Library
Search
Home / Werewolf / THE LAST SHIFT: A Werewolf without a Wolf / Chapter 54: The Forgotten Wastes

Share

Chapter 54: The Forgotten Wastes

Author: Myra TUC
last update Last Updated: 2025-08-14 05:12:00

We crossed into nowhere just before dawn.

"No roads from here," Kieran said, hacking through dead vines with his machete. "Just like the intel said."

I checked our coordinates again. The Forgotten Wastes. A place the Council had wiped off every map after their research outposts exploded decades ago.

But something was wrong. The silence felt too thick, like it was pressing against my eardrums. Even the wind had died.

"Where are all the animals?" I asked.

Subject 13 looked around nervously. "Maybe they know something we don't."

The ground under our boots was cracked and black, like someone had burned the earth and it never healed. But underneath the death, I felt something alive. Something that knew I was coming.

"The energy readings are spiking," Null whispered, her light dimmed to almost nothing.

"What kind of energy?"

"The kind that shouldn't exist anymore."

The trees here made my skin crawl. Black bark twisted into shapes that looked almost human. Branches bent like they were listen
Continue to read this book for free
Scan code to download App
Locked Chapter
Previous Chapter Next Chapter

Latest chapter

  • THE LAST SHIFT: A Werewolf without a Wolf    CHAPTER 75: The Thing in the Water

    Its smile was all wrong. Too wide, like someone had cut it that way. Like it was wearing a human face but didn't know how to use it properly. Black water dripped from its chin in thick drops, and where they hit the ground, little wisps of steam came up. It smelled like burnt metal.Kieran stepped right in front of me. His sword was low, the tip almost touching the wet ground. His whole body was tense, ready to spring. Even in the dark, I could see his knuckles going white around the handle.The girl was limp beside me. Her breathing was fast and shallow, and every few seconds her body jerked like something was pulling at her. The whispers in my head got louder, but they seemed to be pulling at her even more.The thing just stood there at first. Still as a statue. It wasn't looking at Kieran or me. All its attention was on her."Stay behind me," Kieran said, his voice quiet but sharp.I nodded, but I couldn't stop staring at the creature. My fingers grabbed the girl's sleeve tight.The

  • THE LAST SHIFT: A Werewolf without a Wolf    CHAPTER 74: Running Blind

    That sound wouldn't stop. At first it was quiet, like someone laughing behind their hand. Then it got louder. Sharper. It made my skin crawl and matched the beat of our feet hitting the ground.Kieran kept running. He held the girl tight against his chest, his face hard, staring straight ahead like he was afraid to look anywhere else.My foot caught on a root and I grabbed the nearest tree to stop myself from falling. My hands came away dirty and sticky. Something was wrong inside my chest, it felt like claws scratching at my ribs, trying to get out. Every breath hurts."Kieran," I called out, my voice rough. "What was that thing back there?""Not now." His voice was sharp as a knife. He didn't even turn around.Branches hit my arms as I pushed forward. The moonlight came through the trees in thin lines, and every time I stepped into the dark, the air felt thick. Like it was trying to choke me. I couldn't tell if the forest was getting smaller or if I was just dizzy.The laughing move

  • THE LAST SHIFT: A Werewolf without a Wolf    CHAPTER 73: Shards and Shadows

    Stone dust smacked me in the face before I understood what was happening. The sound was like the whole world cracking in half. It went so deep my teeth rattled and my skull felt like it might split open. I stumbled backward, choking on grit, throwing my hands up to protect my eyes.When I could see again, the black ring was gone. Not broken. Not even shattered. Completely destroyed.What used to be our protection was now just rubble scattered everywhere like broken bones. Each sharp piece caught the pale light still coming up from the cracked ground.And that thing was inside with us.Kieran didn't hesitate. His sword was already moving, silver cutting through air toward it. But the creature was never where it should be. It moved sideways without stepping, just closer somehow, sliding so smooth it made my stomach flip.That grin got wider, showing those rows of little smiles stacked inside its mouth. My chest got tight like someone wrapped rope around my ribs."Get back!" Kieran shout

  • THE LAST SHIFT: A Werewolf without a Wolf    CHAPTER 72: The Smile

    It stood just outside the stone circle, tall enough that the lower branches caught in its hair. That smile never moved. It stretched too wide across a face that looked almost human but wrong. The skin was too smooth in some places, torn and jagged in others. Moonlight hit teeth that were too many, too perfect, like someone had placed them there one by one.I tried not to look, but my eyes kept going back to that mouth. The grin wasn't a happy one. It wasn't even threatening. It was... knowing. Like it could see right through me.Kieran moved, putting himself between us. The girl was still crumpled on the ground, but her eyes were open now, tracking every move the thing made."It's not supposed to be here," she whispered."But it is," Kieran said. His voice stayed quiet, but each word hit like a door slamming shut.The thing tilted its head when he spoke. Its neck turned way too far, bending until it was almost upside down. That smile never changed.Heat pressed against my chest. Not f

  • THE LAST SHIFT: A Werewolf without a Wolf    CHAPTER 71:The Forest That Breathes

    The forest was breathing.Not from the wind. This was different, it was heavier. The night exhaled around us, pushing warm, wet air against my skin. Each breath I took felt like swallowing something alive."Stay inside the stones," Kieran said, his voice tight.I looked at the black ring around us. The jagged slabs seemed taller now, their shadows stretching wrong in the moonlight. The girl lay between us, unconscious, her skin covered in sweat."What's happening?" I whispered.Kieran's jaw twitched. "It's awake.""You mean that creature...""No." His voice was flat. "That wasn't it."My pulse hammered in my ears. "There's something worse?"He finally looked at me. His eyes were too calm. "If we're lucky, we won't see it. If we're not... we won't have to worry about running."A wet sound came from the darkness. Like something dragging through mud. I spun toward it, chest getting tight.Something moved between the trees. Too big to be human. But it didn't lurch or twitch like the creat

  • THE LAST SHIFT: A Werewolf without a Wolf    CHAPTER 70: Teeth in the Dark

    It didn't charge right away. It just slid forward, like it was testing how close it could get before we snapped. Every step looked wrong, its limbs bent in ways they shouldn't, feet dragging, then jerking forward in sick bursts of speed.Kieran didn't move. His blade was up, steady, the tip pointing at its throat.My chest was tight, lungs pulling in air that felt too thick. I could hear my heartbeat over everything else. Even the forest had gone quiet. No rustling leaves, no owl calls. Just the sound of that thing breathing; wet, uneven, rattling like something was rotting inside it.The girl's fingers dug deeper into my wrist. "Kaia," she whispered, voice shaking, "don't let it look at you."I swallowed hard. "What happens if it does?"She shook her head, eyes locked on the creature. "You don't want to know."The thing tilted its head at her voice, and for a split second, those burning eyes flicked toward me. My stomach flipped, heat flooding my face like I'd been caught doing somet

More Chapters

You may also like

Explore and read good novels for free
Free access to a vast number of good novels on GoodNovel app. Download the books you like and read anywhere & anytime.
Read books for free on the app
SCAN CODE TO READ ON APP
DMCA.com Protection Status