The wind howled through the dark forest,
carrying one name on its breath…
Matteo.
The King's Command
Deep inside the stone halls of Tukwai,
the Wolf King stood before his elite guard.
Six wolves knelt in a perfect line.
Heads bowed.
Eyes blazing like coals.
Each one stronger than an army.
Each one born to kill.
"You will find him," the King said,
his voice cold and steady.
"You will not speak to him.
You will not question him.
You will bring me his heart… or his head."
His golden eyes flashed like drawn steel.
"Fail… and you will not return."
The wolves howled as one,
their voices shaking the ancient stone.
Then they rose
and disappeared into the night
like shadows swallowed by darker shadows.
Matteo and Kiaro
Far from the city walls,
Matteo and Kiaro walked a narrow path
lined with broken stones and wild roses.
Morning sunlight bled pale through the trees.
Mist curled around their feet.
The air was cool… too cool.
Too still.
Kiaro watched him quietly.
His face looked calm,
but his hands were trembling.
"You're thinking too much," she whispered.
"I can't stop," he said.
"About Dubio?"
"No… about me."
He stopped, looking at her.
"I don't know who I am anymore."
Kiaro stepped closer,
her eyes soft.
She took his shaking hand in both of hers.
"You are not what they fear," she said.
"You are more."
Matteo looked down at their hands
her warmth against his cold skin.
It steadied him
more than he wanted to admit.
The Scent
A bird screamed in the distance.
Then
the forest went still.
Matteo's head lifted.
His body tensed like drawn wire.
His eyes sharpened, glowing faintly red.
Something…
was watching them.
Kiaro smelled it first
wolf blood.
Strong. Fierce. Close.
Her hand shot to the dagger at her belt.
"They've found us," she breathed.
Matteo's heart slammed against his ribs.
He didn't wait.
He grabbed Kiaro's wrist.
"Run."
The Hunt Begins
They ran.
Branches tore at their clothes.
Roots clawed at their boots.
The world blurred into wind and shadow.
Behind them,
the elite wolves moved like living ghosts.
Silent.
Swift.
Deadly.
Their eyes were golden knives in the dark.
Their paws made no sound at all.
The first hunter leapt from above,
fangs snapping.
Matteo spun mid-stride,
his kick slamming into its ribs
with a crack of bone.
The wolf crashed through a tree trunk.
Another lunged from the left
Kiaro's blade flashed silver.
The wolf howled, blood spraying the air,
but three more closed in.
Too many.
Too fast.
Too strong.
Matteo's chest burned.
His legs screamed with effort.
But he pushed harder,
pulling Kiaro with him through the endless trees.
The Edge
The forest suddenly broke open.
They skidded to a halt.
Before them, the land ended.
A cliff plunged into nothingness.
Far below,
a roaring black river cut through jagged rocks.
Mist rose like ghost hands from the crashing waves.
Kiaro's chest heaved.
"They won't stop," she gasped.
"I know."
Matteo's eyes darted to the cliff,
to the rushing water far below.
There was no path down.
No cover.
No time.
He looked at her.
"Jump with me."
Kiaro's eyes widened.
"Matteo"
Before she could speak,
the first wolf broke from the trees behind them,
snarling like thunder.
Matteo pulled her close.
And they jumped.
The Fall
They hit the air like stones,
spinning, tumbling.
Wind tore the scream from Kiaro's throat.
Matteo held her tight
as the world became blur and sky and spray.
The wolves howled above,
their cries ripped away by the storm.
Then
SPLASH.
The river swallowed them whole.
Icy black water punched the air from Matteo's lungs.
They plunged deep,
the current ripping them apart.
Matteo fought through the shock,
through the darkness,
reaching for Kiaro's hand
found it
and kicked upward.
They broke the surface in a gasp of air and foam.
The current roared,
dragging them downstream
like twigs in a flood.
The River Run
"Hold on!" Matteo shouted over the roar.
Kiaro clung to him,
her dagger still strapped to her arm,
her hair plastered to her face.
Waves slammed into them,
rocks lunged from beneath the water like teeth.
They spun, collided, split apart,
came together again.
A shadow passed above
a wolf leaping from rock to rock,
keeping pace on the cliffs.
Matteo's eyes flashed red.
"They're still on us."
"Then swim faster," Kiaro hissed through her teeth.
The river swept them around a bend
and hurled them toward a wall of white foam.
A waterfall.
Matteo's grip tightened.
"Brace!"
They plunged over the edge.
Weightless for a heartbeat
then the world shattered into water and stone.
Darkness swallowed him whole.
The Escape
When Matteo's eyes opened again,
everything was silent.
He lay on cold rocks,
half in water, half out.
Kiaro was sprawled beside him,
coughing water, alive.
The river thundered behind them,
shielding their scent,
hiding their trail.
Matteo dragged himself to his knees.
Every muscle screamed.
But they had made it.
He reached for Kiaro's hand.
She gripped it tight.
"They won't stop," she whispered.
"I know."
"They'll hunt you to the ends of the world."
Matteo's crimson eyes burned faint in the dark.
"Then let's make the world very big."
A shaky laugh escaped her.
"Deal."
They stood, dripping and bruised,
and vanished into the shadowed woods beyond the falls.
The Wolves Above
High above the river,
the elite hunters prowled the cliff edge.
Their golden eyes scanned the black water.
The scent was gone.
Washed away.
"They're alive," one growled.
"Then keep hunting," another said.
They turned as one,
six shadows sliding back into the trees.
Their howls rose,
long and low and cold,
carried by the wind
straight back to the Wolf King's throne.
And far below,
Matteo and Kiaro kept moving…
while the hunt closed in.