"I choose myself," Serenity growled. She spun away from both Kael and the oncoming hunter.
Her silver eyes blazed as she called on every ounce of wolf power in her body. The world slowed down around her.
The Syndicate hunter's finger squeezed his gun. Serenity moved. She dove sideways just as the gun cracked. The bullet whined past her ear, so close she felt its heat. She hit the ground rolling and came up running faster than any person could move.
"Don't let her escape!" Commander Briar's voice roared from the trees.
More hunters poured into the area behind her. Their boots thundered against the earth. Serenity dared a glance back and saw at least six men chasing her. All holding silver weapons.
But Kael was gone. Vanished like smoke. Coward, she thought bitterly. So much for his big deal. A bullet sparked off a rock beside her head. Chips of stone cut her face. She zigzagged between the trees, using every trick Marcus had taught her about running from enemies.
The forest was thick here. Branches whipped at her face and tore at her jacket. Roots tried to trip her. But her wolf senses led her through the darkness. She could smell the way ahead, hear which branches would break under her weight.
Behind her, the hunts crashed through the undergrowth like angry bears. They cursed when thorns caught their clothes. Stumbled when roots grabbed their boots. Humans were so clumsy in the wild. But they were also smart. And they had radios.
"Team Two, circle around to the north ridge," Briar's voice crackled through a walkie-talkie somewhere behind her. "Team Three, stop the river crossing. She's going for the old logging road."
Serenity's heart sank. They knew these trees better than she'd thought. They'd planned for this hunt.
She pushed herself harder. Her lungs burned. Her damaged shoulder throbbed with each step. But she couldn't slow down. Getting caught meant worse than death.
The Syndicate had special jails for people like her. Places where they studied magical beings. Cut them open. Learned how their powers worked.
A branch caught her foot. She stumbled, almost fell, caught herself against a pine tree. The bark scraped her hands raw.
"There!" a voice yelled from her left. "She's tiring!"
New footsteps crashed toward her from a different direction. Team Two had gotten ahead of her somehow. Panic flared in her chest. She was surrounded.
Her wolf side snarled inside her mind. Fight them. Kill them all. But there were too many. And she was already hurt and tired. She needed to be smarter.
Serenity closed her eyes for just a second. Reached out with senses Marcus had taught her to use. She could smell the hunters now—their fear, their excitement, their guns. But she could smell something else too. Wood smoke. Cooking food.
People. A town, maybe half a mile ahead. If she could reach it, maybe she could hide among normal people. The Syndicate tried not to kill harmless people where others could see. It was bad for their secret activities.
She ran toward the smoke smell. The trees began to thin out. Through the trees, she glimpsed warm yellow lights. Windows. Houses. Almost there. A rifle cracked behind her.
Something hot sliced across her back. She cried out and stumbled forward. Blood soaked through her clothes.
"Got her!" the hunter yelled. But the bullet had only grazed her. It hurt like fire, but she could still move. Still run. She burst out of the trees into a small clearing.
A town spread out in front of her—maybe twenty houses with gardens and fences. Most of the windows were dark, but a few showed the warm glow of late-night light.
Serenity ran toward the closest house. Her boots clattered on the wooden porch. She grabbed the door handle and twisted. Locked. She pounded on the door with both hands.
"Please! Help me!" No answer. Either no one was home, or they were too scared to open their door to a blood-covered stranger in the middle of the night.
Heavy footsteps pounded across the clearing behind her. The hunters had reached the village. She ran to the next house. Also locked. And the next.
"Serenity Vale!" Briar's voice echoed between the buildings. "There's nowhere left to run. Surrender now and we might not hurt the people in this town."
The threat made Serenity's blood boil. These were innocent people. They had nothing to do with her problems. She tried another door. This one started.
"Thank you," she whispered, and slipped inside. The house was small and warm. A fire crackled in the stone fireplace. Books lined the walls. It smelled like tea and old paper. And something else.
Something that made her wolf senses twitch. Magic.
"Close the door," a woman's voice said quietly from the shadows.
Serenity spun around. An old woman sat in a rocking chair by the fire. She had long gray hair knotted down her back and sharp blue eyes that seemed to see everything.
"Who are you?" Serenity whispered.
"Someone who doesn't like the Syndicate hunting children in my village."
