Page 3 of The Pack

This time, I moved first.

I surged to my feet and swung the branch down in a wide arc, slamming it into the wolf’s side. The force of the blow made it stagger, and I used the moment to dash toward the far side of the outcrop. My foot caught on a jagged rock, and I stumbled, the branch flying from my hands.

I hit the ground hard, but as I scrambled to my knees, my fingers closed around the branch again and a desperate idea began to form in my mind.

I turned, planting the base of the spear-like branch into the crevice of the rocks. I angled it upward, the sharp, splintered endpointing directly toward the wolf. My hands pressed against the base, locking it in place.

The wolf snarled, its glowing eyes blazing with fury. It launched itself toward me, all teeth and claws and raw animal rage.

Time slowed. My heartbeat thundered in my ears.

I held my ground, the spear braced against the rock.

The wolf slammed into it.

For a split second, I thought the force would snap the branch in two—but then the pointed end sank deep into the wolf’s chest. It let out a sound that was half-roar, half-scream, its body convulsing as the momentum drove it further onto the spear.

The impact knocked me flat on my back, and I watched, wide-eyed, as the wolf thrashed above me. Blood poured from the wound, hot and dark, staining the moss-covered rocks beneath it. Its glowing eyes flickered, dimming, and its giant body slumped forward, pinning the spear between us.

For a moment, I didn’t move.Couldn’tmove. My chest heaved, my breath ragged, as I stared at the creature. My heart hadn’t stopped racing.

Then something happened that made my stomach drop.

The wolf… changed.

Its body began to shrink, its fur receding, its limbs twisting unnaturally. The snarling maw became a human mouth, the claws softening into fingers. Within seconds, the wolf was gone.

In its place lay a man.

He was young—maybe mid-twenties—his face pale and smeared with blood. His chest was still impaled on the spear, his lifeless eyes staring back at me.

I scrambled backward, horror twisting in my gut. My hands were shaking, my breath coming in short, panicked gasps.

“What… the hell?” I whispered.

The man’s body lay still, blood pooling beneath him. But even as I stared, I couldn’t shake the feeling that this wasn’t over.

Because if he had been following me, that meant one thing: there had to be more like him out there. I couldn’t stay here.

Adrenaline was still surging through me, and I needed to keep moving. I couldn’t risk being caught again. Not like this—not with nothing but a stick to defend myself.

I crouched and yanked the branch free from his chest with a wet, sickening, sucking sound. It wasn’t much use anymore; the tip had splintered and dulled. I tossed it aside, scanning the area for anything else that could help me.

My eyes landed on some jagged rocks.

It didn’t take long to find one that fit in my hand—a sharp-edged stone with a point that looked like it could do some damage if I wielded it right. I wrapped my fingers around it, testing the weight, and finding it just right. It wasn’t perfect, but it would have to do.

I tore a strip of leather from the crude wrap I was wearing, using it to fashion a makeshift handle around the rock and make a knife of sorts. My hands were shaking, my breath coming in shallow gasps, but I worked quickly, tying it tight. I swung itaround the few times, testing its weight. It wasn’t much of a weapon, but it felt solid in my hand.

With my stone knife in hand, I took one last look at the body—now completely still and eerily human—and turned to run.

The forest was dense, the underbrush thick, but I moved quickly, weaving through the trees. The air was colder now, the sun sinking lower in the sky, casting long shadows that seemed to stretch toward me like pointed claws that threatened to rip through me without a care.

I didn’t stop running until my legs burned and my lungs felt like they might burst. When I felt like I’d run far enough, I slowed, crouching behind a thick tree to catch my breath. My mind raced, trying to make sense of what had just happened.

That wasn’t just a wolf or some ordinary animal. That was a person.

Awolfshifter.

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