Teeth in the Dark

The forest wasn’t silent anymore.

The chapel walls vibrated with it: snarls carried on the wind, claws raking bark, the heavy thud of paws in snow. Terror hit me hard, it wasn’t just another one or two, there was a pack of rogues coming.

Kael’s head turned toward the sound, golden eyes blazing. His wolf was right under his skin, ready to tear anything apart that got close. His voice was low and sharp. “We have to  move. Now.”

My pulse slammed against my ribs. “But they sound like thyre coming from every direction, we have to go through them?”

“Unless you want to wait here and die, we need to go slow and careful.” he growled.

I swallowed hard, glancing at the broken windows, at the shattered door. Shadows moved beyond them, feral shapes, restless, circling. Their growls bled through the dark like knives scraping stone.

Kael’s gaze cut back to me. “Stay close.”

The bond tugged between us, hot and insistent. My wolf shoved forward, pressing against my skin. She wanted blood, she was angry but, she also wanted him. I shoved the thought away and nodded.

Kael shifted mid-step, his body exploding into black fur, muscles rippling. His wolf was massive, his presence so strong it filled the chapel like a storm. His growl rolled low, promising death to anything that came near.

I let my wolf rise, bones snapping, heat tearing through my skin as silver fur burst across me. The shift was faster this time, almost too fast, the bond driving it. When my paws hit the floor, I felt stronger, sharper.

Kael glanced back at me, his molten eyes locking on mine. For one dangerous heartbeat, the bond flared so hot it felt like lightning between us. Then the first rogue lunged through the door.

It hit Kael. He spun, jaws clamping down on its throat. The crunch echoed as blood sprayed. Another rogue launched through the window. I met it mid-air, our bodies colliding, teeth and claws tearing. Its stink was overwhelming, blood, rot, madness. I ripped into its shoulder, hot flesh bursting under my teeth.

The chapel filled with chaos. Rogues poured in, foam dripping from their jaws, eyes glowing red with hunger.

Kael roared, slamming one into the wall so hard the wood cracked. I tore another down by its haunch, claws digging deep. Blood soaked the floor, hot and metallic.

But there were too many.

One rogue darted past me, aiming straight for Kael’s exposed side. I lunged, catching it mid-stride, dragging it down. Pain exploded in my flank as another clamped down on me from behind. I howled, thrashing, claws raking its face.

Kael ripped the wolf off me with his jaws, throwing it aside. His eyes burned as he pressed close, our bodies brushing, our wolves moving in sync without thought. The mate bond surged, making us faster, stronger.

We tore through them together. Bite, slash, kill. Again and again.

But they kept coming.

The chapel floor was slick with blood, broken bodies piled around us. My chest heaved. My fur dripped red. Kael’s muzzle was stained, his chest rising and falling like thunder.

Then one rogue, a bigger one, scarred and foaming, slammed into me hard enough to knock me off my paws. My body hit the floorboards, air rushing out of me. Its jaws snapped for my throat.

Kael roared, a sound that rattled the broken walls. His wolf slammed into the rogue with such force the boards split beneath them. He tore its head back, ripping its throat wide. Blood gushed across the floor.

The rogue’s body twitched, then went still.

Kael stood over me, his black fur bristling, golden eyes wild. For a moment, he looked feral, his wolf fully in control. His gaze locked on me, chest heaving. He was so close it hurt.

My wolf whined, ears flat, tail low. Not submission. Something else. Need.

Kael stepped closer, nose brushing my muzzle for a second before he jerked back like he’d touched fire. He turned away, growling low.

Outside, the forest had gone quiet again.

We waited, tense, listening. The silence stretched. We heard no more growls and no more claws came at us. There was no sound but our ragged breaths.

Slowly, Kael shifted back, blood dripping from his jaw, his chest heaving. “That was too many,” he muttered. “Rogues don’t gather in packs like that, something is happening.”

I shifted too, my body aching, my shoulder bleeding. My palm throbbed, the mark glowing faintly even through the blood. “Then why did they?”

Kael’s eyes narrowed, sharp and dangerous. “Something’s driving them.”

The thought chilled me worse than the night air. Rogues didn’t organize. They didn’t hunt in groups. Unless something bigger, darker, was pulling the strings.

Kael stepped closer, eyes locked on me. “And it brought them here. To us.”

We had fought as one, our wolves stronger together than apart. And now the air between us burned and electrified.

My chest rose and fell too fast. My body ached to close the space. To give in, to touch his face, to feel his lips on mine, too feel his hands.....

Kael’s jaw clenched. His voice dropped low, rough. “Tell me again you don’t feel it.”

I opened my mouth, but before I could speak, a branch cracked outside.

Not again I thought, but this sounded more deliberate, not like an attack was coming our way.

Kael turned toward the sound, shoulders tight, eyes blazing.

I froze, breath caught.

Because this time, it wasn’t a rogue.

Someone else had come.

And they had seen the blood, the bodies, us.