Kai POV
The rogues hit like a storm unleashed from the very fog itself. Dozens of them, lean and feral, bursting from the treeline with silver-tipped claws glinting in the dying light. Their eyes glow an unnatural crimson, pupils slit like serpents, dilated with a hunger that’s more curse than instinct. They move with horrifying coordination, darting in pairs and threes, cutting through the mist like arrows aimed straight for Liora. Atlas roars inside me, the sound tearing out of my throat as I shift mid-stride, bones snapping and reforming in a blaze of silver-tipped black fur. I launch myself at the lead rogue, jaws clamping around its throat with bone-crushing force. Hot blood sprays across my muzzle, metallic and foul, but these bastards don’t falter. They’re not mindless; they’re dri
