Page 65 of King of the Unsightly

But I hated myself even more as his smirk turned into a full-blown smile and stirred something within me.

I slapped my cheeks to stop my thoughts from escalating.

A harsh shrill resounded off the cliffside, and then another and another.

I whipped my head to the withered trees and back to Kaschel, desperately searching for a hint of reassurance that what we heard wasn’t a big deal.

Kaschel snatched my hand and hauled us deeper into the forest. My legs barely maintained the same speed with his long strides.

“Please tell me you have a better plan than just surviving,” I said between breaths.

Kaschel didn’t answer me for a moment, and his furrowed brows made it apparent he was calculating our chances of survival.

Kaschel spoke in a raspy voice. “Whatever they are, it sounded like a pack of them. We need to gain some distance so we don’t get cornered at the edge of the cliff.”

I could only nod in agreement like a bobblehead as we dodged trees, branches, and boulders.

I only caught glimpses of where I stepped as my heart thrashed against my ribcage.

Kaschel’s grip tightened but it didn’t bring me any relief. Instead, I dreaded the thought of the creatures catching us as sweat beaded at my brows. The frigid air flailed against my skin. The branches came alive, snagging my clothes, tearing bits and pieces off.

Crimson eyes floated in between trees and vanished.

A scream bubbled up my throat, but I was so out of breath and could only force a few words out. “I saw”—I sucked in the air again, and it grazed my throat like pins and needles as it punctured my lungs—“something.”

Kaschel snapped his head to the side and turned us in the opposite direction. “Jump.”

I almost didn’t register his words in time to leap over the fallen tree before us.

Another sharp howl echoed through the forest, and a blur plowed and snapped branches from the side as it closed the distance between us.

My jaw dropped in horror. I hoped to fucking god Kaschel had a plan.

I slammed against his back. “Why are we stopping?!” I pushed myself off him, and my eyes widened in disbelief.

We were back where we started.

We couldn’t run or hide.

We had to face whatever creature that came after us head-on.

My whole body trembled and a realization hit me.

Kaschel didn’t have his abilities, and I was practically useless.

I opened my mouth to speak, but Kaschel shoved me to the side with so much force I went tumbling.

A bloody howl pierced my ears again, and I landed on my stomach. A loudOoofescaped me as my head bounced off the rocky ground.

A vociferous thud followed, and I pressed myself off the dirt, but the world spun around me.

My vision came into focus as I picked myself up.

I gaped as the mutated gray wolf launched itself at Kaschel.

The wolf bared its fangs, and its spiked horns spiraled out of its skull—dangerously close to puncturing Kaschel’s throat.

It enveloped itself in a red mist and drove Kaschel closer to the edge.

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