Lahat ng Kabanata ng Love is not for the Wolfless : Kabanata 71 - Kabanata 79

We rest for less than an hour before the screaming starts again."They're tracking us," Marcus says, his enhanced hearing picking up movement in the distance. "Possessed wolves. Maybe a dozen, moving in coordinated patterns.""How long do we have?" Kara asks, tending to a gash on her shoulder."Ten minutes. Maybe less." Marcus turns to the group, his expression grim. "Anyone too injured to run needs to say so now. We won't leave you, but we need to know what we're working with."Silence. Everyone is injured. Everyone is exhausted. But nobody wants to be the one who slows the group down."I can manage," I lie, though every breath sends pain through my cracked ribs. My hybrid healing is working, but slowly. Too slowly. The blood loss from the shrine is catching up with me.Stark's hand touches my arm. "You're pale. How much blood did you lose?""Enough." I pull away before his touch can weaken my resolve. "But not enough to stop me from running.""Roselyn—""We don't have time for this.

The cottage feels too empty with only five of us remaining.I pace the small space, my body healing slowly but my mind racing with everything that could go wrong. Marcus heading into elf territory where one wrong word could mean execution. Stark facing ancient vampires who might see him as a traitor to his kingdom. Kara approaching a dragon who could incinerate her on sight."You're going to wear a hole in the floor," one of the remaining guards observes. His name is Finn, a young wolf who lost his pack to false accusations of theft. "Sit down before you collapse.""I can't sit." I continue pacing despite the protest from my healing ribs. "They've been gone six hours. Anything could have happened.""And worrying won't change it." Elara appears from one of the back rooms where she's been working on protective wards. "You need rest, Roselyn. Your body is trying to heal itself and grow four babies simultaneously. That requires energy you're burning through with this anxiety.""How am I s

KARA'S POVThree hours into Ember's "game," I've learned several things about dragons.One: They have endless stamina and think exhaustion is hilarious.Two: Their idea of "fun" involves more fire than any reasonable creature should produce.Three: When they laugh, it sounds like an avalanche, and it's usually because you've narrowly avoided death."Left! Move left!" I shout at Ash as another fireball streaks toward us.He dives, rolls, and comes up panting. We've been doing this dance for what feels like hours, dodging flames while Ember reorganizes her hoard with meticulous attention. She's currently debating whether a jeweled crown from the Second Age should go with the gold pile or the "historically significant artifacts" section."I think this one is technically platinum, not gold," Ember muses, turning the crown over in her massive claws. "But the gemstones are clearly from the Southern Mines, which would make it Third Age, not Second..." She launches another fireball at us with

The attack comes before we reach Fang territory.We're moving through dense forest, maybe an hour from our target, when Finn suddenly stops. "Do you hear that?"I strain my hybrid senses, filtering through normal forest sounds. Then I catch it. Movement. Lots of movement. Coming from multiple directions."Ambush!" Marcus roars. "Defensive formation!"We barely have time to react before they burst from the trees. Not possessed wolves. Something worse.Elves. At least thirty of them, their eyes glowing red with demonic corruption. They move with inhuman speed, their natural grace twisted into something predatory."How?" Theron breathes, horror written across his face. "Demons can't possess elves. Our magic resistance—""Isn't as absolute as you thought," one of the possessed elves says in that layered demonic voice. "Your people's arrogance made them easy targets. They believed themselves immune, so they didn't properly defend."The possessed elves attack, and chaos erupts.Theron's un-

The first wave hits us like a tide of corruption and teeth.I meet a mutated wolf head-on, my claws tearing through transformed flesh. It's stronger than it should be, demon magic enhancing already formidable strength. We trade blows that would kill normal beings, each of us healing almost as fast as we're wounded."Left side!" Finn shouts, intercepting two more creatures before they can reach Elara. He fights with desperate courage, his youth making him reckless but effective.Stark and Kara work in tandem, their movements synchronized like they've been fighting together for years instead of weeks. They cover each other's weaknesses, create openings, bring down enemies through coordination rather than raw power.Theron stands slightly apart, his elven magic creating barriers that funnel the mutated creatures toward us in manageable numbers. But I can see the strain on his face. Maintaining that much magic while fighting is exhausting even for elves."How long?" I shout to Elara, duck