Chapter 4 CHAPTER 4

The growl rolled through the trees again, deeper this time, vibrating through the ground beneath Talia’s feet. She froze, every muscle locking tight as instinct, not wolf instinct, but something older and purely human, screamed at her to run. The air felt wrong, thick with a tension that made her skin prickle. She tightened her grip on the wooden sword, though it suddenly felt laughably inadequate, like holding a toy shield in front of a charging beast.

She forced herself to breathe, slow and steady, even as her pulse hammered. She took a cautious step backwards, eyes scanning the treeline. “Vael?” she called again softly, though she already knew he wasn’t nearby, but she hoped. Her voice sounded too small, too fragile in the suffocating stillness.

But as she already knew, there was no answer. She swallowed hard and took another step, trying to keep her breathing even. She needed to think fast and get herself to safety. Before she could think of a plan, a faint sound reached her, not from the forest, but from behind her. A small, sharp gasp.

Talia spun, her heart lurching, and then she saw the source of the gasp, a child standing at the edge of the clearing, Lila. She was only seven years old. Her curls were tangled, her cheeks streaked with dirt, and she clutched a stuffed wolf to her chest like it was the only thing keeping her upright.

“Lila?” Talia breathed, her stomach dropping. “What are you doing out here?”

The girl didn’t answer. She just stared past Talia, into the trees, her eyes wide with a fear that made Talia’s blood run cold.

“Lila,” Talia said softly, forcing calm into her voice, “come here, sweetheart.”

The girl shook her head, her lower lip quivering.

Another growl rumbled through the forest, even closer now, so close Talia felt it in her bones. She stepped toward Lila, trying to keep her movements slow and non‑threatening.

“Lila, please,” she whispered. “Come to me.”

The girl took one hesitant step forward just as a branch snapped behind Talia. She whipped around just in time to see a shape burst from the treeline. A rogue wolf, but not like the wolves she knew. This one was gaunt, its fur patchy and matted, its eyes wild with something feral and broken. Its lips peeled back in a snarl that showed too many teeth, and its body moved with a jerky, unnatural aggression that made Talia’s stomach twist.

Then the rogue lunged.

Talia barely had time to raise the wooden sword before it slammed into her, knocking her backwards. She hit the ground hard, the impact sending a shock of pain up her spine. The sword flew from her hand, skittering across the dirt.

The rogue loomed over her, saliva dripping from its jaws, breath hot and foul against her face.

Talia scrambled backwards, palms scraping against the ground. She reached for the sword, her fingers brushing the hilt… Then a scream tore through the clearing.

Lila.

The rogue’s head snapped toward the child.

“No,” Talia gasped, adrenaline surging through her. “No, no, no!”

The rogue turned fully, its muscles bunching as it prepared to lunge at the girl.

Talia scrambled to her feet and ran. She didn’t think, she didn’t plan, she just moved, sprinting toward Lila with everything she had. Her lungs burned, her legs screamed, but she pushed harder, reaching the girl just as the rogue launched itself forward.

She grabbed Lila and shoved her behind her, throwing herself between the child and the wolf.

The rogue hit her again like a battering ram.

She went down hard, the air punched from her lungs. Claws raked across her arm, hot pain slicing through her skin. She cried out, trying to shield Lila with her body, but she was too slow, too weak… too human. The rogue reared back for another strike, its jaws opening wide.

Talia braced herself for the impact, but it never came.

A blur of movement slammed into the rogue, knocking it sideways with a force that shook the ground. Talia blinked through the haze of pain and saw Kaelan; his black wolf was massive compared to the rogue. He hit the ground with a snarl, teeth flashing, his eyes burning with lethal intent.

The rogue snapped at him, but Kaelan was faster and a hell of a lot stronger. He tore into the rogue with a ferocity Talia had only ever heard described in battle stories; it was a whirlwind of fur and muscle and rage. The rogue lunged again, but Kaelan dodged, countered, and overpowered the rogue. Within seconds, the rogue was on the ground, unmoving.

Kaelan shifted back, his chest heaving, blood streaking his arms. He turned toward Talia, his eyes wild with fear.

“Talia,” he breathed, crossing the clearing in three long strides. “Are you hurt? Are you—”

“I’m fine,” she said automatically, even as blood dripped down her arm. “Lila—”

“I’ve got her,” Kaelan said, gently lifting the child from her arms. Lila clung to him, sobbing into his shoulder.

Talia stood there, shaking, her breath coming in ragged gasps. The world felt too loud, too bright, too sharp. Her arm throbbed, her legs trembled, and her heart felt like it was trying to claw its way out of her chest.

Kaelan looked at her, eyes softening. “Talia—”

“I’m fine,” she repeated, cutting him off again as her voice cracked, despite her best effort to sound normal.

“You’re bleeding,” Kaelan said as he zoned in on her arm.

“It’s nothing.”

“It’s not nothing.”

She swallowed hard, staring at the ground. “I couldn’t protect her.”

Kaelan stepped closer. “Talia, you did protect her.”

“I couldn’t protect her,” she said again, louder this time, the words ripping out of her. “I tried, and I couldn’t. I’m human, I’m slow, I’m weak. If you hadn’t been here.”

“I was here,” Kaelan said firmly. “That’s what matters.”

“No,” Talia whispered, her throat tightening. “What matters is that I wasn’t able to save us.”

Kaelan’s expression twisted, “Talia—”

Before he could finish, a howl split the air, then another, and another. There were dozens of them.

Kaelan’s head snapped toward the forest, eyes narrowing. “More rogues. Too many.”

Talia’s stomach dropped as the trees shook, branches snapped, and growls echoed through the clearing, layered and overlapping, a chorus of hunger and madness.

Kaelan shifted Lila into his arms and grabbed Talia’s uninjured wrist. “We need to get back to the house. Now.”

Talia stumbled after him, her legs barely holding her up. The forest erupted behind them, snarls, howls, the thunder of paws hitting the ground. She looked over her shoulder and saw shapes moving between the trees, too many of them, just as Kaelan said, their eyes glowing with feral hunger.

There were dozens of Rogues, all broken, starving, hunting, and they were coming straight for the Blackwood pack.

Talia’s breath hitched as the first rogue burst from the treeline, its teeth bared and eyes wild.

She wasn’t enough. She couldn’t fight them, and she certainly couldn’t protect anyone.

Not like this... Not as a human.