripped over a root and fell hard, the cold ground knocking the breath from her lungs.

The creature’s mouth split open into something like a grin, rows of black, jagged teeth glinting under the moonlight. It stepped closer, slow and deliberate, savoring her fear.

She couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe.

Then a golden blur cut through the dark.

Cade hit the creature with enough force to make the ground shake. His wolf, massive and powerful with fur shining like molten sunlight collided with the thing mid-snarl, teeth sinking into its shoulder. The creature screeched, the sound splitting through the night as it tried to claw him off.

“Cade!” Samantha gasped, voice trembling.

He didn’t glance at her. He couldn’t. The two beasts rolled through the dirt, claws tearing, jaws snapping. Every strike Cade made left streaks of dark ooze on the ground, but the creature wouldn’t die. It twisted, slamming Cade against a tree, a sound that made Samantha’s chest ache as he whimpered.

“Please...stop!” she cried, though she wasn’t sure who she was begging, the monster or the gods.

Cade’s wolf staggered but recovered, eyes burning gold. He lunged again, this time going for the creature’s neck. His fangs tore through its flesh, and black blood splattered across the forest floor. The creature shrieked and flung him off, quickly retreating into the shadows.

Samantha ran to him, dropping to her knees beside his golden fur. “Cade? Cade, are you—”

He growled low, not in anger but warning. His ears perked, the sound of approaching paws echoed faintly in the distance. Scouts. Warriors.

They’d heard the fight.

Cade turned his wolfish head toward her, his golden eyes locking on hers, sharp, commanding and filled with unspoken words.

She shook her head. “No, I can’t leave you.”

He snarled softly, urging her back. Then, with surprising gentleness, he lowered himself to the ground, nudging her side with his muzzle.

Samantha blinked in disbelief. “You want me to ride you?”

A deep rumble in his chest answered her.

“Cade, if they find us—”

He nudged her harder.

The thumbs on the ground were closer now. She could hear them moving swiftly through the woods

Heart hammering, she climbed onto his back, gripping his thick fur. He rose smoothly beneath her, powerful and warm, his heartbeat thudding against her palms. The moment she settled, he took off.

The world blurred.

Branches whipped past, moonlight flickering through the trees as Cade ran like the wind itself chased him. Samantha buried her face into his fur to block the sting of the cold air, but even through the fear, she felt the strength in him, the steady rhythm of his muscles, the power that vibrated through every stride.

He was beautiful like this. Terrifying and beautiful.

They broke through the last line of trees, the river’s sound rising ahead like a whisper of freedom. Cade slowed only when they reached a narrow cave at the edge of the water, hidden behind a curtain of moss and stone.

He stopped just inside the mouth of it, sides heaving.

Samantha slid off carefully, her legs trembling. “You brought us here to hide?” she asked, voice barely above a whisper.

He shifted. The air shimmered, bones snapping, fur retreating until the man stood before her, naked, skin streaked with blood and dirt, eyes still burning faintly gold. Quickly, she averted her eyes and turned around as he searched through a bag within the cave for clothes.

“Yes,” he rasped. His voice was rough, low, still edged with his wolf’s growl. “The river will mask our scent. The patrols won’t find us here.”

Samantha took a step toward him. “You saved me.”

He turned his gaze on her, now fully dressed, something fierce and unreadable in it. “You shouldn’t have been there.”

“I know,” she said quietly. “But I couldn’t ignore it. I saw—”

“You saw death,” he cut in, stepping closer. “And if I hadn’t found you, it would’ve taken you.” His jaw clenched. “Do you have any idea what my father will do if he finds out you disobeyed him?”

She swallowed. “He’ll punish me.”

Cade’s expression darkened. “No. He’ll banish you from the pack.”