Chapter 23 Empty–handed

SERAPHINA

Perhaps the Goddess had taken my words too seriously during the challenge, when I’d wondered how much worse things could get. Now, I was being chased by four disgusting werewolves, their snarls echoing through the trees like a death bknell/b..

Worse being seen by Dante, and ahead of me stood a massive figure. A regal, bck /bwolf loomed bin /bthe clearing, carved from the shadows of midnight itself, blood bdripping /bbfrom /bbhis /bbmaw/b. bA /btiger. bDead /band broken,y at his feet.

My heart seized as our eyes locked.

Time halted. The forest held its breath..

He didn’t move, but he bsaw /bme. Really

Why was Ronan here too?

saw me.

He must’ve realized I was a female. He bmust’ve /bknown my presence was out of ce bin /bthese deadly woods. That I bwas /bforbidden. But had he figured out who I really was?

Seth Darven.

No, bnot /bwithout my scent. Without it, there was bno /bway he could know

Yet the way he stared at me.frozen, unblinking, as if his body bhad /bforgotten how to move, sent a shiver down my spine. That stare…it wasn’t just suspicious. It was something primalb, /bdangerous.

What if he joined the others? What if he nned to take badvantage /bof me?

Men were all bthe /bsame lustful, depraved. Seeing women as nothing more than ba /bpiece of meat to ruin at their convenience. Why would he be any different?

The wind howled through my bfur /bas I sprinted through the trees, branches wing at me while the thunder of paws crashed behind blike /baing storm. My heart beat violently in my bchest/b, but my eyes stayed locked on Ronan’s wolf, still unmoving.

And then I made up my mind.

way T

There’s no way I’m letting him figure out who I was–or letting them ruin me.

I told Phina bas /ba familiar scent reached my nose.

Could it be?

My heart leapt with panicb…. /b

My paws barely touched the earth as I nced to my right. Ronan, bnot /bfar behind, followed my line of sight

The darkness. A familiar one.

Our beyes /bmet again. In that moment, I saw his bexpression /bshift bas /bif he’d read my thoughts.

But I acted first..

With ba /bburst of speed, I veered right, plunging into the shadows.

Behind me, the growls grew louder.

“Fuck! Where the hell bis /bbthis /bshe–wolf going?!”

“Don’t stop! Get hert” Reed barked in his wolf form.

All four surged after me, unaware of whaty ahead.

Then–ryes. Glowing in the ckb. /b

Chapter 23 Empty–handed

One pair Then another. Then more,

Dozens of glowing red eyes pierced through the darkness, freezing bthe /bbwolves /bin ce.

“What the fuck… Reed murmured, backing away as the others followed suit.

From the shadows, a bmassive /bbrown wolf emerged–bwild/b, furious, and terrifying

Then more followed. Crimson eyes like embers from hell.

Two Five. Then dozens

bAnd /bevery single one of them stared at the Alpha wolves.

I didn’t stop. Couldn’t stop.

But I heard bthem/bb. /bHeard the fear in Reed’s voice. The edge in Cassius‘ growl.

“What the

We’re in rogue territory!” Cassius snapped, panic rising.

“She lured us here!! That crazy bitch!” Reed howled, unhinged.

Their panic was deafening. Delicious.

I tore through the underbrush, mud and bleaves /bscattering beneath my paws, as the rogues closed in behind me imprable wall of snarling, bloodthirsty bchaos /bnow separating me from my would–be attackers.

If they wanted me, they’d have to go through them.

I finally stopped bon /bthe far side of the battlefield, panting, my fur bristling with energy.

“You wanted a hunt?” I met Reed’s eyes with a cold, emotionless stare. Here. Hunt bthis/b.

+8 Pearls

He read the message clear as day and his rage cracked through his bposure /bas heunched into battle, snarling, trying to defend himself from the swarm of brogues/b.

My gaze slid past him.

Dante stood in the distance, strangely bstill/b, an unreadable look bin /bbhis /beyes. Something- hauntingly familiar.

I had seen that same expression the day he devoured Jordan.

Then he smiled at me.

My heart clenched

It was him. That smile. That nightmare.

bAnd /bthen my gaze returned to bRonan /b

Sull unmoved. Still watching.

He hadn’t interfered.

