CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
The scent hits me before the howl—metallic, like blood and rain. My warriors fall into rank beside me, their eyes glinting with battle-light. Kyle is there too, his brown hair tousled from running, his eyes locked on mine.
"Are you ready?" he asks, his voice low, almost lost in the rising wind.
"Always," I reply, my heart pounding not just from the rush of the impending fight but from his sudden proximity.
The forest erupts into chaos as Ethan's rogue pack bursts through the underbrush, fangs bared, eyes wild with the thrill of the hunt. The clash is immediate, a cacophony of growls and snarls, fur and flesh meeting with primal force. We are a storm of teeth and claws, each warrior a tempest incarnate.
"Stay close!" I shout over the din, but Kyle doesn't need the wa
