20. Hunters in the Mist

The fog thickens as we move forward, wrapping everything in a gray, icy shroud that prickles my skin. Every crack of a branch underfoot, every subtle shift in the mist makes me flinch. The sense of being watched tightens around my chest, and the unease only deepens when I see Shadow tense beside me, his eyes scanning every corner of the clearing with a palpable intensity.

“What’s happening?” I whisper, unable to hide the fear creeping into my voice.

He doesn’t answer right away, but his grip on my hand tightens—as if letting go isn’t an option he can afford.

“Something’s coming,” he finally says, his voice low and grave.

A shiver runs down my spine. I don’t need to ask what. I’ve learned to read him—his body language, his silences—and right now, he’s more alert than ever.

Then it happens—a muffled, low sound cuts through the mist, almost like a growl carried on the wind. It isn’t the sound of any normal animal. It’s deeper. More dangerous.

“Move! Now!” Garret’s voice slices through the air, sharp and urgent, freezing me in place. “Everyone inside, go!”

The refuge doesn’t look as safe as it did before. The giant stones blocking the entrance suddenly seem too small, too fragile for what’s coming. But there’s no time to hesitate. Shadow pulls me forward, and though fear coils in my stomach, something in his presence anchors me. For just a moment, I believe we might be okay.

But there’s no time for belief. The sound of approaching footsteps grows louder, and the air is charged with a tension so thick it almost hums—like something awful is about to fall upon us.

We finally reach the entrance to the refuge. It’s more a natural cave than anything man-made, but it feels solid. Inside, the darkness is broken only by a few flickering torches that barely hold back the shadows.

Shadow pushes me in, followed closely by Garret and the others. The mist still swirls outside, as though it, too, is waiting.

The footsteps stop.

And for a moment, everything is so still I almost convince myself it was all in my head.

But then, a figure emerges at the edge of the fog—so imposing my heart stumbles in my chest.

It’s Caleb.

“I didn’t think you’d get here so fast,” I say, fury rising like a flame. Every time I see him, helplessness and rage twist inside me. That man… that lycan who refuses to understand what it means to let go.

Caleb smiles with quiet arrogance, his eyes gleaming in the dim light.

“Did you really think you could escape me, Eve? I don’t understand why you keep running. You have nowhere else to go.”

My breath quickens, but I don’t let the anger cloud my thoughts. I can’t afford to be the prey—not even if that’s exactly how I feel.

“I’ll never belong to you,” I say, and the conviction in my voice seems to shake something in Caleb’s calm.

He steps forward, and my pulse pounds in my ears. Shadow moves beside me, his body taut as a bowstring, ready to strike. The mist behind Caleb stirs in an unnatural way, like something else is lurking there, just out of sight, waiting.

“What are you waiting for, Caleb?” Shadow asks, his voice ice-cold, heavy with unspoken threats.

Caleb doesn’t reply at once. Instead, he looks at Shadow, and something in his face shifts. There’s a flicker of rage there—a quiet, seething threat—that makes me wonder if this moment might explode into something far more dangerous.

“What I’m waiting for,” Caleb says at last, his voice calm as ever, “is to see how far you're willing to go, Shadow. Because you know I won’t let Eve stay with you. No matter what it takes. She’s meant to be with me.”

The tension in the air sharpens like a blade, and his words fall over us like a stone.

Meant to be with him.

The words echo in my head, but I refuse to let them take root.

“That’s not going to happen,” Shadow growls. And in his eyes, I see something wild—something I’ve never seen before. As if, for one fleeting second, he might give in to the fury inside him. As if protecting me is the one thing keeping him from losing control.

And it’s in that moment—when the tension between them feels like it might ignite into bloodshed—that the ground beneath us begins to tremble.

A roar bellows in the distance—low, massive, and echoing. It sounds like something ancient, something monstrous awakening from its slumber. We all turn, dread rising like a tide.

“What the hell…?” Garret breathes.

The sound comes again, closer this time. Something huge—something unstoppable—is coming for us. Caleb turns toward the mist, and for the first time, fear flickers in his eyes.

“What did you do?” Garret shouts at him, rage cutting through the panic.

But Caleb doesn’t answer. With a sudden motion, he vanishes into the fog, leaving behind a hollow that chills me deeper than the cold ever could.

“Get ready!” Garret yells, his voice frayed with urgency. “We’re not alone!”

And in that moment, I knew. The real threat wasn’t just the lycans. Whatever stalked us from the darkness… it was far worse.

A roar approaches.

And we won’t survive it easily.