The black SUV roared down the cracked asphalt road, its headlights cutting thin beams through the mist. Adrian's hands gripped the steering wheel like he was trying to crush it. Beside him, Elara sat in rigid silence, her suitcase between her knees, her pulse drumming in her ears.
The city lights had vanished half an hour ago. Now, only thick forest flanked them on both sides — dark, wild, endless.
"Where are we going?" she finally asked.
"Somewhere they can't find us," he said without looking at her.
"They? You mean whoever attacked your—"
Before she could finish, Adrian slammed the brakes. The SUV skidded to a stop, tires screaming.
In the road ahead, shadows moved. Too many shadows.
Then she saw the eyes — glowing, predatory, reflecting the headlights. Dozens of them. Wolves, bigger than any she'd seen in movies, their muscles rippling under thick coats of fur. Some were pure black, others grey mottled with scars.
Adrian swore under his breath. "Stay in the car."
"Like hell I will—"
He was already out the door, the air filling with the sound of snapping bones and tearing flesh as his body shifted. His frame grew taller, broader. His skin rippled and fur sprouted across his shoulders. In seconds, he was a monstrous black wolf, eyes like molten gold.
The pack lunged.
The sound was like a war drum — claws tearing asphalt, snarls splitting the night. Adrian hit the first wolf mid-air, sending it tumbling across the road. Two more came from the left, but he moved like a shadow, ripping one's throat out before its teeth could touch him.
Inside the SUV, Elara's breath fogged the glass. She told herself to stay put, but every bone in her body screamed move. Her fingers gripped the door handle—
Then the glass shattered.
A massive grey wolf slammed into the side of the vehicle, its jaws snapping inches from her face. She screamed, kicking it back, fumbling for the door lock. It didn't matter — the metal groaned under the beast's weight, bending like tin.
"Elara!" Adrian's voice wasn't human anymore — it was deeper, primal, vibrating in her bones.
The wolf lunged again, but something inside her… shifted. Her vision sharpened. Her hearing spiked until she could hear the wolf's heartbeat thundering.
Without thinking, she grabbed a jagged shard of glass from the broken window and drove it into the wolf's eye. It howled, stumbling back.
She didn't know how she'd moved so fast. Or why her hands were glowing faintly silver in the dark.
Adrian tore through the last attacker and ran to her, shifting back into human form mid-sprint. He yanked the door open and pulled her out, scanning her from head to toe.
"You're bleeding."
"It's not mine," she said, her voice shaking.
His gaze dropped to her hands — still glowing faintly, light pulsing under her skin like liquid moonlight. His jaw clenched. "We need to move. Now."
The remaining wolves melted into the trees, but the air still hummed with threat. Adrian threw her into the passenger seat and floored the accelerator, the SUV tearing down the road once more.
She finally spoke, voice trembling. "Adrian… what's happening to me?"
His answer was quiet, almost reverent.
"You're waking up."