THE GOLDEN EYES

Chapter 2

Lena’s pov

My chest rose in uneven tugs as I lay there, stunned.

The wood slipped from my fingers as pain tore through my shoulder. Blood soaked my sleeve, warm, slick.

“No… no…”

My hands fumbled with the edge of my sleeve. I tore at the fabric, then used my teeth when my fingers failed, ripping off a strip and pressing it hard against the wound.

A sharp gasp escaped me, but I clenched my jaw and held the pressure.

I have to get out of here.

I tried to stand, but the pain dropped me back down.

I sucked in a breath and forced myself up again, my arm screaming in protest. My vision blurred, but I stayed on my feet.

Then I saw a faint glow on the ground.

My flashlight.

I stumbled toward it and dropped to my knees, fingers fumbling before finally closing around the cold metal.

My knee buckled as I pushed up.

I lurched forward and caught myself against a tree, my palm slamming into the rough bark.

“Hah…” I screamed as I tried to control the pain.

I pressed my weight into the trunk, forcing myself upright, my grip tightening around the flashlight.

I lifted it.

The beam flickered, then died.

“No… not now.”

I smacked it against my palm. The light sputtered back, weak but steady.

I swallowed and raised it again.

Slowly…

I turned it toward the clearing.

The beam shook across the clearing and found them.

My breath caught.

The black beast’s chest rose and fell in slow, heavy breaths, its golden eyes locked forward, unblinking.

Opposite it, the white-and-black wolf stood rigid, muscles coiled beneath its fur, its lips curled back just enough to reveal the edge of its teeth.

A low growl rumbled from both of them, deep, vibrating through the ground beneath me.

Neither of them moved.

It felt like the entire forest was holding its breath, waiting for the first strike.

Their eyes fixed on each other, bodies coiled like springs ready to snap.

Then the black beast lunged.

It moved so fast my eyes barely caught it, a blur of shadow and muscle tearing across the clearing.

The white-and-black wolf met it head-on.

The impact was brutal.

A thunderous c***k echoed through the trees as their bodies collided, slamming into the ground hard enough to shake the earth beneath me.

Leaves and dirt burst into the air as they rolled, snapping branches and crushing everything in their path.

A snarl ripped from the black beast, vicious and wild.

The white-and-black wolf answered with a deeper, more controlled growl, low and dangerous.

They tore into each other.

Claws flashed.

Teeth snapped.

The black beast twisted, jaws locking onto the other wolf’s shoulder. A sickening sound followed, flesh tearing.

I flinched hard, a gasp catching in my throat.

But the white-and-black wolf didn’t fall.

It drove forward instead, ramming the black beast into a tree with bone-crushing force. The trunk splintered on impact, wood cracking loudly as the beast was thrown off balance.

For a split second, everything stilled.

Then the black beast sprang back up.

Faster.

Angrier.

It circled, pacing low, its golden eyes burning with something feral… something wrong.

Not just hunger.

Rage.

Pure, uncontrollable rage.

The white-and-black wolf didn’t move.

It stood its ground, chest rising and falling steadily, watching.

Waiting.

Like it knew exactly what the other would do next.

The black beast lunged again, this time aiming for the throat.

The white-and-black wolf twisted at the last second, the attack grazing past as it countered instantly, slamming its full weight into the beast’s side.

They crashed together again, rolling across the forest floor in a violent tangle of claws and teeth.

A sharp yelp tore from the black beast as the white-and-black wolf’s jaws clamped down hard.

I couldn’t look away.

The black beast thrashed wildly, claws raking deep across the white-and-black wolf’s flank. Fur tore with thick blood.

But still, it didn’t let go.

The white-and-black wolf held on, relentless.

Determined.

Like it was ending this.

A deep, furious snarl ripped through the clearing as the black beast gathered itself and slammed its body upward, throwing both of them apart.

They hit the ground hard on opposite sides.

My pulse hammered so loudly I could hear it in my ears. Then the black beast rose again. Slower this time.

Unsteady.

But not done.

Its chest heaved as it stared across the clearing, its gaze flicking past the white-and-black wolf and landing on me.

Air lodged in my throat.

No.

No, no.

It saw me

The shift was instant.

Its body lowered.

