CURSED LYCAN
Sera's blade sang through the air, silver edge biting into corrupted flesh. The lycan beside her—the one who should've been her enemy—moved like liquid death. Even half-shifted, fighting his own control, he was the most lethal thing she'd ever seen.
He tore through two corrupted lycans like they were paper. Claws slicing, teeth flashing. But she could see the struggle in every movement. See him fighting something inside himself.
"Behind you!" Sera shouted.
He spun, caught the attacking lycan mid-leap, and threw it thirty feet into a tree. The crack of breaking bones echoed through the forest.
But more kept coming. Where the hell were they all coming from?
Sera's shoulder screamed where the claws had torn through. Blood soaked her shirt, making her grip slippery. She switched the blade to her other hand, ignored the pain, and drove it up through a corrupted lycan's ribcage.
It dropped. Didn't get back up.
"How many are there?" she gasped.
"Too many." His voice was barely human now, words grinding out between fangs. "We need to move. There's a safe point. Two miles north."
"I can barely handle two miles standing still right now."
He killed another corrupted lycan with one swipe. "Then I'll carry you."
"Like hell you will—"
The biggest corrupted lycan she'd ever seen crashed through the trees. It had to be seven feet tall, muscles bulging under rotting skin. And its eyes—completely black. Empty.
It looked at her. Just her.
Then it smiled.
"Oh, that's messed up," Sera muttered.
The massive lycan charged. The man—the other lycan—tried to intercept, but two more corrupted ones grabbed him from the sides. He roared, thrashing, but they held on.
Sera was alone.
The creature's claws came down. She rolled, felt them miss her head by inches. Came up swinging. Her blade connected with its arm, cutting deep, but it didn't slow down.
It backhanded her.
Sera flew. Hit a tree hard enough to knock the air from her lungs. Her blade skittered away into the darkness. She tried to stand, but her legs wouldn't work right. Everything hurt.
The corrupted lycan stalked forward. Taking its time now. Like it knew she was finished.
Sera's hand found a rock. Pathetic weapon, but it was all she had. "Come on then. Let's finish this."
It lunged.
And the other lycan appeared between them like a ghost.
He'd fully shifted now. Eight feet of pure predator, fur black as midnight, muscles coiled and ready. But his eyes—his eyes were still silver. Still aware.
Still him.
He caught the massive corrupted lycan's attack with one hand. They grappled, snarling, a hurricane of claws and fury. The corrupted lycan was bigger. But he was faster. Smarter.
He twisted, used the creature's momentum against it, and ripped its throat out with his teeth.
The corrupted lycan dropped. Dead before it hit the ground.
The remaining corrupted lycans froze. For a second, everything went still. Then they scattered, disappearing into the forest like smoke.
Sera's chest heaved. Blood dripped from at least three different wounds she couldn't remember getting. Her vision kept trying to blur.
The lycan turned to face her.
For a moment, she thought he'd lost himself. Thought she'd have to fight him too. But then he shifted back—bones cracking, fur receding. In seconds, he was human again. Naked, covered in blood, breathing hard.
And looking at her with something that might've been concern.
"You're bleeding," he said.
"Yeah, well. Occupational hazard." Her words slurred. Weird. "You're naked."
He glanced down like he'd forgotten. Didn't seem bothered. "Clothes don't survive the shift."
"Right. Cool. Good to know."
The world tilted. Sera's knees buckled.
He caught her before she hit the ground. His arms were warm, solid. Safe, her brain supplied unhelpfully. She told her brain to shut up.
"The wounds are infected," he said, examining her shoulder. His voice had gone quiet. Careful. "Corrupted lycan claws carry a poison. You need treatment now or you'll die within the hour."
"Well, that's inconvenient."
"I'm serious."
"So am I. Dying would really mess up my schedule." She tried to push away from him, but her arms weren't cooperating. "Put me down. I can walk."
"No, you can't."
"Watch me."
She took one step and immediately face-planted into the dirt.
