The world was cold.
Black.
Endless.
Matteo tumbled through the dark water,
lungs burning,
ears full of roaring thunder.
Something slammed into his back
Kiaro.
Her eyes wide,
her mouth open in a silent scream.
He grabbed her hand.
Kicked hard.
Up.
Up.
Up.
They broke the surface in an explosion of spray.
Air ripped into Matteo's lungs like fire.
The river threw them forward,
tossing them like broken leaves.
Fighting the Current
"Swim!" Kiaro gasped.
"I am!" Matteo shouted back.
The current tore the words from his mouth.
They crashed against jagged rocks.
Pain ripped down Matteo's side.
Blood bloomed in the water.
"Matteo!" Kiaro cried.
"I'm fine," he lied.
He pushed through the pain,
keeping her head above water.
The river spun them toward a narrow gap
between two massive boulders.
The water sucked them under.
Darkness again.
Silence.
Then light.
They shot out into a wide pool,
the current slowing at last.
They crawled to the shore,
soaked and shivering.
No Time to Breathe
Matteo lay on his back, gasping.
His side throbbed hot with blood.
Kiaro knelt over him,
pressing her hands to the wound.
"Hold still," she whispered.
"You're losing too much."
"I can heal," Matteo said through clenched teeth.
"I just… need time."
"We don't have time," Kiaro said.
Her eyes darted to the trees.
"They'll track the blood."
Matteo sat up slowly.
His muscles screamed.
But his eyes burned.
"Then we move."
Still Being Hunted
A howl rose in the distance.
Low. Long.
Closer than before.
Kiaro's face went pale.
"They're not giving up."
"They won't," Matteo said.
"Not until one of us is dead."
He stood,
water dripping from his torn clothes,
fangs faintly visible in the moonlight.
"Then let's make them regret following us."
Into the Wild
They limped deeper into the forest,
away from the river,
away from the blood-stained stones.
Every step was pain.
Every breath was fire.
But they kept going.
Because stopping
meant death.
And far behind them,
in the shadows of the trees,
six golden eyes glowed in the dark,
watching.
Waiting.
Hunting.
The forest thickened as they climbed.
Roots clawed at their ankles,
thorns tearing through clothes and skin.
Matteo's head spun.
He could feel his strength returning,
slowly,
but not fast enough.
Kiaro glanced back, panting.
"They're faster than us."
"They always were."
"Then how do we win?"
"We don't run forever," Matteo said.
His voice was low, steady.
"We make them bleed."
Kiaro didn't argue.
She just nodded,
her eyes flaring silver in the dark.
Nightfall Trap
They stopped near a ridge,
where the cliff wall curved in like a hollow.
Matteo crouched,
touching the dirt,
tasting the air.
The smell of wolves was stronger now.
Close.
Too close.
Kiaro pulled a small pouch from her belt
crushed herbs and silver dust.
She scattered it in a circle around them,
her hands shaking.
"It won't stop them," she said.
"But it'll slow them."
"Good," Matteo said.
"That's all we need."
They hid behind a fallen tree,
hearts pounding like war drums.
Minutes stretched like hours.
The forest was silent.
Too silent.
Then.
a twig snapped.
Clash in the Dark
A blur of black fur shot from the trees.
Matteo moved before thinking.
His claws tore through the air,
catching the first wolf mid-lunge.
Blood sprayed the leaves.
The beast yelped,
crashing into the dirt.
Another slammed into him from behind.
They rolled through the underbrush,
snarls and claws and teeth.
Matteo roared,
his fangs sinking into its shoulder.
It howled in agony and bolted.
Kiaro's blade flashed,
cutting another across the face.
She ducked a swipe,
kicked off a tree,
and drove her knife into its side.
But for every one they wounded,
another came from the shadows.
Six shadows.
Six killers.
And Matteo's blood still dripped on the ground.
Blood and Fire
Pain blurred the world.
Matteo's chest heaved,
his wounds burning like fire.
He felt the hunger stirring
the cold, sharp pull of his vampire side.
He fought it,
but it clawed at his mind.
At his heart.
One of the wolves lunged at Kiaro.
She slipped,
fell hard.
"Kiaro!" Matteo roared.
His vision went crimson.
Power exploded through him.
He blurred across the clearing,
a streak of teeth and shadow.
He hit the wolf so hard it shattered a tree.
Its body crumpled, unmoving.
The others froze.
Just for a heartbeat.
But it was enough.
"Move!" Matteo shouted.
Kiaro scrambled up,
blood on her cheek,
eyes wide.
They ran again,
leaving broken branches and blood in their wake.
A Moment of Breathing
Hours passed like minutes.
They didn't stop.
Couldn't.
By the time the moon stood overhead,
they had crossed into the old ruins
twisted stones swallowed by moss and vines.
Here, the air was still.
Cold.
Haunted.
Kiaro collapsed onto a flat rock,
her chest rising and falling fast.
"Are they… still behind us?"
Matteo closed his eyes.
Listened.
Nothing.
"Not close," he said.
"For now."
She laughed weakly.
"'For now' isn't comforting."
"It's the truth."
What They Fear
Kiaro studied him in the pale moonlight.
His soaked hair hung in his eyes.
Blood still streaked down his ribs.
But his gaze…
his gaze burned like molten silver.
"They saw what you are," she whispered.
"Yes."
"And they still keep coming."
"Yes."
She hesitated.
"Do you ever think they're right to fear you?"
Matteo looked at her slowly.
"They should fear me," he said.
"But they should fear what they've made more."
The Hunt Continues
Somewhere in the forest,
a lone howl split the night.
Low.
Cold.
Closer again.
Kiaro flinched.
Matteo stood.
His shadow stretched long across the ruins.
"They won't stop," he said.
"Then what do we do?"
Matteo turned his eyes to the dark horizon.
"They want a monster."
His claws slid out with a hiss.
"Let's show them one."
And in the distant trees,
six golden eyes gleamed.
Unblinking.
Patient.
The river had not drowned the hunt.
It had only sharpened it.
The wolves melted back into the dark,
circling in silence,
closing in.
The hunt was not over.
It was only just beginning.
And this time…
Matteo would not run.
He would rise.