The night air tasted like iron.
Seraiya stood at the edge of the treeline, her breath fogging in the cold as she scanned the dark horizon. The world felt wrong... too still, too quiet, as if the forest itself were holding its breath. Her wolf prowled beneath her skin, restless, claws scraping at her ribs with every heartbeat.
Damien was definitely close. She could feel it like a splinter under her skin, a tug in her blood that pulled her forward. Maddie's fear had echoed through the pack bond earlier, faint but unmistakable, and Seraiya had launched into motion before anyone could stop her. She may not have been part of the pack long, and she may not shift into a wolf, but she was still part of the pack.
Now she stood alone, the moon a thin silver blade above her.
"Hold on," she whispered into the wind. "I'm coming."
She shifted, not fully, just enough for her senses to sharpen. Her pupils thinned, her hearing stretched outward, and the world bloomed into clarity. She caught the faintest trace of Maddie's scent now, tangled with Damien's unstable magic.
She took a step forward.
And the forest answered.
Branches rustled. Leaves trembled. The shadows thickened, coiling like smoke.
Seraiya froze.
Three figures stepped out from between the trees, moving with the confidence of predators who knew exactly what they were doing. They spread out in a loose arc, blocking her path.
A witch.
A wolf.
A vampire.
None of them familiar. All of them powerful.
The witch stood in the center, tall and composed, her dark hair braided with silver thread that glowed faintly. Her eyes were pale, almost colorless, and they tracked Seraiya with unsettling calm.
To her left, the wolf — a massive brute with mottled grey fur and scars crisscrossing his muzzle — paced in slow, deliberate circles. His hackles were raised, but his eyes were calculating, not feral.
And on the right, the vampire leaned casually against a tree, arms folded, as if this were all a mild inconvenience. His skin was moon‑white, his smile sharp and amused.
Seraiya's lips curled back in a snarl.
"You're in my way."
The witch inclined her head. "We know."
"Move," Seraiya growled.
"No," the vampire said, pushing off the tree. "We can't do that."
Seraiya's eyes narrowed. "You don't know who you're dealing with."
"Oh, we do," the wolf rumbled, shifting into his human form with a ripple of bone and muscle. He stood bare‑chested, covered in scars, his eyes glowing amber. "Seraiya of the Grey moon Pack. Alpha. the defier of God's."
The witch stepped forward, hands clasped behind her back. "We were sent to delay you."
Seraiya's jaw tightened. "Delay me?"
"Not defeat you," the vampire clarified with a lazy shrug. "We're not suicidal."
The witch nodded. "We only need to buy time."
Seraiya's heartbeat thundered in her ears. Maddie. Damien. Piper. Every second she wasted here was another second Damien slipped further into whatever madness made him take maddie.
"You think you can stop me?" she said, voice low and dangerous.
The witch smiled — a small, sad smile. "No. But we can slow you down."
Seraiya didn't wait for them to make the first move.
She lunged.
The wolf reacted instantly, shifting mid‑air and slamming into her with the force of a truck. They tumbled across the forest floor, claws and teeth flashing. Seraiya twisted, using his momentum against him, and threw him into a tree so hard the trunk cracked.
The vampire blurred behind her.
She spun, ducking just as his hand sliced through the air where her throat had been. She kicked upward, catching him under the jaw, sending him flying back into the witch's protective barrier — a shimmering wall of runes that flared on impact.
The witch lifted her hands, threads of glowing magic weaving between her fingers.
Seraiya's wolf surged forward, her bones shifting, her muscles stretching. She didn't fully transform — she didn't need to. Her claws extended, her teeth sharpened, and her eyes burned gold.
"Last chance," she warned.
The witch's expression didn't change. "We can't let you pass."
Seraiya moved.
The wolf charged again, faster this time, his massive form barreling toward her. She sidestepped, grabbed his fur, and used his own momentum to flip him over her shoulder. He hit the ground hard, but he was up again in seconds, snarling.
The vampire appeared behind her in a blur of motion, grabbing her arm. His grip was like iron.
Seraiya twisted, snapped his wrist, and slammed her elbow into his ribs. He hissed, fangs bared, but she didn't give him time to recover — she grabbed him by the throat and threw him into the wolf.
They crashed together in a tangle of limbs.
The witch's magic flared.
Seraiya turned just as glowing threads shot toward her, wrapping around her wrists, her ankles, her throat. They tightened, burning like molten wire.
She dropped to one knee, teeth gritted.
"Fate-binding," the witch said softly. "It won't hold you forever. But it will hold you long enough."
Seraiya snarled, pulling against the restraints. They cut deeper, glowing brighter.
"You're hurting yourself," the witch warned.
"Good," Seraiya growled. "Means it's working."
She dug her claws into the ground, braced herself, and pulled.
The threads snapped.
The witch staggered back, eyes wide.
Seraiya was on her in an instant.
She slammed the witch into a tree, pinning her with one hand. The witch gasped, her composure cracking for the first time.
"You don't understand," she whispered. "We're not your enemies."
"You're in my way," Seraiya said. "That's enough."
The wolf lunged again, but Seraiya didn't even look at him — she kicked backward, catching him in the ribs and sending him sprawling.
The vampire tried to flank her.
She grabbed a fallen branch and swung it like a bat, hitting him so hard he crashed through a bush and skidded across the dirt.
The witch struggled weakly. "We only needed a few minutes…"
Seraiya's eyes narrowed. "For what?"
The witch didn't answer.
Seraiya knocked her out with a single strike.
The wolf staggered to his feet, panting, blood dripping from his muzzle. He looked at Seraiya, then at his unconscious allies, and something like resignation passed through his eyes.
"You're stronger than they said," he rasped.
Seraiya stepped toward him. "I don't have time for this."
He lowered his head. "I know."
He shifted back into wolf form and charged, not at her, but past her, trying to escape.
Seraiya caught him by the scruff, slammed him into the ground, and pressed her claws to his throat.
"I don't want to kill you," she said.
The wolf's breath shuddered. "Then don't."
She knocked him out cold.
The vampire was the last to rise, staggering, wiping blood from his mouth. He looked at his fallen companions, then at Seraiya.
"You really are something," he muttered.
Seraiya didn't respond.
He sighed. "Fine. Make it quick."
She didn't kill him — she struck him hard enough to drop him instantly.
Silence fell over the forest.
Three bodies lay unconscious at her feet, powerful but ultimately insignificant compared to the storm inside her. And she didn't even need to use her magic.
Seraiya wiped blood from her cheek, her breath steadying.
"Time's up," she whispered.
She turned toward the direction Maddie's scent led.
And she ran.
Faster than she ever had before.
TO BE CONTINUED