chapter 5

Hunted and Haunted

Aria’s heart pounded as the sound of footsteps drew closer.

Branches cracked. Voices called out, low and guttural, like wolves toying with their prey. She backed toward the broken wall of the ruined chapel, her fingers clutched tightly around the silver pendant that now felt as much a part of her as her own breath.

She had two choices: hide and hope they passed… or run.

She chose neither.

Instead, she crouched low, pressing herself behind the broken altar. The ancient stone was cold against her back, but it grounded her. Kept her mind from spiraling.

She could hear them clearly now.

“She came this way. Her scent’s fresh.”

“She can’t have gotten far. Human or not, she’s not stronger than us.”

They didn’t know.

Aria wasn’t the same girl who had stumbled out of the forest hours ago, trembling and unsure. Something inside her had cracked open, awakened. The mark on her wrist still glowed faintly, the pendant pulsing like a heartbeat.

A whisper stirred in her mind like a memory not her own.

Breathe. Focus. Listen.

Her breath slowed. She could hear their feet moving through the underbrush. Four of them. Two flanking each side. One creeping closer to the chapel entrance.

She stayed still, every muscle coiled tight.

Then she moved.

With a burst of speed that startled even her, Aria lunged out from behind the altar. Her shoulder slammed into the nearest hunter, knocking him back into the wall. The others turned just in time to see her vanish through a crack in the side of the chapel.

“She’s fast!” one of them growled.

“Don’t let her get away!”

She darted into the forest. The trees blurred around her, feet barely touching the ground. Her senses guided her faster, sharper, like something primal had been switched on. The pendant’s pulse thrummed in sync with her heartbeat.

But it wasn’t enough.

They were wolves. And they were gaining.

She took a hard left down a ravine, slipping on wet leaves and sliding down the embankment. Mud coated her arms, but she didn’t stop. She splashed through a shallow stream, hoping the water would mask her scent.

Then a snarl erupted behind her.

Too close.

She turned

And was tackled to the ground.

Pain exploded in her side as she hit the earth, and a heavy weight pinned her. A wolf in half-shifted form loomed over her, claws out, teeth bared.

“Should’ve stayed hidden, little girl,” he hissed.

Aria’s hand shot out, pure instinct. She grabbed the pendant at her chest

And light exploded from it.

Blinding, white-hot light that sent the wolf flying backward with a howl. The others screamed and shielded their eyes.

Aria scrambled to her feet, glowing faintly with power she couldn’t explain. Her skin felt electrified, her blood burning with something ancient.

The wolves hesitated, fear flickering in their golden eyes.

“She’s not human,” one whispered. “She’s something else.”

Aria stepped forward. Her voice was quiet but thundered through the trees.

“Tell Kael this: next time he sends his dogs he better come himself.”

The forest fell silent.

And in that silence, Aria turned and disappeared into the trees… no longer hunted, but hunting for answers.