Its focus changed.

I wasn’t just watching anymore. I was the target.

The white-and-black wolf moved fast.

It stepped between us, placing itself directly in the beast’s line of sight.

A warning growl rumbled from its chest, low, commanding and protective.

The black beast hesitated.

Just for a second.

Its eyes flicked between me… and the wolf standing in front of me.

Then its lips peeled back in a snarl.

Challenge accepted.

It lunged again.

Straight for us.

The white-and-black wolf met it midair.

The collision hit harder this time, more desperate and more violent.

They crashed down just feet away from me, close enough that I could feel the force of it, the ground shaking beneath my knees.

A guttural snarl tore through the air as the white-and-black wolf drove the black beast back, pushing it farther away from me with raw, unyielding strength.

It wasn’t just fighting.

It was protecting me.

The realization hit me like a shock.

Why?

Why would it?

The thought shattered as the black beast twisted sharply and sank its teeth deep into the other wolf’s side.

A choked sound tore from my throat.

“Stop!” I cried without thinking.

The word echoed uselessly through the trees.

The white-and-black wolf jerked, muscles tightening but instead of retreating, it surged forward with a burst of strength that didn’t look natural.

Something changed.

Its body… shifted.

Not fully.

Not like before.

Its back arched sharply, bones snapping and reforming with a sickening series of cracks. The sound made my stomach twist.

The wolf staggered.

Then rose.

Half of it wasn’t a wolf anymore.

Its body stretched upward, larger now, more human in shape but wrong. Covered in thick fur, muscles straining beneath skin that looked too tight to hold them.

Its legs straightened.

Its shoulders broadened.

But its head… Still a wolf.

Golden eyes burned brighter, sharper, filled with something far too aware.

My lungs refused to work.

What… What is that?

The black beast lunged.

The half-formed creature moved faster and slashed out its claws.

A brutal swipe, cut clean across the beast’s throat.

A wet, choking sound tore from it as blood sprayed across the ground, dark and thick.

It collapsed.

I couldn’t breathe.

The creature stood over it, chest rising and falling slowly now, like the fight had barely cost it anything.

Then it bent down, and gripped the lifeless body with terrifying ease and threw the beast deep into the forest, the body crashed through branches before disappearing into the darkness.

My heart hammered violently in my chest.

Slowly, It turned.

Those eyes found me again. And this time… They didn’t look away.

It took a step toward me. I flinched.

Another step. Closer.

“No…” I whispered, my voice barely there.

My feet moved back on instinct, slow, careful steps as my pulse thundered in my ears.

Don’t run.

Don’t run Lena.

My hand trembled violently around the flashlight.

It slipped and fell from my fingers.

I didn’t look away. I couldn’t.

He kept coming.

Slow.

Deliberate.

Terrifyingly calm.

“Please, don't hurt me” I whispered, shaking my head, my back hitting the tree behind me.

Nowhere left to go.

He stopped.

Just a few steps away.

Close enough that I could see the slow rise and fall of his chest, the sharp animalistic teeth glinting in the dark.

Something trapped between man and monster.

Then his jaw shifted.

I froze.

Slowly… unnaturally… his lips began to move.

Like he wasn’t used to them.

Like the words didn’t belong in his mouth.

A strange pressure brushed against my mind.

Soft at first.

Then stronger.

The sound came out rough. Broken.

But it wasn’t just the sound.

It was… inside my head.

A whisper that didn’t belong to me.

Forget.

My vision flickered.

The trees blurred.

My thoughts… slipped.

“What…?” I whispered weakly, my grip loosening at my sides.

His eyes burned brighter.

Locked on mine.

Commanding.

“Fo…rget…” The word sounded unnatural, like something trying to tear the memory straight out of me.

My head throbbed.

Images flashed.

the beast.

the blood.

those eyes.

No, what is happening to me?

I shook my head weakly, panic rising.

Something w

as wrong.

This wasn’t just fear.

It was like my mind was… slipping through my fingers.

“Stop…” I breathed.

But my knees gave out.

The forest tilted violently around me.

The pressure in my head surged then snapped.

Like something resisting.

My body went numb.

The last thing I saw

Those golden eyes.

Watching me.

Then everything went black.