THE ALPHA KING'S MAID
One second his chest was against my back, and the next he was in front of me, half-transformed, his eyes glowing amber, fangs showing, every muscle in his body drawn tight like a bow about to snap.
“What did you just do?” His voice wasn’t entirely human.
“I don’t know. I don’t know what—I didn’t mean to—”
Bells.
Distant. From the forest. From the opposite direction of the cave, from the darkness between the trees where moonlight no longer reached. A metallic sound, slow and spaced out, like the heartbeat of something enormous and rusted.
Everyone turned toward the sound.
“What the hell is that?” Enzo said, and for the first time on the entire trip, there wasn’t a trace of humor in his voice.