AYLA'S POV
Snow and ash stung my face as I ran, Kael's hand crushing mine, dragging me through the burning forest. The air reeked of blood and scorched pine, the night alive with the chaos of war—wolves snarling, steel clashing, fire crackling.
Behind us, the eyeless god roared, its voice a hollow scream that rattled my bones.
"They took him!" My voice cracked, raw with rage and fear. "Nico—they took him!"
Kael didn't slow, his wolf still rippling under his skin, golden eyes bright with barely checked fury. "They won't keep him," he growled, low and lethal. "I'll gut every last one of them before they touch him again."
"We can't outrun that thing!" I gasped, glancing over my shoulder.
The shadow-beast slipped between the burning trees, a ripple of smoke and death. It was hunting us, not the others—me, specifically. I felt it in the ragged bond, a pull like a hook in my heart.
Kael's jaw tightened. "Then we stop running."
