The Silver Eyed Wolf
I didn’t look back. Looking back wastes time.
My body leaned into the run, instincts turning every obstacle into part of the terrain instead of a barrier. The forest blurred in streaks of green and brown, the ground a living thing under my feet. Every breath was measured. Every turn is calculated without thought.
But he was still there.
I could feel him, predator energy chasing me, closing in. The hairs on my neck prickled. Somewhere inside, something primal recognized him… and didn’t entirely want to escape.
A sharp whistle cut through the trees. I didn’t know what it meant, but it sent a jolt down my spine. He was communicating, calling someone, maybe?
No. Not happening.
I veered left, diving into a cluster of old oaks whose roots formed a low, twisting barrier. I ducked under, scraping my shoulder, and rolled to my feet on the other side. I could hear his breathing now, steady, relentless, too damn close.
A shadow moved ahead. Not him. Another. My stomach flipped. This wasn’t a chase anymore. This was a net.
I pushed harder, scanning for anything I could use. My eyes landed on a low hanging branch thick enough to hold my weight. My body made the decision before my mind caught up, I jumped, swung up, and climbed fast, pulling into the dense cover of leaves.
He burst into view below seconds later.
Silver eyes locked on the ground where my footprints ended. His head tilted, and he inhaled slowly, tracking my scent. My pulse thundered. If he looked up....
He did.
Our eyes met through the leaves. For one heartbeat, neither of us moved. Then he lunged.
I kicked off the branch, dropping hard. My shoulder slammed into him, knocking him sideways. The moment his balance faltered, I ran, vanishing into the undergrowth before his claws could close around me.
I didn’t know how long I could keep outrunning them. But if this was the Hunt… I was damn well going to make them work for their prize.
The undergrowth tore at my legs, but I didn’t slow. Every instinct screamed move. The copper taste of adrenaline coated my tongue, and the thrum in my ears wasn’t just from running, it was the pounding rhythm of my own pulse, syncing with something deeper.
I zigzagged through a thicket so tight I had to twist sideways to get through. Thorns snagged my hair, tugged strands loose, but I didn’t care. I just needed to break his line of sight, throw off his sense of me.
And gods help me… part of me already missed the heat in those silver eyes.
The forest floor dipped ahead, and I let gravity take me, using the slope to build speed before vaulting over a fallen log. I hit the ground on the other side in a crouch, my fingers brushing the dirt to steady myself before I sprang forward again. My body didn’t hesitate, every move was precise, like I’d been trained for this chase a hundred times over.
A faint glimmer ahead caught my eye. Water.
I sprinted toward it, lungs working like a machine, not ragged, not burning. My bare feet hit the cool mud of the bank, and I plunged straight into the stream without breaking stride. The icy bite stole my breath, but I waded in fast, the current swirling up to my thighs.
Instinct whispered.... mask the scent.
I knelt into the water, letting it rush over my skin, scrubbing dirt from my arms and legs. My hair floated around me in pale gold ribbons as I dragged it through the current. My body was moving without conscious thought again, acting on knowledge my mind didn’t remember.
When I reached the far bank, I didn’t climb out right away. I crouched low, listening. The sound of pursuit had faded… but not completely. There was another sound now.
Footsteps. Two sets.
My head snapped toward the north, scanning between the trees. Faint movement flickered in the shadows, a darker figure than the silver-eyed one, broader, heavier, moving with a different rhythm. The sound from the west was lighter, faster. My stomach dropped.
Two of them.
I slid out of the water, my bare feet sinking into the wet soil as I angled toward a stand of tall pines. The trunks here were close together, their lower branches thick and sweeping. Perfect cover. I slipped under the nearest and began weaving between them, keeping my steps light, my shoulders tucked tight.
The forest air shifted. A breeze from the north brought a new scent, musky and sharp, something that made my pulse kick harder. My body reacted before my brain could, heart racing, breaths shallowing, muscles tightening in readiness.
Whoever it was, they were close enough that my skin prickled. A flicker of pale fur flashed between trees. Not fully human. Not fully beast. What the hell was chasing me?
I swallowed hard and dropped into a crouch, moving on silent feet toward a thick tangle of brush. I slid into it belly-first, ignoring the sting of twigs against my ribs. From here, I had a partial view of the clearing ahead.
The heavier figure emerged first, massive shoulders, dark hair hanging damp over a face half shadowed, eyes like molten amber sweeping the clearing. The other one came seconds later, pale and lithe, his steps more measured, his gaze razor sharp.
They weren’t chasing each other. They were tracking me.
A pulse of heat and panic collided in my chest. I flattened myself into the earth, slowing my breathing, willing my heart to quiet. My fingers curled around the knife in my bag. It wasn’t much against creatures like them, but it was something.
The pale one crouched low, pressing his hand into the dirt. His head tilted, nostrils flaring. My grip tightened. They were on my trail.
I slid backward, inch by inch, my elbows digging shallow grooves in the soil as I moved away from the clearing. Once I had enough distance, I rose to a crouch and turned south, letting instinct guide me deeper into the pines.
Every muscle in my body stayed coiled, ready. My steps landed soft and sure, my breathing steady, my mind running calculations I didn’t remember learning.
A branch cracked behind me. Not far. Not far at all.
I bolted again, darting between trees, leaping over roots, my eyes constantly scanning for a climbable trunk or a hiding place. The sound of pursuit came from two sides now, weaving closer.
They were herding me. Not today.
I spotted a massive oak ahead, its trunk split at the base into a hollow just wide enough for me to slip into. I dove inside, pressing myself against the curve of the wood. From here, I could see only slivers of the forest through gaps in the bark.
A shadow passed by. Then another. Their footsteps slowed.
I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from breathing too loud. My pulse thundered in my ears. And then silence.
I didn’t know if they’d given up, or if they were circling. My body told me to wait.
So I did.