The night air bit colder than usual when Ryan stepped outside. He tugged his hoodie tighter around himself, but it did nothing for the chill that sank under his skin. The campus grounds looked empty—too empty. The festival lantern poles still stood, stripped bare and skeletal, like bones jutting from the earth. Their shadows stretched long across the courtyard, thin and sharp under the moonlight.
It should have been peaceful. But it wasn't.
The silence pressed against him like weight, heavy and expectant, as if the whole world was waiting for something to happen.
Aria walked beside him without a word. Her boots crunched lightly against the pavement, but her eyes weren't on the path—they flicked from corner to corner, shadow to shadow, like she expected an attack at any second. Her hand rested casually on the hilt of her blade, but Ryan could tell it wasn't casual at all. She was tense. Always tense.
"You should rest," she said finally, her voice quiet but sharp in the stillness. "That trial nearly burned you alive."
Ryan flexed his hand. The wolf-shaped crest glowed faintly on his palm, pulsing in a rhythm that matched his heartbeat. He'd tried to hide it under his sleeve, but it still leaked silver light, steady and alive.
"It doesn't feel like it's going to stop," he muttered.
"That's the problem," Aria said.
He clenched his fist. The mark pulsed brighter. "Resting doesn't stop Vaelrion."
Her gaze softened, but only for a heartbeat. "No. But being reckless won't stop him either."
Ryan wanted to fire back—wanted to insist he wasn't being reckless, that sitting still felt like suffocating—but the words tangled in his throat. She wasn't wrong. His whole body still ached from the trial. His muscles twitched like they were too tired to hold his bones together, and his nerves hummed with echoes of the spectral wolves. He could still hear their voices, deep and ancient, drilling questions into his skull.
But beneath the exhaustion… something new had settled inside him.
It wasn't strength, not exactly. More like a vibration, a hum that lingered in his chest, like his heartbeat had grown a second voice. He didn't know how to name it, but he could feel it stretching outward, subtle and strange, as if invisible threads connected him to the world around him.
The system whispered at the edge of his mind.
[Skill Active: Alpha's Resonance.][Effect: Your presence influences nearby allies. Fear is suppressed. Resolve is amplified.]
Ryan didn't fully understand it, but the effect was obvious. When he glanced sideways, Aria's shoulders didn't seem quite so tight, her steps not quite so sharp. For once, she looked less like a blade ready to snap and more like… someone who could breathe.
"It's affecting you, isn't it?" he asked quietly.
Aria's lips curved—not a smile exactly, but something close. "Maybe. Or maybe I just believe in you more than I should."
Heat crept into Ryan's face, and he turned away, not trusting himself to answer. He wasn't used to hearing that. He wasn't used to anyone believing in him at all.
Then the mark flared.
Not in pain—no, this was sharper. A warning.
Ryan's head snapped toward the edge of the courtyard.
The shadows there shifted.
Aria froze, her hand already tight on her blade. The air rippled, and something stepped out of the dark.
It was a wolf—or it had been, once. Taller than any man, its fur pitch-black and matted like tar. Its eyes glowed an unnatural violet, and chains of shadow wrapped around its torso and arms, writhing like snakes alive with hunger.
Ryan's stomach twisted. "What is that?"
Aria's answer was immediate, tight. "A Shadowbound."
Ryan blinked. "And that is…?"
Her jaw clenched. "A wolf who gave his will to Vaelrion. They don't feel fear. They don't feel pain. They only obey."
The Shadowbound's violet eyes locked on Ryan. When it spoke, the voice that crawled from its throat wasn't its own.
It was Vaelrion's.
"Little moon," the voice purred, smooth and cruel. "You survived the first trial. Good. I was worried you'd collapse before the game truly began."
Ryan's claws slid free with a hiss. "Why don't you stop hiding behind puppets and face me yourself?"
The Shadowbound tilted its head, the movement grotesque, mocking. "Because watching you bleed is sweeter when drawn out." Its jaw stretched too wide, violet light spilling from its throat.
Aria took a half-step forward, her eyes narrowing. "We have to finish this quickly. If it's fully bound, it won't stop until one of us is dead."
