Prologue

The wind blew through the trees, bringing their piny scent tainted with the metallic tang of blood to Joel’s nose. A stark reminder of what he’d lost that night. The feral howls that silenced the usual night time creatures were a reminder of what he had yet to lose if he wasn’t fast enough.

Despite every muscle in his body hurt and all he wanted to do was lay down, Joel pushed himself to run faster. “Come on, we’re almost there,” he said to the others. They were now all he had left.

“Maybe it’s better-” Gabriel said when a large wolf burst from the underbrush to Joel’s left. It cut off their path. Its blond fur stood on end as it bared its large fangs, growling at them. Joel recognized the wolf. Before all this, they’d been friends, but now the wolf’s eyes glazed over with a madness only a witch curse could cause.

Around them, five more wolves emerged. “Neutralize and move on. We can’t let them stop us,” Joel demanded, and he lept at his old friend while the others behind him engaged the other mad wolves. Joel tacked the blonde wolf to the ground, pinning him. In a normal situation, his old friend would’ve submitted to Joel’s obvious dominance. Instead, he squirmed and growled until he broke free of Joel’s pin.

The wolf got to his feet and charged at him again. Joel evaded the charge and sunk his own teeth into the wolf’s neck, pinning once more to the ground. He gripped the wolf, but again, instead of reaction rationally and submitting, the wolf flopped and tugged away from him, causing Joel’s teeth to dig in and pierce the skin underneath the fur. 

‘Stop,’ he silently pleaded as he closed his jaw a little tighter, but the wolf didn’t stop. Guilt and anger swelled inside Joel. ‘I’m sorry. Go rest by the side of the goddess,’ he thought before, with a harsh jerk of his jaw, broke the neck of the blonde wolf.

Joel turned to see how the others fared. They had almost dealt with all the mad wolves when Joel felt an icy charge of energy fill the air. Magic. Witch magic. It made his skin sting, having experienced the electric greasy feeling of its touch. He warned his people when suddenly Gabriel froze, eyes wide in horror, before he screamed. Boils spread across Gabriel’s body and his hair fell out. He fell to the ground, his body contorting in unnatural angles. Joel’s heart sank. He knew there was nothing he could do for him.

“Run, the witches are close,” Joel yelled to the others. “No fighting! Just Run.” He turned and fled through the trees, avoiding branches where he could. Another charge of that dark magic tore through the night. Another scream broke out. They were catching up to them. “Come on, we’re almost there,” he yelled again. “Elijah, monitor the ones in the back, keep them moving!”

Joel ran, ignoring the branches and brush that tore at him. Another feral wolf burst through the trees, tackling the woman right behind him. In a deranged beast tore into her, oblivious to the man that tried to pull it off her. “Leave her,” he told him, knowing if they stopped, it would only allow more of those crazed wolves to catch up to them, not to mention the witches’ magic. 

The man looked up at Joel, horrified, and shook his head. Idiot, Joel thought and waved the others to continue on. At least those two would keep the wolf distracted. They had just started running with another collapsed with the stink of witch magic. “Go, go, go,” he urged, watching yet another drop, and another wolf took a third. 

Ice filled his body as turned and continued leading the ones still standing. They wouldn’t make it at this rate. They were going to all die! Soon screams filled the night and Joel’s ears. He would’ve said it was the worst sound, but the silence that followed was much worse. Afraid to find himself alone, he didn’t look back. Not even a glance.

When the border was in sight, Joel dared to slow and turn to see who had made it with him. Three. His best friends, Henry and Lucas, and Elijah, his brother. Howls broke through the silence left by the death of his people. The wolves. They were still hunting them. They wouldn’t stop until they were all dead. 

“Go,” Lucas said with a resolute tone as he popped his neck, turning to face the forest and the oncoming enemies. 

“What? No, we go together or not at all,” Joel told him and joined him.

Henry placed a hand on his shoulder and shook his head. “Not this time.”

Elijah wiped blood from his mouth and nodded. “They’re right. Warn the others. The witches will over take them, just like they did us. Go, we’ll keep them off your back.”

“Brother…”

“Damn it, Joel, go! It’s you they want. We’ll be able to distract and lose them, but if you stay here, we’re all dead!”

Gritting his teeth, Joel turned from his brother and friends. “I will be back, with help, and we will make them bleed for every one of our people they’ve taken.” He broke out into a run. Joel crossed the border when the magic hit him, causing him to stumble. It was like falling into an ice bath. His vision blurred, and he stumbled, continuing to escape on all fours. The trees parted and Joel found himself on a small two lane road. The icy sensation continued to seep through him and he stumbled again, exhaustion filling him to the bone. 

He got up to his feet in time to see a pair of headlights coming speeding towards him. The lethargy that now gripped him left him powerless to save himself, and all he could do was watch as the car rushed towards him.