The woman stood up. She was taller than she'd looked in the chair, and there was something dangerous about the way she moved.
"My name is Asha Linvale." The name meant nothing to Serenity. But the power coming from this woman felt enormous. Like standing next to a sleeping monster.
"You're hurt," Asha said, looking at the blood on Serenity's back and shoulder.
"I'll heal." It was true. Her dog side healed faster than normal people. "But they're going to search every house. You need to hide."
Asha smiled. It was not a nice smile. "Let them try."
Someone beat on the front door. "Syndicate business! Open up!"
"Stay behind me," Asha whispered to Serenity. The old woman walked to the door and opened it wide.
Commander Briar stood on the porch with two shooters behind her. Briar was a big woman with golden hair and cold gray eyes. Silver weapons hung from her belt like dangerous jewelry.
"We're looking for a dangerous criminal," Briar said. "Have you seen a young woman with black hair and silver eyes?"
"No," Asha lied easily.
Briar's eyes narrowed. "Mind if we search your house?"
"Actually, I do mind." Asha's voice got quieter. Colder. "This is my home. You have no right."
"We have every right when hunting supernatural terrorists." Briar pushed past Asha into the house. Her eyes found Serenity instantly. "There you are, little wolf."
Serenity tensed, ready to fight or run. But Asha stepped between them. "You were not invited inside," the old woman said. Her voice carried power now. The kind that made the air itself feel heavy. "Leave."
Briar laughed. "One old lady isn't going to stop us from—"
Asha raised her hand. Every light and lamp in the house blazed brighter. The fire in the fireplace roared up to the roof. The two hunters behind Briar stumbled backward with scared gasps.
"I said leave," Asha repeated.
The temperature in the room dropped twenty degrees in one second. Frost began forming on the windows. Briar's breath came out in white puffs.
"Witch," Briar whispered. Her hand moved toward her silver sword.
"Yes," Asha agreed. "And you're in my house. Uninvited. Threatening a guest under my care. That makes you very, very stupid."
The air crackled with electricity. Serenity's hair stood on end. Whatever Asha was about to do, it was going to be big. Briar seemed to realize this too. She backed toward the door, pulling her attackers with her.
"This isn't over," she snarled. "We'll be watching this town. She can't hide forever."
"She's not hiding," Asha said softly. "She's preparing." The Syndicate hunters left, closing the door behind them.
Serenity slumped against the wall, suddenly tired. "Thank you. But you shouldn't have helped me. Now they'll come after you too."
Asha studied her with those sharp blue eyes. "Child, do you know what you are?"
"A wolf. The last of the Nightborn pack."
"No." Asha shook her head. "You're much more than that. Your mother was my sister. That makes you my niece."
Serenity stared at her. "That's impossible. My parents died when I was a baby. I don't have any family left."
"Your mother was fae, Serenity. Magical folk. And your father..." Asha paused. "Your father was indeed a wolf. But not just any wolf. He was the last of a bloodline that everyone thought was dead."
The room seemed to spin around Serenity. "What are you saying?"
"I'm saying you're not just a dog or just fae. You're both. A blend. And that's why everyone wants you so badly." Asha moved closer. "Your blood could save the magical world. Or destroy it completely."
"I don't understand."
"You will." Asha touched Serenity's hurt shoulder. Warm magic flowed into the cuts, healing them quickly. "But first, we need to talk about the forecast. The one that says you'll choose a mate who will either join all the supernatural races or tear them apart forever."
Serenity's silver eyes went wide. "What prophecy?"
Before Asha could answer, something howled in the trees outside. Long and sad and filled with rage. Then another howl answered it. And another.
"The pack," Serenity whispered. "Marcus's pack. They've found me."
Asha moved to the window and peered through the frost-covered glass. "Those aren't Marcus's wolves," she said sadly. "Those are Blackfang Pack. The most dangerous wolves in the area."
"Why would they be here?"
Asha turned back to her with fear in her old eyes. "Because their Alpha is Kael Thorne. The Cursed Alpha you met tonight. And it sounds like he's chosen to collect you after all."
The howling got closer. Angrier. And in the background, Serenity heard something that made her blood freeze. Footsteps. Coming up the porch steps. But these weren't the heavy boots of human hunts. These were the soft, dangerous pads of wolves walking on two legs.