The Shadowbound lunged.
Ryan met it with claws bared. The impact cracked through the night, claw against claw, silver light sparking against violet. The force of the blow rattled Ryan's arms to the bone, shoving him backward across the courtyard.
Too strong. Faster than Shadowspawn. Precise. Every strike aimed to kill.
Ryan's breath came sharp and ragged, but then—
The hum in his chest flared.
The Alpha's Resonance pulsed outward, invisible but undeniable. His heartbeat steadied. His stance locked firm.
And Aria moved with him.
Their rhythm was unspoken but perfect. When the Shadowbound pressed Ryan back, Aria struck from the side, her blade flashing moonlight. When its claws swept wide, Ryan intercepted, forcing it off balance so she could drive her blade into its flank.
For the first time, Ryan didn't feel like prey. He didn't feel alone.
The Shadowbound roared, shadows writhing violently around its body. Its claws lengthened into jagged blades, sweeping through the chain-link fence like paper.
Ryan ducked low, sliding across the grass. His claws glowed bright silver as he launched upward, slashing across the creature's chest. The shadow-chains split with a screech, violet ichor spraying into the night.
The Shadowbound staggered but didn't fall. Its eyes flared hotter, and Vaelrion's voice poured out again, thick with mockery.
"Stronger than I thought. Good. Break faster."
Ryan growled deep in his chest. "Not tonight."
Aria darted forward, her blade cutting through air and flesh alike. She carved clean through the Shadowbound's arm, severing it at the shoulder. The limb dissolved instantly into smoke, shrieking as it vanished.
Ryan didn't hesitate. He drove his claws straight into the creature's chest, the mark on his hand blazing silver. The resonance surged—louder than ever, brighter than fire—and for one heartbeat, Ryan swore he wasn't alone in the fight.
Hundreds of voices howled with him, echoes of wolves long gone, their strength pouring through his veins.
The Shadowbound collapsed, its body unraveling into dark smoke that drifted apart on the wind.
Silence dropped over the courtyard.
Ryan dropped to one knee, gasping for breath. His claws retracted slowly, his body trembling. The glow of his mark dimmed back to its steady pulse.
Aria stood beside him, blade dripping with ichor, her chest rising and falling in sharp breaths. She glanced down at him, her expression unreadable.
"That," she said at last, her voice grim, "was just the beginning."
Ryan forced himself upright, legs shaky but stubborn. "Then we'll be ready."
Her eyes lingered on him—longer than before, softer too. It wasn't quite trust. It wasn't quite admiration. But it was something.
Before either of them could speak again, the system chimed.
[Quest Update: Alpha's Resonance Tested.][Result: Success.][New Objective Unlocked: Gather Your Pack.]
Ryan's chest tightened. The words glowed in his vision until they faded.
"A pack?" he muttered under his breath.
Aria sheathed her blade with a decisive click. "The prophecy was never about you alone. A True Alpha doesn't face the Blood Moon by himself. You'll need allies. Wolves, humans—anyone willing to follow you."
Ryan frowned, heat crawling up his neck. "And if no one does?"
Her eyes found his, steady and sharp. "Then you're already dead."
The words hung in the night air, heavy as iron.
Ryan looked at his glowing mark, feeling its pulse in his veins. It wasn't just a crest anymore. It wasn't just power. It was weight. Responsibility.
He had survived the trial. He had survived Vaelrion's first true strike.
But survival wasn't enough anymore.
Now he had to build something worth leading—before Vaelrion tore it apart.
Author's Note – Special Birthday Update!
Hey everyone! Today is my birthday and I wanted to celebrate it with all of you who've been following Running from the Wild. Your support means so much—it's because of you that this story keeps growing stronger every day.
To make the day more special, I'll be updating 3 free chapters today as a little gift from me to you .
And if you'd like to make my birthday even more memorable, you can:
Send gifts (every little one motivates me more than you know!)
Add the book to your collections (my dream is to hit at least 50 adds today)
Share it with friends who might enjoy the story
Your encouragement is the best gift I could ask for. Thank you for being part of Ryan's journey with me—I can't wait for you to see what's coming next.
— Ezekiel