CHAPTER 2

Winter P.O.V

It was heavy and thick, alive with eerie silence, as if night swallowed up my desperate cries. The throat was burning from screaming, yet I couldn't stop. The ropes cut into my wrists, bringing unbearable pain with each heartbeat. I fought, what felt like hours, but could do no more. Rough tree bark scraped my back, each slight movement sending waves of fresh agony through my body.

"Help! Does anybody hear me? Please!" My voice was hoarse, catching in my throat with fear and exhaustion. The woods around me were oppressively still, as if the trees were mocking my helplessness. The silence smothered me, weighing upon my chest like some physical weight, and I felt the creeping dread that nobody was coming.

I tried again, turning my wrists to get free, but the ropes only dug deeper. My fingers were numb and a deep ache had found a home in my shoulders. And then the cold, pitiless thought began to seep into my mind that I might just truly be alone out here, as dark and foreboding as the night itself.

How long was I here? Time simply flew right over my head. The forest, once alive with the sounds of birds and rustling leaves, fell silent. The darkness grew thick, wrapping around me like a shroud. I was utterly, terrifyingly alone.

"Please, somebody," I whispered, my voice a fragile echo of the strength it once had. Terrifying was the fear of abandonment in the dark, but even more terrifying was that someone-or something-might actually answer my calls.

It was as if the image of Ralph's face burst in my mind, and a dagger-like pain twisted in my chest. How could I have been so foolish? So trusting? It was true; I had believed in him, and now I was paying the price. The memory of the triumphant sneer of Amara, the mocking laughter of her friends echoing over and over in my brain, cut a little deeper each time into my already shattered heart.

Exhaustion eventually began to catch up, my head nodded, sending my body slumping against the tree. But even sleep wasn't a refuge. My dreams haunted me, plagued by images of the beast said to roam these woods, a creature born of nightmares, lurking in the shadows, waiting to strike.

It was a sound that cut through my fitful dreams, a soft shuffling sound, so out of place in thick silence. My eyes flew open, my heart leaped into my throat. The sound at first was faint, barely there, but it grew louder with each passing second, more distinct.

Footsteps. Someone was coming.

"Help!" I exclaimed, my voice shaking with both hope and terror. "Please, help me!"

It was footsteps, now closer, slow and measured; leaves and twigs crackled in the quietness beneath. A wave of fear rippled through me as I desperately pulled and tugged at the ropes that bound me tightly, my heart racing so fast it felt it was going to burst from my chest.

"Who's there?" I called out, trying to keep the panic from overtaking me. "Please, I'm here!"

But the only answer was the continued approach of whatever-or whomever-was coming. The darkness wasn't so thick I couldn't see a few feet in front of me, but the shadows seemed to twist with every step, each branch seeming to become grasping claws reaching out to pull me deeper into the clutches of the forest.

Then, behind them, a form materialized, and my breath caught in my throat. It was a woman, but there was something jarringly unnatural about the way she moved, her sliding steps slow, almost trance-like. Her white gown streaked with dirt and grime, clung to her thin frame; her hair hung around her face in matted strands. Her eyes, half-open, empty, stared straight ahead as she came closer.

"Help." My voice faltered, caught in my throat as the woman drew closer, her fear closing in tighter upon my chest. Something was wrong. This wasn't a rescuer; it was something far more terrifying.

She stopped just inches away from me, her head cocked as if weighing me. I could see the dirt ground under her fingernails; the hollow look in her eyes that did not make her seem quite human. She reached in and pressed her mouth to my neck, sniffing.

Every muscle in my body tensed, screaming for my mind to run, get away, but I was helpless, trapped. I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing for whatever was about to happen.

Then, in an instant, the woman's eyes snapped fully open, and a feral snarl escaped her lips. Before I could react, she lunged forward, sinking her teeth into my neck with a vicious bite.

The pain was immediate, overwhelming, the fire coursing in my veins. I screamed, my raw desperate voice echoing through the forest as I tried to thrash against ropes. Teeming in vain against her iron clutches.

"Help! Somebody, please, help me!" I cried out, but the forest remained silent, uncaring of my pleas.

She clamped down harder, ripping into my skin, and I felt the warmth of blood trickling down my neck. The world went spinning as my vision began to blur, the pain become impossible to bear. Just at this moment when I could bear no more, a bright, blinding light arose from the darkness, which forced the woman to release her clutches on me.

She recoiled, hissing, as the light drove her back into the shadows like some feral animal. She disappeared into the forest; her movements were frantic, erratic, and left me to myself once more.

The light hung for a moment in the air over me, its warmth touching me skin, before it too started to fade, once more plunging me into darkness. I was overcome with uncontrollable shivering, the pain of the bite mingling with terror clutching my heart. Blood was still oozing from the wound, and I could feel my strength slipping away with each passing second.

As the darkness closed in around me, my mind was out of control. Memories flashed in front of my eyes: images of my childhood, my mother, who even as a child was warning me about the dangers, friends whom I believed were trustworthy, and Ralph-the boy whom I had foolishly trusted so much. The sting of his betrayal, though almost irrelevant compared to the bite, cut at my heart cruelly.

The world around me began to blur, darkening at the edges as I slipped in and out of consciousness. My mind was a mad whirlpool of fear, pain, and despair. I could feel myself slipping away, my thoughts growing foggy as the blood continued to ooze from my neck.

The last thing I saw, before the darkness took me, was the first light of dawn breaking through the trees-a pale, soft glow that even then seemed so very far away, so unreachable.

---

Three figures now ran swiftly through the forest as the first rays of sunlight filtered through the trees. They were focused, all of their senses sharp as they followed the scent of blood hanging heavy in the air.

Alph took the lead, his eyes scanning the path ahead. The smell was unmistakable-he'd picked it up the moment they entered the woods, and with every step, it got stronger. It was their own kind, yet tainted with something darker, something wrong.

"This way," Alph said, his voice low, tense, the urgency clear in his voice.

Trevor trailed behind, his face grim as his eyes scoured the area. He knew what they were looking for, and the thought of what they could find made his stomach twist into knots. A third wolf, another in their pack, moved just a little off to their side, nervous eyes darting around as they made deeper inroads into the forest.

They finally broke through into a small clearing, and the scent was strongest there. Tied to the tree, slumped forward and unconscious, was the source of it. Her neck was stained with blood.

It was a sight that quickened Alph's heartbeat. With senses on high alert, he trod closer-he knew what he found. The woman bound to the tree wasn't human; she was one of them, part of the bloodline.

"That blood...Untie her," Alph ordered, his voice cool and commanding.

Trevor worked quickly at the ropes binding me to the tree. The second I was free, Alph caught me, gathering me up in a tender hold within his arms. My skin was chilled to his touch, my face pale from loss of blood, but I was breathing.

"We need to get her back to the pack," Alph said urgently.

Trevor nodded, his face grim. "She's had a bad attack. Whatever did this was strong, but she's alive."

Alph looked down at me, my face serene in unconsciousness despite the ordeal I had endured. Something about me stirred deep protective instincts in him, something he couldn't explain. But one thing was clear: they needed to get me to safety-and they needed to do it fast.

"Let's go," Alph said, clearly not leaving room for arguing. Turning, he scooped me up in his arms as they set off once more through the forest.