The howls came closer.
One after another.
Layered.
Hungry.
Violent.
Nixon stepped in front of Talia instantly, his body shielding hers as his eyes scanned the tree line.
“Inside. Now.”
Talia gripped her staff tightly but didn’t move.
“There are many,” she whispered.
“No shit.”
Branches snapped somewhere to their left.
Another sound answered from behind them.
They were surrounded.
Nixon’s wolf snarled viciously beneath his skin, claws extending farther as adrenaline flooded his veins.
This wasn’t random.
They had been tracked.
“Talia,” he said sharply, “listen to me carefully. Lock the cottage doors and do not come out unless I call for you.”
“No.”
His head whipped toward her.
“No?” he repeated incredulously.
“You cannot fight all of them alone.”
“I can fight enough.”
