7. Wolves attack

Aria

The bell over the diner door jingles as I push it open with my shoulder, the warmth and smell of fried food spilling out behind me into the cool night air.

I inhale deeply.

The night smells like wet asphalt, pine, and the faint sweetness of distant wood smoke. The sky has darkened fully now, the deep navy of late evening stretching overhead while the moon hangs bright and swollen above the tree line.

I didn’t realize how late it had gotten.

“Wow,” I say, rubbing my arms as a chill brushes my skin. “It got dark fast.”

Behind me, the door shuts, and Ransom steps out beside me.

I glance at him and find him already looking at me, that crooked half-smile on his face again. The one that kept sneaking out all night while we sat in that little booth talking far longer than either of us meant to.

I didn’t expect tonight to go well.

Honestly, I expected awkward silence and an excuse to leave early.

But somehow we ended up talking about everything—his work, the town, stupid childhood stories, my favorite books, the worst jobs we’ve ever had. At one point, I laughed so hard soda came out of my nose, and I nearly died of embarrassment.

And he didn’t make it weird.

He just laughed harder.

I shove my hands into the pockets of my jacket as we walk across the gravel lot toward the scattered row of cars.

“I had a really good time tonight,” he says.

I glance up at him, surprised by the sincerity in his voice.

“Yeah,” I admit. “Me too.”

That earns me another smile.

The parking lot is mostly empty now, the diner’s neon sign buzzing faintly behind us. The surrounding woods loom dark and thick, branches tangled together like black lace under the moonlight.

Ransom stops beside my car.

“Well,” he says, rocking back on his heels slightly. “Before we both disappear into the night… can I get your number?”

My stomach flips in a stupid, traitorous way.

“Smooth,” I tease.

“Painfully,” he agrees.

I laugh softly and pull my phone out of my pocket.

“Alright, give me yours.”

He pulls out his own phone, stepping closer so we can exchange it.

My fingers brush his as we swap devices, and something strange flickers through my chest. Not uncomfortable.

Just… noticeable.

While I type my name into his contact list, the night suddenly feels very quiet.

Too quiet.

Then—

Rustle.

The sound comes from the woods bordering the parking lot.

Both of us freeze.

Ransom lifts his head slightly, eyes narrowing toward the dark tree line.

“Did you hear that?” I ask quietly.

“Yeah.”

The rustling comes again.

Closer this time.

Branches shifting.

Leaves crunching.

Something moving through the brush.

I hand his phone back slowly, a strange unease crawling up my spine. “That… sounded big.”

Ransom glances toward the woods again. “Stay here,” he says calmly.

My eyebrows shoot up. “Excuse me?”

“I’m just gonna check it out.”

“What? No—”

But he’s already stepping away from the car.

“Ransom,” I call quietly.

He waves a hand dismissively without turning.

“Probably just a deer or something.”

He moves toward the woods slowly, gravel crunching under his boots.

The moonlight barely reaches past the tree line, the forest swallowing the light only a few feet in. Everything beyond that is thick shadow and tangled branches.

Something about it makes my skin prickle.

“Ransom,” I say again, louder this time.

He pauses near the edge of the trees and glances back at me.

“Relax,” he says with an easy smile. “I’ve got it.”

Then he turns back and takes another step toward the woods.

My chest tightens.

“I don’t think that’s a good—”

CRASH.

Something bursts from the bushes.

I gasp, my heart launching into my throat—

A raccoon explodes out of the brush and sprints straight across the lot.

It runs right past Ransom’s legs, barely missing him.

He jumps back with a startled laugh.

“Shit—!”

The raccoon keeps going, scrambling across the asphalt before disappearing under a dumpster near the diner.

I let out a shaky breath.

“Oh my God,” I laugh nervously. “That was a narrow escape.”

Ransom rubs the back of his neck. “Nothing more harrowing than possible rabies.”

I’m still laughing when it happens.

A massive shape erupts from the trees.

It slams into Ransom with terrifying force.

“RANSOM!”

The impact knocks him flat onto his back as the enormous wolf lands on top of him.

Its jaws snap down onto his shoulder.

His scream tears through the night.

Blood sprays across the gravel.

My mind stops working.

The wolf is huge.

