Trees blurred past me on either side. Tall, dark trunks stretching endlessly upward. The ground beneath my feet was uneven… roots and fallen branches catching at my steps… but I didn’t slow down. I couldn’t.
My lungs burned.
The air felt thick, hard to pull in.
I didn’t know what I was running from at first. I just knew something was behind me.
Close.
Very close.
The sound reached me before I saw anything… the steady thud hitting the forest floor. Heavy, controlled. Not rushed.
Whoever… whatever… was chasing me wasn’t panicking.
It was certain.
I dared a glance over my shoulder.
And that was when I saw it… not a human being.
A wolf.
Massive.
Its fur was dark, almost blending into the shadows between the trees. Its eyes burned… not glowing unnaturally, but sharp and focused.
O
