The howl moved through the forest like something alive.
Not sound.
A push.
A pull.
A shudder that ran through bark, soil, wings, and bone.
The Glowbeetles' lights flared all at once. The Scarabs locked claws into the ground to steady themselves. The Centipedes curled tight, as if bracing against a storm that hadn't hit yet. And Zza—Zza felt it run straight through her chest.
The forest was not reacting out of anger.
It was reacting out of **fear.**
Buzz's voice, already dim, flickered.
*Zza—please—move back—*
She refused.
She stepped toward him instead.
Her claws extended.
Her heart pounding hard enough to shake her ribs.
The humans reacted as a single unit. They didn't speak. They didn't hesitate. Their leader raised her arm, and every visor locked onto Buzz's flickering form. Weapons shifted. Not to kill.
To capture.
Zza saw the needle-lined pods on their launchers. She had seen those before. She had seen them used on creatures marked for study.
