White light.
Ringing in the ears.
Dust and smoke choking everything.
Kael came back to himself in pieces.
Face down. Dirt in his mouth. Something heavy across his back—fallen beam from the blind. He shoved. Wood cracked. Splintered. He rolled free.
The ravine looked like it had been punched. Trees leaning wrong. Small fires licking at roots. The grenade had been flash-bang, not frag—designed to stun, not kill. Hunters wanted him alive.
His head throbbed. Vision doubled, then steadied.
"Finn?"
No answer.
Kael pushed up. Claws out again—unwanted, automatic. He shook them off. They retracted halfway. Stubborn.
"Finn!"
A groan—weak—from under a pile of branches.
Kael tore through. Found him. Hoodie shredded. Blood on his temple. Leg bent wrong—shin snapped clean.
Finn's eyes fluttered open. "Dude… five stars. Would not recommend."
Kael dropped beside him. Hands shaking as he checked the leg. Bone through skin. Nausea hit hard.
"Hold still."
Finn laughed—wet, pained. "Not going anywhere."
Kael ripped a strip from his own shirt. Tied it tight above the break. Finn hissed. Didn't scream.
"Where's Liora?"
Finn blinked slow. "She… pushed me down. Took the blast. Then they grabbed her. Dragged her off. I tried—"
Kael's stomach dropped.
He stood. Looked around.
Tracks—boot prints, deep. Leading up the ravine wall. Drag marks in the dirt. Blood—small drops. Hers?
The wolf surged. Hot. Immediate.
He staggered. Grabbed a tree. Bark shredded under claws.
*Not now. Not now.*
He forced it back. Barely.
Finn watched him. Eyes wide but steady.
"Go," Finn rasped. "Get her. I'll… I'll be fine."
Kael crouched again. "I'm not leaving you."
"You have to. They'll come back for me anyway. Bait. Right?"
Kael's jaw clenched.
Finn grabbed his arm. Weak grip. "You're the one they want. Use it. Get her out. Then come back for me. Deal?"
Kael stared at him. Saw the fear. Saw the stubbornness underneath.
He nodded once. Rough.
"Deal."
He stood. Looked up the ravine.
Then ran.
The tracks led to a narrow game trail. Then wider—old logging road. Moonlight silvered the dirt.
He moved fast—half-human, half-something else. Legs longer when he needed them. Senses sharp. He could smell diesel. Gun oil. Sweat. Blood.
Liora's blood.
He followed.
The hunters had a camp—two black SUVs, low lights, perimeter guards. Four outside. More inside a makeshift tent.
Kael crouched behind a fallen log. Watched.
They had her in the center—on her knees, hands zip-tied behind her back. Head down. Hair in her face. No jacket anymore. Shirt torn at the shoulder. Fresh cut on her cheek.
A hunter—tall, scarred face—paced in front of her.
"Alpha said bring her breathing," he said. Voice flat. "Didn't say pretty."
Another laughed.
Liora didn't move. Didn't speak.
Kael felt the shift again. Deeper this time. Bones grinding.
He fought it.
Then the scarred one crouched. Grabbed her chin. Forced her head up.
"You're the one who was supposed to put him down," he said. "Instead you run with him. Why?"
Liora spat blood. "Bad aim."
Scarred one smiled. "We'll fix that."
He stood. Looked at the others.
"Alpha wants her alive. She's the key to breaking him."
Kael froze.
*Key to breaking him.*
The scarred hunter continued. "Once the silverblood bonds to her—really bonds—the curse locks in. No more fighting it. He turns. Pack dies. Or he dies holding it back. Either way, problem solved."
Liora's head snapped up.
Kael saw it—the flicker in her eyes. Shock. Then understanding.
Then rage.
She lunged—zip-ties snapping. Teeth bared. Not wolf. Just fury.
She took the scarred one down—knee to throat. He choked.
The others swarmed.
Kael didn't think.
He exploded from cover.
Full shift hit mid-stride—painless this time. Seamless.
Fur. Claws. Fangs. Yellow eyes.
He crashed into the first guard. Claws raked. Body dropped.
Second guard raised a rifle.
Kael batted it aside. Snapped the arm. Rifle clattered.
Third fired—silver round grazed his shoulder. Burned like acid.
He roared. Charged.
The camp became chaos.
Hunters shouting. Guns barking.
Kael tore through them—not clean. Messy. Blood everywhere.
He reached Liora.
She was on her feet—zip-ties gone, fighting with a stolen knife. Fast. Precise.
She looked at him—wolf him.
Didn't flinch.
"Kael."
He shifted back—halfway. Enough to speak.
"Get in the truck."
She nodded.
They moved together—back to back. Her with the knife. Him with claws and teeth.
They reached one SUV. Door open. Keys in ignition—sloppy.
Liora slid in. Started it.
Kael jumped in the passenger side.
She floored it.
Tires spun. Gravel sprayed.
A hunter stepped in front—rifle up.
Liora swerved. Clipped him.
They shot out onto the logging road.
Behind them—headlights flared. Engines roared.
Pursuit.
Liora gripped the wheel. Knuckles white.
Kael looked at her.
"You okay?"
She glanced sideways. Blood on her lip. Eyes fierce.
"No. But I'm alive."
He nodded.
Then quieter: "What he said. About the bond. About breaking me."
Liora's jaw tightened.
"I didn't know," she said. "Not the full thing. Darius never told me that part."
Kael stared ahead. Trees blurring.
"You believe it?"
She didn't answer right away.
Then: "I believe he'll try anything to control you. And I believe… if there's a bond, it's not something he gets to decide."
Kael looked at her.
She met his eyes—for a second too long.
Then back to the road.
"We need to get Finn," she said. "Then we disappear. Far. Until we figure this out."
Kael nodded.
The truck ate distance.
Behind them—pursuit lights grew brighter.
Kael felt the wolf settle. Not gone. Just… waiting.
Watching her.
And for the first time, it didn't feel like a curse.
It felt like a choice.
But in the rearview mirror, headlights closed.
And Kael knew—whatever came next, it wouldn't be quiet.