{ Mia }
A roar cracked through the forest — sharp, guttural, and wrong.
Trees trembled. Birds scattered. The three of us froze mid-run.
Lex skidded to a halt beside me. Ace's hackles rose, his massive gray wolf form lowering into a guarded crouch. His eyes locked on the rustling thicket up ahead.
We weren't alone.
Ace's voice came through the mind-link, low and tight.
"Huddle up. Whatever that was… we don't underestimate it."
I edged closer to him, paws brushing his.
Something felt off.
"Let's get a closer look," Lex suggested, his mental voice calm but pulsing with curiosity.
I hesitated. My instincts screamed something different.
Wrong. Too wrong.
"No," I said, ears flicking. "We should head back—"
Ace's amusement cut in, sharp and warm.
"What, scared already?"
Lex added, full of mischief:
~ baaak baaak baaak ~
Seriously? Chicken sounds?
I huffed. "Fine. I'll do it. Just don't—"
Grrrrr.
Another growl — low and deep — rumbled from the brush ahead.
This time, it was closer.
Ace stiffened.
"Move," he snapped. "Now."
We crept forward, one step at a time, paws silent against damp earth. Every twig snap felt louder than it should. Every breeze felt like breath.
The underbrush shifted again.
And then—
~ snap! ~
And all three of us lifted from the ground now tangled in a rope.
Through the mind link we spoke.
" Ace get your tail outta my face !"
" Mia get your paw outta my ear." Lex grumbled.
" You two shut it, first we need to find a way outta here."
" Easy for you to say no one's anything is stuck anywhere." Lex and I exploded in union.
" Ugh," he scoffed. " Lex's butt is in my face but I'm not complaining."
I stiffled my laught shaking my head.
" Alright, Ace is right, " I sighed. " We need to find a way outta here..."
" Right!" Ace and Lex agreed in sync their voices floating in my head.
" What can we do ? " Lex asked.
" Let's try to snap the rope with our claws." I whispered.
3 minutes later, we were still caught in the trap now tired and sweaty our fir clinging to us.
I can't believe it I was finally free but now, we're all trapped in a net with no way out.
The bush rustled again.
All three of us went still.
This time, it wasn't a squirrel.
It wasn't wind.
It was footsteps.
Heavy. Deliberate. Getting closer.
Ace growled low in his throat, shifting subtly to block me. Lex bared his teeth, fur bristling.
Then—
A golden wolf stepped out from the thicket.
Larger than any of us.
Fur like sunlight, rippling with muscle beneath it. Eyes sharp — amber, intelligent — and locked directly on us.
Behind him, two more wolves emerged. Gray. Sleek. Silent. They fanned out in a loose formation, not aggressive, but definitely not casual either.
They knew we were here.
And they wanted us to know that they knew.
"Don't speak out loud," Ace said quickly through the mind link. "They might not be friendly."
"Copy that," Lex murmured.
"Already on it," I added, pulling my weight into a more balanced position, even if the net still pinned us awkwardly.
The golden wolf took a slow step forward, ears up, tail still — a sign of authority. He studied us for a beat longer…
Then he shifted.
One fluid motion. A shimmer of gold light. Bones reshaped. Fur melted into skin.
And standing in his place was a man.
Fully clothed.
Black combat pants. A long dark coat. Barefoot, somehow silent on the forest floor. His hair was a windswept mess of gold and brown, and his arms were crossed as he observed us like we were insects under glass.
He didn't speak. Not yet.
Just stared.
Lex's mental voice crept in. "Okay. Anyone else feel major alpha vibes or just me?"
"Just you," I shot back. "But yeah, also definitely not just you."
Ace didn't say anything.
But he didn't relax either.
" Guys... I thought we were the only shifters. Have you ever seen anything like this?"
" No Mia, as far as I know we're the only ones..."
" Alright guys don't shift back just act like regular wolves..." I whispered.
" Agreed "
The man finally moved — one hand lifting, fingers flicking in the air.
And from behind him, the two gray wolves started circling.
Not lunging. Not growling.
Just… studying us.
Like they were deciding what we were worth.
I didn't know who these wolves were.
Or what they wanted.
But the golden one's eyes hadn't left mine.
And I had the sinking feeling…
That he already knew we weren't just wolves
" Take them to the holding cell." He commanded his sharp eyes waiting to see our reactions.
Through the mind link I whispered.
" Guys, just growl like wild animals alright?"
Lex chuckled. " Why?"
