Chapter 3 – The Bite
347 Words
The door rattled behind me as shouts echoed from outside. I crept toward the small window, peeking through the gap in the wooden shutters.
The moon was still red, bleeding across the snow-covered clearing. Shapes moved in the distance — huge wolves clashing in a blur of teeth and fur. My stomach twisted.
Then I saw him.
Rylan shifted mid-run, his massive wolf form tearing through a rogue twice his size. Blood sprayed the snow as he lunged, protecting the smaller wolves behind him.
I should have looked away. I didn’t. There was something raw, primal, and terrifyingly beautiful about him in that moment.
The door creaked behind me. I spun — too late.
A rogue wolf stood in the doorway, its matted fur bristling, yellow eyes wild with hunger.
I froze. My body screamed run, but my legs wouldn’t move. It lunged.
I didn’t even have time to scream before its jaws clamped around my shoulder. White-hot pain tore through me. I gasped, the sound sharp in my ears, and slammed my fist into its snout. It barely flinched.
A blur of black fur crashed into us. Rylan ripped the rogue away from me, snapping its neck in one brutal motion. Blood dripped from his fangs. His chest heaved, and his golden eyes locked on me.
“You’re bleeding.”
“I— I’m fine—” I lied, clutching my shoulder. But the heat spreading through me wasn’t normal. My skin burned, my vision blurred, and my heartbeat thundered too fast.
His gaze dropped to the wound, and I saw it — the panic flashing in his eyes.
“You’ve been bitten,” he growled.
My knees buckled. He caught me before I hit the floor, lifting me effortlessly into his arms. His voice was tight, urgent.
“It’s too soon. The curse will react.”
“I… don’t understand…” My words slurred as darkness pressed in.
Rylan’s grip tightened. “Hold on, little wolf. Don’t let it take you.”
But it was already too late. The fire in my veins swallowed everything.
- Writer
