Page 4 of Shadowlands Sector 3

Seething, I catapult toward the Ash Wolves pack compound to catch up to them. To stop them.

The Shadow Monsters hurry to the spots on the ground where the bloody corpses of my victims lie. Falling to their hands and knees, the disgusting things lick up the remains.

My stomach turns.

I keep going, only trees in my view, as Dušan had said earlier we weren't far from his pack home.

It isn't long before I spot figures ahead, darting deeper in the forest, and a few look like they are carrying someone over their shoulders.

My pulse spikes, and I dart forward when a cry draws my attention to my left. My wolf seems to have pulled back. Did I just have to take control of her? Is that all it took?

I stop running and get a better look. A girl is tied to a tree, a gag over her mouth and she's thrashing for escape.

Jae!

What the heck is she doing here? I bumped into her in the woods days ago when she was like now, tied to a tree by a psycho Alpha. Perhaps Mad and his wolves caught her while they searched for us.

I glance back to Mad and his crew, almost vanishing in the woods from sight. My gut tightens.

Groans grow louder behind me, and I whip around.

Crap! Those damn zombies are making their way toward Jae.

Her eyes widen with fear and she cries frantically through the fabric around her mouth, writhing against the bonds keeping her tied to the tree. Mad and the others are moving further ahead, but how the hell am I meant to follow them now? If I do, I'm sending Jae to her death.

Frustration worms through me. But I can't waste time, so I throw myself toward her, scampering over the dried foliage and evergreens covering the land. Trampling anything in my way.

She squirms and draws away from me as much as she can, but I growl at her, then I swing to move behind the tree. Biting into the rope securing her to the trunk, I gnaw on them, tugging, and chewing.

I hear Jae sniffing the air then she glances back over her shoulder, down at me. "Meira is that you?"

My snarl is the only response as I wrestle with the rope.

"Please hurry, they’re really close," she cries, making whimpering sounds. I inhale her perspiration and fear.

I wrench at the rope and my teeth bite right through it, releasing it.

She's quick to pull free and toss the bonds aside, then swings toward me. "Let’s get out of here!"

And I freeze at first, unsure where to take her. Behind her, half a dozen zombies have noticed the commotion and are coming over.

It doesn't take long for the bastards. They are like the sharks of the land. Smell of blood or any sound that sounds like trouble and they appear to investigate. Just in case it's a meal.

"Meira," Jae calls out and is running in the opposite direction to the compound and away from the zombies.

I want to scream after her that we must get closer to the pack. There are snipers on the gate that will shoot the creatures on site. But all that comes out is a guttural growl.

Because I'm a wolf, and it's only now that it hits me, I don't know how to transform back into a human.

A Shadow Monster slips right past me and runs after Jae.

I lunge after the fiend, crash tackling it, bringing it to the ground. It bucks against me, not staying still, never staying down. Fury billows inside me as three others already pass me.

Jae is bouncing deeper into the woods.

Having had enough, I bite down into the back of its neck. It has a massive, healed scar across his bald head which looks painful, if this man was alive. Something suddenly cracks in its body. Please let that slow it down. I don't wait to find out and sprint after the girl.

Putrid blood taints my tongue, and panic flares that I’d made a terrible mistake. Taking their blood into my body might tip me into becoming one of them or… I don’t really know because these creatures ignore me like I am still immune. But the notion still freaks me out. Nothing about what’s going on with me follows any rules.

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