Far bigger than any normal wolf should be.

Its fur is dark and bristling, muscles rippling beneath its coat as it pins him to the ground, teeth buried deep in his shoulder.

Ransom struggles, punching at the animal, shouting in pain.

I can’t move.

I can’t breathe.

Then—

A low growl sounds behind me.

Cold terror slides down my spine.

I turn slowly.

Another wolf stands only a few feet away.

Its eyes glow pale in the moonlight.

Watching me.

Hunting.

My body moves before my brain catches up.

I run.

I don’t think.

Branches slap my face as I crash through the trees, my breath coming out in ragged gasps. Twigs snap beneath my shoes, leaves crunching under every desperate step.

The darkness is suffocating.

I can barely see where I’m going.

Fear claws through my chest so violently that it almost makes me sick.

Behind me—

The wolf crashes into the forest after me.

Its snarls echo through the trees.

It’s fast.

Too fast.

Shame burns in my chest.

Ransom is back there.

Bleeding.

And I ran.

I ran like a coward.

But my body won’t stop moving.

Branches whip against my arms and face as I push through the undergrowth. A sharp twig slices across my palm when I grab a low branch for balance.

Pain flares.

I barely notice.

My shoe catches on something.

I stumble—

Then crash hard onto the forest floor.

Pain explodes through my knees and ribs as I slam into the dirt, the air whooshing violently from my lungs.

“Ah—!”

Leaves scatter as I roll onto my back.

The wolf bursts from the trees.

Its massive body lunges toward me—

Then another wolf slams into it mid-air.

The two animals crash together in a snarling tangle of fur and teeth.

I stare in stunned disbelief as they tear into each other.

Snarling.

Biting.

Claws ripping through dirt and leaves.

I don’t understand.

But I don’t question it.

I scramble to my feet, ignoring the sting of blood running down my hands and the throbbing ache in my knees.

Run.

Run.

Run.

I sprint through the trees again.

The forest begins thinning ahead.

Moonlight spills across a stretch of open ground.

The road.

Hope surges through my chest.

I push harder, wishing I had joined Hazel on her CrossFit classes.

Branches whip past as the trees begin to part.

Then something slams into me from the side.

I hit the ground violently as a wolf tackles me.

My scream rips through the night as its jaws clamp onto the back of my jacket.

It drags me backward across the dirt.

“No! NO!”

My fingers claw desperately at the ground, nails scraping through soil and leaves as it hauls me deeper into the trees.

Panic explodes through my chest.

I grab the first thing my hand touches.

A thick stick.

I twist around, swinging it wildly at the wolf’s head.

The branch cracks against its skull.

Once.

Twice.

It barely reacts.

Its teeth remain clamped on my jacket.

Tears blur my vision.

“LET GO!”

I yank my free leg upward and kick as hard as I can.

My heel connects with its snout.

The wolf yelps and releases me.

I scramble backward across the dirt, gasping for air.

More snarls echo through the forest.

Multiple wolves.

The one I kicked turns its head suddenly.

Distracted.

Something else is coming.

I don’t wait.

I push to my feet and run.

My lungs burn as I burst through the final line of trees.

The road stretches ahead, empty and silent under the moonlight.

Freedom.

I almost made it.

I circle a tree and slam straight into something solid.

A hard chest.

Strong hands grab my arms before I can fall backward.

I thrash instantly.

“Let me go!”

“Aria.”

The voice stops me cold.

I look up.

Barric.

His hypnotic blue eyes are steady, but it’s the concern in them that makes me still.

Relief crashes through me so violently that my knees nearly buckle.

“Barric—” My voice breaks. “You have to run.”

My words tumble over each other in panic.

“Wolves—there are wolves—they attacked Ransom and—”

His arms wrap around me before I can finish. Strong. Solid….Safe.

“Aria,” he murmurs firmly, eyes on the woods. “You’re okay.”

My body trembles uncontrollably as distant snarls echo behind us in the forest.

“Barric, we have to go—”

His hand cups the back of my head gently, pressing my face against his chest.

His voice is calm.

Steady.

Certain.

“You. Are. Okay,” he says in a tone that brooks no argument.

His heartbeat is strong beneath my ear.

Slow.

Unshaken.

“It’s over.”