Chapter 5

AVA

The growl wasn’t just a warning. It was a promise of death.

It came from the darkness, low and guttural, and it froze me in place. My body refused to obey, my wolf silent as if cowering deep inside. I barely registered Logan stepping in front of me, his wolf already emerging to meet whatever was out there.

“Stay behind me,” he barked, his voice sharp, cutting through the dread.

But I wasn’t safe. The glowing red eyes emerging from the shadows told me that much. Whatever it was, it wasn’t just a rogue. It wasn’t here by mistake.

It was hunting. And I was its prey.

The rogue moved faster than I could blink. Logan leapt at it mid-charge, their bodies colliding with a sickening crunch. The force of the impact sent me sprawling backward, my palms scraping against the forest floor.

I scrambled to my feet, but my legs were weak, trembling. The scene before me was chaos—a blur of fur, claws, and blood. Logan was fighting, his wolf relentless as he slashed at the creature.

But it wasn’t enough.

The rogue laughed. A dark, guttural sound that chilled me to the bone. Its body rippled, growing larger, its claws sharper. Logan attacked again, but the rogue anticipated every move, swatting him aside like he was nothing.

“Logan!” I screamed, panic ripping through me as his wolf crashed into a tree and didn’t move.

“Ava, run!” Landon’s voice came from behind me. I turned to see him, Lucas, and Liam charging in, their wolves fierce, determined.

For a moment, hope flared in my chest. Surely, together, they could take it down.

But the rogue wasn’t ordinary. It wasn’t like anything we’d faced before.

It tore through them. One swipe of its massive claws sent Lucas flying, his wolf yelping as he hit the ground. Landon and Liam circled, trying to attack from different angles, but the rogue was too fast, too powerful.

I couldn’t stay here. I couldn’t just watch them die.

I turned and ran, my heart pounding, lungs burning as I pushed through the forest. The trees blurred around me, my only focus on getting as far away as possible.

But the rogue followed.

I could hear its footsteps, heavy and deliberate, growing louder with every passing second. It wasn’t just chasing me—it was playing with me.

“No, no, no!” I stumbled, falling hard onto my knees. The pain was sharp, but the terror was sharper.

It was on me in seconds. I felt its hot breath against my skin, heard the low growl rumbling in its throat. I closed my eyes, waiting for the killing blow.

And then Logan’s wolf tackled it, slamming into the rogue with a force that shook the ground.

The others joined him, their wolves relentless as they attacked. Blood sprayed across the forest floor, and for a moment, it seemed like they might win.

But the rogue wasn’t done.

It threw them off with a feral roar, its body rippling again as it shifted into something even more monstrous. Its glowing red eyes locked onto me, and a cold smile twisted its face.

“You’ll wish I killed you tonight,” it said, its voice low and chilling.

Then it vanished, disappearing into the shadows as if it had never been there.

Logan shifted back, his body battered and bloodied as he staggered toward me. “Ava, are you hurt?”

I shook my head, tears streaming down my face as I clung to him. “What was that thing, Logan?”

His jaw tightened, his gaze hard. “Something that shouldn’t exist.”

The wind howled through the trees, carrying with it a haunting stillness. I shivered, feeling the weight of his words settle over me.

And then Logan said what

I already feared.

“It’s not over, Ava. Not even close.”