One could feel the vibration going through the warehouse as another window shattered and glass rained across the concrete floor of the place. Hunters fell in and swarmed through the breached openings that were available, with their silver-tipped weapons flashing in the dim light of Ironhaven's docks. Drew's curse roared in his veins, urging him to tear through the intruders, but he held it at bay, his amber eyes locked on the woman leading the hunters group—Voss, Elena's commander or now present former-commander. Voss' cold gaze pinned Elena, who stood defiant, her dagger gleaming with defiance and blood.
"Traitor," Voss spat, her voice cutting through the chaos, not caring to know what was happening at the moment. "You were our best, Elena. Now you're protecting these *monsters*?" She raised a crossbow, its silver bolt aimed at Elena's heart. To her, Elena was now a monster also.
Drew stepped in front of Elena with his claws extending slowly. "You want her, you have to go through me," he growled, the curse lacing his voice with a feral edge, something now happening more frequently. His chest still burned from the creature's earlier attack, and the prophecy's words—*Bound by blood*—echoed in his mind, a puzzle he couldn't yet solve and worse, figure out since Matthias kept disappearing.
Elena's hand brushed his arm, a fleeting touch that steadied him. "I can handle her," she whispered, but her voice trembled—not with fear, but with something deeper, like regret. Yesterday, she was happy to fight along the group she was now facing, she couldn't think if it was sadness or regret or the part where she had to kill them to survive.
Rhona was already moving, shoving Lena behind a stack of crates. "Stay down, pup!" she barked, her own claws out as she faced the hunters. "Drew, you know we can't hold this position!"
Lena's eyes were wide in fear, as her hands clutched the tattered journal Rhona had given Drew. "The prophecy…" she mumbled, her voice barely audible over the clatter of weapons. "It's about you, Drew. And… something else."
"Not now, Lena!" Drew snapped, dodging a bolt that embedded itself in the crate beside himas the enemy fired at them. The hunters seemed relentless apart from the fact that they were good at what they did. They started fanning out to flank them. Voss' team was disciplined, their movements precise, but Drew's senses caught something else—Matthias's hidden presence somewhere. The elder's tainted scent lingered faintly, like a ghost in the shadows. He had vanished during the tunnel fight, and now Drew was certain: Matthias was playing his own game with everyone else as characters within this game.
"Rhona, get Lena to the back exit!" Drew ordered, his voice cutting through the gunfire. "Elena, with me. We buy them time."
Rhona's eyes blazed with anger covered in distrust. "You're still trusting her? She's why they're here!"
"She's not," Drew said, his tone final. He didn't know why he believed Elena, but her actions—fighting that creature, saving him—spoke louder than Rhona's doubts. Or maybe it was that damn scent of hers, wildflowers and steel, pulling him in ways he couldn't explain and taming his enraged beast within.
Elena didn't wait for approval. She darted forward, her dagger flashing as she disarmed a hunter with a swift strike to his wrist. Drew followed, his claws raking through another's armor, the curse fueling his speed but threatening to consume him. His vision flickered red, the whisper growing louder: *Break or bind.* Keeping it on the borderline was to his advantage as it help increased his speed and reaction time but its words could soon tip him over.
Voss advanced, her crossbow trained on Elena. "You think you can walk away from us?" she said, her voice cold. "You're one of us, Elena. Always will be."
"Not anymore," Elena shot back, her voice steady despite the pain in her eyes. She lunged, knocking Voss's crossbow aside, but the hunter commander was faster, drawing a silver blade and slashing Elena's arm. Blood welled, and Drew's curse surged as he watched, a primal urge to protect her nearly overwhelming him.
He joined the fight and tackled Voss, pinning her to the ground, but she twisted free, her blade grazing his side. The silver burned, amplifying the curse's scream in his mind. He staggered, and Elena caught him, her hand firm on his shoulder. "Stay with me, wolf," she said, her voice a lifeline.
The warehouse was a battlefield now, hunters closing in from all sides. Rhona and Lena were nowhere in sight—Drew prayed they'd reached the exit. He and Elena fought back-to-back, a seamless rhythm of claw and steel, but the odds were actually grim from the start. The hunters outnumbered them even if they were more highly skilled, and the creature from the tunnel was still out there, its roar echoing faintly in the distance.
A new sound cut through the chaos—a low, guttural chant, like a prayer in a language Drew didn't know. He spun, searching for the source, and his blood froze. Matthias stood at the warehouse's edge, half-hidden in the shadows, his hands raised as if summoning something. His eyes glowed faintly, matching the creature's from the tunnel. So it was him all along. No wonder it didn't hurt him.
"Matthias!" Drew roared, shoving a hunter aside with force without hurting him with his drawn out nails. "What are you doing?" he asked.
The elder's usual smirk returned, this time colder than ever. "What needs to be done, alpha. The prophecy demands blood." He replied as his gaze flicked to Voss' empty spot, then to Elena. "And it starts with her."
Before Drew could react, the ground trembled, and the creature's roar erupted again—this time more closer, louder, and tearing through the night. And still could not see where it was or where it was coming from. For the hunters, they faltered, their focus splitting, but Voss' eyes stayed on Elena, her blade raised for the kill.