"Run, Hanna… please…" Victoria's voice broke, her breathing already uneven.
Hanna shook her head violently, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"I don't want to… I want to stay with you, Mom…"
"They're going to kill you, Hanna," Victoria said, her voice trembling but firm. "You have to run. Now. I'll hold them off."
"I don't want to!" Hanna screamed, almost hysterical.
"RUN, HANNA!"
Before the words were even finished, one of the werewolves lunged. Its claws slashed straight toward Victoria. She barely managed to block with her arm, a burning pain shooting deep into the bone. Without thinking, she twisted her body and drove a hard kick into the creature's stomach.
A heavy thud echoed.
The werewolf was thrown backward, skidding across the ground before rising again with an angry snarl.
But Victoria didn't even have time to breathe before another one leapt from above.
This time, it wasn't aiming for her.
It was aiming for Hanna.
Victoria's eyes widened. In one panicked motion, she yanked her daughter aside, nearly losing her balance, and her fist slammed into the creature's face. The impact of flesh against bone sent a sharp ache through her own hand.
Everything turned chaotic. Violent. The four beasts began attacking in turns, like patient hunters waiting for their prey to weaken.
But it was obvious.
Their real target was Hanna.
Victoria planted herself in front of her daughter like a living shield.
Every strike. Every claw. She answered with force.
"Argh—!" Victoria cried out when one slash finally tore across her shoulder. Heat stabbed through her chest.
"Mom!" Hanna's eyes went wide, her body shaking as blood began seeping through her mother's jacket.
"Hanna… please… run…" Victoria begged between strained breaths, her face pale from pain.
"Ahhh—!" Hanna wailed, her sobs breaking apart. Her chest felt crushed under an invisible weight. How could she leave…?
How could she abandon the only person she had… alone in the face of death?
Her legs froze. Her heart screamed.
Seeing Hanna still refusing, Victoria knew she had no choice left.
With what strength she had remaining, she pulled her daughter into her arms, lifting her half by force. Her muscles screamed in pain, but the instinct to protect was stronger than anything else.
She ran.
Without looking back.
Without caring what was happening behind her.
The first claw struck her back — hot and sharp like burning iron.
"Argh—!" Victoria's body jolted, but she didn't stop moving.
"Mom! Let me go! Let me go!" Hanna struggled in her arms, her voice breaking in panic. She couldn't bear hearing every gasp of her mother's pain.
"I won't let you die, Hanna…" Victoria forced the words out through clenched teeth.
"No! No!"
The werewolves kept chasing. Their breaths were loud, heavy, getting closer behind them — like death itself was running alongside.
Victoria forced her body faster. Warm blood ran down her back, soaking into her clothes. Wound after wound began to scream for attention, but she ignored all of it.
As long as her child lived.
They finally reached an open field filled with knee-high grass. The blades swayed in the night wind, creating a soft whispering sound — strangely peaceful compared to the chaos unfolding.
Then suddenly, Victoria stopped.
Her instincts screamed a warning.
Ahead of them stood a man in a cowboy hat.
Still. Silent.
As if he had been waiting.
"Miss Victoria…" the man said calmly.
At the same time, the four werewolves stopped attacking. They remained behind, forming a blockade, leaving Victoria no path to escape.
"Who are you?!" Victoria demanded, her voice sharp despite the pain ripping through her body.
"We've spent eighteen years searching for you all over the world. You've been quite the trouble," he said with a thin smile. "Just surrender. You can't win against the five of us."
Victoria didn't answer immediately. Her eyes moved right, then left, calculating every possible escape.
The man chuckled softly at her reaction.
"Relax, Miss Victoria. We're not here to kill you. We were only hired to bring you back… alive."
Victoria's breathing grew heavier. Blood still dripped from the wounds on her back. She knew…
She wouldn't last much longer.
"What about my daughter?"
The question came without hesitation.
The man paused. His gaze shifted to Hanna.
His face didn't change, but his voice lowered slightly.
"I'm sorry, young lady… but you need to die. That order came directly from your grandfather. Victor,"
"No!!" Victoria screamed.
"Mom…" Hanna began crying again, her body trembling.
"No, Hanna… don't listen to them. They're lying," Victoria said quickly, trying to calm her.
"Why would Grandpa want me dead… Mom…?"
"No!" Victoria shook her head hard, rejecting the words.
She denied it.
Even though deep inside…
she knew it might be true.
The cowboy-hat man glanced at his wristwatch and let out a long sigh.
"I'll give you five minutes… to say goodbye."
"Mom…" Hanna whimpered, clutching Victoria's clothes tightly.
"Shh… listen to me, Hanna." Victoria held her daughter's cheeks, forcing her to look into her eyes. "Everything you need is already in the bag… in case something happens. Remember… don't trust anyone until you reach that place. And remember everything I taught you."
Victoria's voice began to crack.
"I love you."
"I… I love you too…"
"Grow up well… and never come looking for me."
"N-no…"
"Breathe… don't be afraid. Trust me."
Hanna obeyed. Through her sobs, she inhaled just like she had been taught. Confusion filled her face — she still didn't understand what her mother was about to do.
"Alright!" the cowboy-hat man clapped once. "Time's up."
"Trust me, Hanna."
Victoria's hands suddenly grabbed her jacket — one at the collar, one under her stomach.
"Goodbye, my child… Argh!!"
"Mom!"
With the last of her strength, Victoria lifted Hanna and threw her upward — high, over the cowboy-hat man's head.
"What the— fuck?!"
One of the werewolves reacted instantly, sprinting toward the airborne girl.
"WAIT!" the man shouted, ordering it to stop.
Hanna caught one last glimpse of her mother.
Maybe the last she would ever see.
She screamed.
Her body kept falling —
but not toward the ground.
Behind the cowboy-hat man, there was a deep ravine hidden in the darkness. Hanna's body plunged straight into the void, disappearing from sight.
Above, the man stood at the edge, peering down for a moment.
Then he exhaled.
"Just assume the kid's dead. What matters is… we've got Victor's daughter."
"Grrr…" the werewolf growled softly, unsatisfied.
"Don't tell me you actually wanted to kill that kid," the man said, as if he understood.
"Grrmmm…"
The man laughed.
"Hahaha… Even if she's alive, that's not our problem. Let's go. Job's finally done."