Page 54 of Fated to the Lone Shifter
Teeth bared. Eyes glowing amber.
We’re surrounded.
And I’m not sure we’re making it out of this one alive.
Chapter seventeen
Into the Pack
SERA
We’re surrounded. Outnumbered. Trapped in a ring of snarling wolves with glowing eyes and blood-wet fangs. Every hair on my body lifts like static electricity. My breath catches, heartbeat stuttering as if my body already knows what’s coming. Magic surges in my chest like a warning drum, pounding in time with the quickening thud beneath my ribs.
I raise my hands, whispering, “Protectio.”
Heat flares in my chest—violent, desperate. The shield blazes to life around us, a faint shimmer crackling through the air—like lightning caged in crystal, seething to break free.
Two wolves leap—too fast to track—but slam into the shield and go flying back with sharp yelps.
Shock shudders through the pack. They slow, recalibrating, circling more cautiously now.
“Still wish I stayed behind?” I ask, breathless but defiant. I’m rewarded with a sideways glare.
"How long can you hold it?" Noah murmurs beside me, his voice taut.
"I don’t know," I admit, sweat already beading on my forehead. "I’m still figuring this out."
Noah’s fists clench, his jaw ticking with frustration. I can feel it—his wolf clawing just beneath his skin, teeth bared, pacing behind his ribs like it wants out. His control is fraying, one heartbeat at a time. But we’re too close to the crew. A shift would risk exposing everything. And even if he did change, he couldn’t take on the entire pack alone. The tension in him is unbearable. I see the flicker of fang behind his teeth.
My eyes scan the dark woods, weighing the idea of summoning my familiar. But calling the mountain lion would mean fire. Fire would bring the others running. More lives at stake. More secrets unleashed. I shake my head. Not yet.
Then a massive figure detaches from the tree line—the alpha. The one from the body cam. He has one red eye and one obsidian. Creepy.
He prowls right up to the edge of the barrier, steaming breath curling in the cool air. His eyes lock onto mine, unblinking, ravenous. It’s almost like he’s in a trance. Then he shifts his gaze to Noah, and the trance shatters—replaced by a low, menacing growl that coils through the trees like a memory come alive.
Noah’s thoughts are just out of reach; I’m too busy holding the barrier with everything I have. My arms tremble. My energy’s bleeding out.
The alpha’s snarl rises. He throws his head back and howls. Then, without warning, he turns and melts into the forest. The rest of the pack follows like shadows, one by one.
The last wolf melts into the trees. My shield flickers, then collapses like shattered glass.
My knees buckle.
Darkness swallows me whole.
And I drop into blackness.
Warmth cradles me like a blanket, the world bobbing gently with each step. I’m not walking. I’m being carried.
The scent of pine and smoke clings to whoever’s holding me, grounding me in the now. A deep, steady thrum—a heartbeat, not my own—beats against my cheek. I want to sink into it, let it carry me further into unconsciousness. But then the motion stops. I’m passed into another set of hands.
Cool air brushes my face. Someone speaks my name.
“Sera… hey, wake up.”
I smell something caustic. My eyes flutter open to the concerned face of Tori leaning over me, her brows drawn tight in worry. I’m lying in the back of the ambulance, her silhouette rimmed in the harsh dome light overhead.
“Where is Noah?” The words rip from me before I can stop them.