He didn’t even look like he nned to

He just watched me

Growls ripped through the night raw, bferal /bunrelenting It was toote for retreat. The four bAlphas /bhad no choice now but to fight for their lives if they didn’t want to be torn apart by the rogues

boss /bthe dearing, no longer brunning/b. Moonlight bathed my fur in silver as I bfaced /bthem–unmoving, unafraid. I let them see the. All of the

Chapter 23 Empty–handed

Cassius‘ eyes bwidened/b, as if he were seeing me for the very first time..

And then

A rogue lunged on him.

But at the same time another finally noticed me.

+8 Pearls

Ronan still watched. He hadn’t moved as I slowly began backing away from the snarling wolf now advancing on me. I hadn’t expected to see rogues here–hadn’t even dreamed I’d cross their path again. But tonight, they’d be my weapons.

And I bknew /bthis weapon could turn on me just as easily.

Just before the rogue lunged toward me, lips curled in a deadly snarl, I made my move.

Without hesitation. I dove sideways into a shallow stream that glittered like shattered ss beneath the moonlight.

Ssh.

The cold water mmed against my body. The current grabbed bhold /bof me, fast band /bunforgiving.

I let it take bme/bb. /b

Let it carry me far and fast. Away from the rogues. Away from Ronan. Away from the eyes that had begun to see too much.

But before the current swallowed me whole, I blooked /bback. Ronan was still there. Standing like a storm on the horizon.

bWatching /bme.

Silent.

Unmoving.

He’d seen everything.

bAnd /bI didn’t know what terrified me more–what I had just escaped… or what that look in Ronan’s eyes meant for me.

The current yanked me bunder /bbefore I could brace myself. I shifted into my human form, desperate to stay above the surface. before things got worse.

Water roared around me, icy and merciless, pulling at my limbs like phantom hands. I kicked hard, trying to keep my head above water, my lungs baching/b. The stream bwasn’t /bdeep, but it was wild–angry. It dragged me far from the growls and chaos behind

Far from them.

bRocks /bscraped my stomach. Branches whipped my cheeks. The bworld /bbspun /bin bsharp /bbursts of pain and brushing /bsound.

When I finally spotted a patch of calmer water ahead, I twisted, wing at the current with desperate strokes. My fingers scraped moss. I kicked, gasped, and heaved myself toward the edge.

“Come one on..

With onest lurch, I huuled myself onto the muddy bbank /band bcopsed/b. My body hit the earth in a heap–soaked, bshivering /bbreathless. My chest bheaved /bMy vision swam.

Iy still, naked and trembling, the roar of water fading behind me. The bforest /bsurrounded bme /bagain, eerily quiet. My limbs. were leadden. My thoughts raced.

They saw me

All of them saw me in wolf form.

But I don’t think they recognized me

Not even Homan

Chapter 23 Empty–handed

He couldn’t have, right? Without my scent, how could he know?

And yet

How had the rogues ended up in bthat /bforest at just the right moment?

That was no coincidence.

Then I noticed it-

The sky.

Hints of orange band /bvender bled into the bck/b, staining the horizon like spilled fire.

Dawn.

No.

+8 Pearls

Panic crashed through me as I forced myself upright. My soaked hair clung to my skin, my heart thundering louder with every second

I spun around.

Unfamiliar trees surrounded me. No sign of the clearing. No familiar trail. No scent of the others.

I was off course. Completely.

The stream that had saved me had also cast me into the unknown.

And the bworst /bpart?

The bison.

The prey

I had hunted. Wounded. Nearly killed. The final kill bthat /bwould prove my worth in this cursed trial…

The realization hit like a blow to the chest.

Gone.

I turned slowly, scanning the woods. The scent btrail /bwas faint now, fading too fast to track. Even if I found it again, I’d have to fight it, finish it, and drag its massive body all the way back to the clearing.. before sunrise.

I didn’t have that kind of time.

Not anymore.

My breath came in shallow pants. My ribs bached /bwith each inhale. Was this it?

Was I going to blose/b?

The thoughtnded harder bthan /bany fang or w.

I lowered my eyes to the forest floor. My hands were scraped. My legs smeared with mud. My body ached, and bstill /b1 trembled. All that effort. All the danger. bThe /brisk of discovery. The near assault. The defiance. All of it…

Only to end up here.

bAlone /bEmpty–handed. bLost /b

My gaze lifted once more to the sky.

Warm streaks of gold now k kissed the clouds like the first soft embers of a fire.

Was thus how it ended?

Was I going to fail?