He picked her up like she weighed nothing. "The safe point is twenty minutes from here. I have supplies. Medical equipment. But we need to move now."
Sera wanted to argue. Wanted to tell him she didn't need his help, didn't trust him, definitely didn't want him carrying her through the forest like some damsel in a romance novel.
But the poison was spreading. She could feel it burning through her veins, turning her blood to fire.
"Fine," she managed. "But if you try anything—"
"You'll kill me. I know." He started walking, movements smooth despite carrying her weight. "You've made that clear."
The forest blurred around them. Trees became shadows became nothing. Sera's head fell against his chest. She could hear his heartbeat. Too fast. Like he'd been running for miles.
"What's your name?" she asked. Had to keep talking. If she stopped talking, she might pass out. Passing out around a lycan—even one who'd just saved her life—was a bad idea.
"Kael."
"That's it? Just Kael?"
"Kael Thorne."
"Sera. Sera Blackwood."
"I know."
That made her eyes open. "How?"
"You're famous. The hunter who killed the Crimson Pack alpha." His jaw tightened. "That was my cousin."
Oh. Oh no.
"So why did you save me?" she asked quietly.
"Because you didn't run." He looked down at her, those silver eyes unreadable. "Everyone runs. You stayed. Fought beside me. That means something."
"Means I'm an idiot."
"Maybe." His mouth twitched. "But you're a brave idiot."
Despite everything—the pain, the poison, the fact that she was being carried through a cursed forest by a lycan who had every reason to hate her—Sera almost smiled.
Almost.
Then the burning in her veins got worse. Much worse. She gasped, body going rigid.
"We're close," Kael said. His voice had changed. Got urgent. "Hold on. Just hold on."
"Not really... my strong suit..."
"Then make it your strong suit. Because I didn't save you just to watch you die."
They broke through the trees into a clearing. A cabin sat in the center, old but maintained. Kael kicked the door open, carried her inside, and laid her on a table that looked suspiciously like it was used for medical work.
He moved fast. Gathered supplies. Bottles, bandages, something that looked like it glowed faintly blue.
"This is going to hurt," he warned.
"Everything already hurts."
"This will be worse."
He poured the glowing liquid directly onto her wounds.
Sera screamed.
It felt like being burned from the inside out. Like every nerve was on fire. She tried to thrash, but Kael held her down with one hand. The other kept working, cleaning the wounds, applying the medicine.
"I know," he said quietly. "I know it hurts. But the poison has to be neutralized or it'll reach your heart."
Tears streamed down her face. She bit her lip hard enough to taste blood.
Then, slowly, the burning faded. The pain dulled to something manageable. Her breathing evened out.
Kael bandaged her wounds with careful, practiced movements. "You'll live. But you need rest. At least a day before you can move properly."
"A day?" Sera tried to sit up. Failed. "I don't have a day. I have a job. A target."
"Your target can wait."
"My target is you."
The words hung in the air between them.
Kael finished bandaging her shoulder, then stepped back. His face was unreadable again. "Is it?"
"It was. Before..." She gestured vaguely at everything. "Before all this."
"And now?"
Good question. Now she was injured, poisoned, and stuck in a cabin with a lycan who'd saved her life. A lycan she'd been hired to kill. A lycan who looked at her like she was a puzzle he couldn't solve.
"Now I don't know," Sera admitted.
Kael nodded slowly. Then he pulled on a pair of pants from a trunk in the corner and sat down across from her. "The corrupted lycans. They're not natural. Someone's creating them. Experimenting."
"Who?"
"That's what I'm trying to find out." His silver eyes met hers. "But whoever it is, they're powerful. And they're hunting me specifically."
"Why you?"
His jaw clenched. For a moment, she thought he wouldn't answer. Then he said, "Because I'm cursed. And my curse might be the key to whatever they're planning."
Before Sera could ask what that meant, something crashed against the cabin door.
They both froze.
Another crash. Harder. The wood cracked.
Kael was on his feet instantly. "They found us."
"How many?"
"Too many."
The door exploded inward.
And Sera realized they were trapped.