Left To Die

~SERIS

​I stepped out of my car to the sound of chirping crickets. Fear wedged itself into my bones as I took my first steps into the woods. In the distance, the sound of the pack converging at the Lunar Verge reached me. I had to get there before the fate pyre was lit—and before anyone caught me.

​I scanned the darkness, looking for any sign of a patrol, but saw nothing. I stood out too much in the open. Pulling off my shoes and tossing them into the car, I ducked into the tree line and began the trek up the slope toward the Verge. The grass muffled my footsteps, calming my frantic heart. Maybe this was the year I would finally make it.

​If only the Alpha didn't see me. If he did, the hunt would start early, and I would be the prey.

​The noise at the Verge rose as more pack-folk joined the circle. I quickened my pace, lengthening my stride. Counting each step distracted me from my spiraling thoughts. My pulse spiked as the scent of warm ash wafted through the trees. The fire would be lit soon.

​A twig snapped—

​My head whipped around to see glowing eyes in the darkness. I stumbled as Xena growled, bristling at the realization that we were not alone. I cursed my inability to see in the dark; even with a wolf, it took too long for my eyes to adapt.

​I turned on my heel and leapt into a sprint—

​Thump!

​I slammed into a solid chest. I sucked in a painful breath as I recoiled, stumbling backward. Suddenly, my head was yanked back, my hair caught in a cruel grasp. My blood froze, a shiver raking down my spine.

​"Who—" I started to ask, my voice quivering, but I stopped short as I was surrounded.

​Laughter shattered the air, mockingly familiar. I stopped breathing.

​"Look what we have here." The words were laced with mirth and malice. My eyes finally adjusted to the figures caging me in.

​I locked eyes with my ex-best friend and cousin. "Rielle."

​She cackled in my face, pulling harder on my hair. "The pack witch tried sneaking into the mate hunt," she sneered, her posse laughing behind her. "I knew you would pull this shit."

​I flinched at the tag. I was nothing but a "witch" to them, despite having no magic. In this pack, misfortune was the only magic they recognized, and it followed me everywhere.

​"So fucking predictable," Christina added, stepping closer.

​"Rielle, stalker much?" I ground out, twisting my hair out of her grip even though it hurt like hell.

​"Don't flatter yourself," she spat, standing toe-to-toe with me. "I'm just making sure you don't ruin another occasion."

​I smothered the sting of her words and smirked. "Oh, so you're the Alpha's dog now? I hope he gives you treats for all this barking. Or do you just settle for a pat on the head?"

​Her face darkened, nostrils flaring wide. "Says the fucking runt."

​I feigned a yawn. "This again? Come up with something original, at least." I checked my nails as if I weren't surrounded by girls with murder in their eyes. "But seriously, the obsession is getting weird. If you wanted a date to the Verge, you could have just asked instead of lurking in the bushes. You could have stepped in poop."

​Rielle's face hardened before Christina stepped forward. "You won't be laughing when we're through with you."

​"I don't doubt that, but at least I'll die with a sense of humor," I countered. "Can't say the same for you."

​"If you had any shame, you'd leave this pack," Stella snarled.

​"No one wants you," Rielle added, her wolf's growl slipping into her voice.

​I swallowed the hurt, a lazy grin curling my lips. "Like Sylus doesn't want you?" I teased. Even though she was his fiancée, he always seemed to want nothing to do with her. The look on her face gave me a flicker of sadistic satisfaction.

​But mentioning Sylus was the breaking point. The air suddenly weighed a ton, thick with the scent of fur and musk as they began to shift. Fur sprang from splitting flesh, bones snapping and rearranging in a cacophony of transformation.

​I didn't wait. I shifted, too.

​Xena pushed forward, and I let her take over. The shift was a blur of heat and agony, but I landed on four paws and raised my head to face them.

​For a moment, I cursed my big mouth.

​They dwarfed me. I was the reality of being a Howlridge runt—I might as well have been a chihuahua standing before a line of dire wolves.

​"We will fight," Xena snarled in my head. "We always do."

​Rielle leapt.

​I lacked strength, but desperation gave me speed. I dove under her belly, my small frame letting me move where she couldn't. I lunged and clamped my teeth down on her back ankle.

​She let out a surprised, high-pitched howl and spun to catch me—but I was already gone, darting toward Christina's foreleg. I nipped and dodged, biting every limb I could find. They snapped at me, but their jaws only met air. It was like trying to swat a housefly.

​Then, my heart stuttered.

​A full-body chill washed over me as my heart struggled to find its rhythm. That moment of hesitation was all they needed.

​Rielle's massive paw slammed into my side, sending me flying. A thick tree broke my flight with a sickening crunch. My small, broken body rattled as I hit the dirt.

​The impact jarred my very soul. I gasped for air that wouldn't come. My chest felt crushed by an anvil. My weak heart pounded like a war drum, trying and failing to keep me conscious.

​"Seris, please, hold on," Xena's voice was a faint whisper. "The heart... it's too much..."

​Through the pack mind-link, laughter echoed. They stood over me, watching me wither.

​"Look at the little rat," Christina’s mental voice sneered.

​"Give it up, Seris. You were never meant to survive the night," Rielle added.

​The world began to tilt. My heart wasn't racing anymore—it was failing, its broken beat echoing in my ears.

​I'm going to die today.

​I felt teeth close around the scruff of my neck, dragging me away just as the darkness embraced me fully.

​My eyes snapped open. Pain needled through my bones. I gasped for air, but my ribs felt pinned. I tasted blood as I counted every heartbeat—I was still fading.

​I was barely conscious, but I had to move. I rolled, despite the searing heat rippling through me. I needed to know where they had dumped me.

​I twisted, my eyes catching a flicker of flame in the distance. The fate pyre had been lit. I was too late.

​Xena howled in pain. We needed a mate. That was the only reason I’d come—she was wilting. Without a bond to stimulate her, I would lose her permanently. Now, I’d have to wait another year... if I survived the night.

​I watched the fire flicker and go out.

​Then came the rumble. A vibration in the soil against my cheek. My blood slowed to a crawl. I knew that sound. The pyre going out meant the Goddess had released the pheromones. The hunt had officially begun.

​The rumble grew into a thunderous roar of paws and a choir of howls. They were pheromone-drunk, driven by a primal madness to find their mates.

​And I had been dumped right in their path.