" Do you want us to die?! " I scolded. " If not then do as I say."
Lex stifling his laughter started growling fiercely.
The two gray wolves didn't hesitate.
With a flick of the golden one's hand, they moved in sync — one circling behind us, the other prowling forward. Their eyes glinted with focus, not cruelty. Trained. Disciplined.
A warning rumbled low in Ace's chest, but I shot him a sharp glance through the link.
"Not now. We play along."
The wolf closest to us shifted — smooth, practiced, like he'd done it a thousand times. His body shimmered, bones realigning mid-step. One second a beast, the next a man.
Clothed in simple dark gear — fitted shirt, tactical pants, leather straps around his forearms.
The golden wolf didn't speak.
But his body did.
One firm step forward. A raised tail. Ears flicked once — a silent command.
The two gray wolves moved instantly, darting to our sides. One tugged a bundle of thick rope from a leather satchel slung around his shoulder. The other carried worn black muzzles clenched in his jaws.
Lex's ears flattened. "Okay, I'm starting to regret laughing."
Ace didn't move. His posture stayed still — unreadable — but I could feel his tension like a wire stretched thin.
The first gray wolf lunged, quick and precise. The muzzle snapped shut around my snout before I could jerk away. I growled low, but didn't resist. This was part of the act. Just a dumb wolf. Nothing more.
Lex yelped through the link. "They just tackled me! That's not acting, that's assault!"
Ace muttered back, "Stay in character, or we're toast."
Leashes were looped around our necks next — tight, scratchy, but not choking. Just firm enough to control.
The golden wolf finally approached, tail high with dominance. His gaze raked over each of us slowly, calculating.
He let out a low huff — not speech, but something deeper. A vocal cue. Pack language. Authority.
We obeyed.
One gray wolf took Ace's leash in his teeth. The other tugged mine and Lex's like we were hunting dogs.
The golden wolf stepped closer.
Closer… to me.
His eyes narrowed slightly, something flickering behind them — suspicion? Curiosity? Recognition?
He raised a paw, then hesitated.
And then he reached forward — slowly, deliberately — and brushed his snout along my fur.
Not in an aggressive way. Not quite friendly either.
Almost like he was trying to read me.
I stiffened, letting out a sharp, involuntary growl through the muzzle.
His ears flicked. No reaction otherwise.
Then he stepped away.
Still watching.
Still unsure.
The two gray wolves didn't hesitate.
They tugged our leashes again.
The forest grew denser as we moved, but not wild.
The forest grew denser as we moved, but not wild. Not random. The trees were evenly spaced, the ground smooth beneath our paws. Maintained. Controlled.
We were walking into territory.
And whoever it belonged to? They had power.
Eventually, the trees began to thin, and then—
We saw it.
A city.
Hidden by dense woods and cloaked by energy I hadn't noticed until we passed through it — like a veil peeling back to reveal something ancient and alive.
It wasn't like anything I'd ever seen.
Houses carved into the trees themselves. Stone paths winding through mossy ground. Glowing lanterns floated midair, casting warm golden light across the village. People — shifters — moved in and out of view. Some in human form, others padded by on four legs, nodding to one another in passing.
It was… peaceful.
And at the very center, like the heartbeat of it all — a palace.
Huge, built into the cliffside like it had grown there, vines curling around smooth stone columns and arched windows that shimmered in the rising light. A waterfall cascaded down the far wall, feeding a stream that ran through the city's center.
Lex, still playing the wild-animal act, let out a low growl of disbelief.
"Okay," he whispered through the link. "I'm either dreaming or we just stumbled into Narnia."
"Focus," Ace warned. "This isn't a welcome party."
The golden wolf — now man again — walked ahead of us without looking back. Calm. Commanding.
We followed him past wide-eyed civilians and into the palace's massive archway, flanked by armored guards with wolf emblems on their shoulders.
A heavy stone door slid open with a deep, grating sound.
And we were led inside.
Down torchlit halls. Past carved symbols I didn't recognize. Into a large room with thick metal bars across one side.
The holding cell.
No windows. Just the hum of old magic in the walls.
The golden man finally turned toward us.
His voice, when it came, was cold and unreadable.
"Put them in."
The guards obeyed. One of the grays pushed us forward, nudging us into the cell.
I stumbled slightly but caught myself.
Ace's eyes never left the golden wolf's.
And as the bars slammed shut behind us, I realized something—
This wasn't just a village.
It was a kingdom.
And we had just walked right into its jaws.