Page 72 of The Pack

A twig snapped somewhere to our left, and everyone froze.

Tobias’s hand went to the hilt of his blade, his dark eyes narrowing. “Magnus…”

“I heard it,” Magnus said, his voice low.

Callum and Thorne both moved closer to me, their bodies tense. Killian was already scanning the trees, his gaze darting back and forth.

“What do we do?” I whispered.

Magnus turned to me, his expression calm and collected.

“We stay together.”

CHAPTER 17

Zara

The forest pressed closer the deeper we went, the trees crowding together like they were conspiring to keep out the light. The air was still foggy with the scent of damp earth and moss, and every sound felt amplified—the crunch of leaves underfoot, the occasional rustle of unseen creatures in the undergrowth, and the soft murmur of our breathing.

It was creepy and I shivered with apprehension.

My nerves were stretched thin, the silence gnawing at the edges of my composure. Magnus led the way with his typical calm, but he was more tense than usual as he scrutinized the shadows like he expected something to leap out at us at any given moment.

The trail narrowed again, winding through a stretch of particularly dense woods. The light filtering through the canopy was dim, draping everything in shades of gray and green. My foot caught on a root, and Callum’s hand shot out to steady me once again.

“You okay?” he asked softly, his gray eyes warm despite the tension in his posture.

“Yeah,” I murmured.

We pressed on, the group moving as one through the dark shadows the trees cast all around us.

Then I stopped short.

The trail curved sharply ahead, and standing in the middle of the path was a young girl.

She couldn’t have been more than eleven, her small frame dwarfed by the tattered dress she wore. The fabric was filthy and torn, hanging limply around her bony shoulders. Her feet were bare, smeared with mud, and her hair fell in tangled, unkempt waves over her pale face.

She stood perfectly still, her wide, dark eyes staring at us with an intensity that sent a chill racing down my spine.

Magnus held up a hand, and we all stopped.

“What the hell…” Killian muttered.

“She’s just a kid,” Callum said softly, glancing between the girl and Magnus.

“I don’t like it,” Tobias growled, his hand going to the hilt of his blade.

“She’s scared,” I said, my voice a bit harsher than I intended.

The girl’s eyes darted between us, her small hands clutching at the fabric of her dress. She took a hesitant step back, her bare foot crunching on the gravel of the trail.

“It’s okay,” I said, stepping forward before anyone could stop me.

“Zara,” Magnus warned.

“I’ve got this,” I said without looking back.

The girl flinched as I approached, her shoulders hunching as if she was trying to make herself smaller. I stopped a few paces away, crouching slightly to make myself appear a little less intimidating.

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