Chapter 7

SEVEN

RUTH

I shot forward as my rabbit legs dug into the dirt like a spring with every step. My little heart thrummed as my mind spun out of whack, trying to process what in the flaming hell just happened.

Was that male's wolf telling him to claim me? That would mean… No. It couldn't be.

Predator shifters had a voice in their head that told them when to eat, when to sleep, when to do anything that catered to their animalistic nature. Sometimes, they'd choose a mate to bond and claim. The phenomenon was known as "fated mates" since some believed a coupling chosen by the beast was some kind of divine intervention.

That shit didn't happen between prey and predator shifters, especially not with a wolf and a rabbit. It wasn't natural. It probably wasn't even possible. A werewolf had to be shifted to give its mark.

He'd towered over me in human form, so I could only imagine how obscenely huge he would be as a fully shifted werewolf.

The size difference was… Impossible.

He'd break me.

A shiver shot down my tiny spine, making my fur stand straight. I didn't dare look back to see if his wolf had taken over to do what werewolves did best: chase their prey.

In my rabbit form, I could see in the dark, and we hadn't come all that far, so finding the road should have been easy. But there was something about these woods that twisted my senses and threw my natural sense of direction out of whack.

This land had been owned by the pack for hundreds of years. The trees were tall and ancient. Even the soil felt different, packed with magic and decades' worth of bunny blood from past sacrifices. It was as if the very trees were against me, doing everything to prevent my escape.

Maybe I'd run into Hope, and we could find a way out together. Sawyer could go fuck himself. I almost hoped he'd get caught and eaten by the wolves. That asshole deserved to be torn apart.

A terrifying howl split the night. Then another, and another. A dozen or so wolves howled, marking the start of the Hunt.

My adrenaline spiked with every passing second that I raced through the dark with no sign of the road or my cousin. I couldn't scent the wolves, but knew they weren't far. There was a strange kind of dark and ominous energy in the air, making it buzz.

Then, a scream echoed through the woods. My heart stopped. This wasn't the howl of a wolf. It was a woman's. Hope!

I bolted toward the scream, praying that I reached her before the wolves.

As soon as I saw them, I scrambled back into the safety of the underbrush before I could be seen.

Lying in a fetal position on the ground was a completely naked Hope. She was covered in scrapes and cuts, shivering, but not from the cold.

Five wolves surrounded her, although to call them wolves was a stretch.

This was the first time I'd ever seen a shifted werewolf. They were humanoid, hulking creatures covered in dense fur. Their heads were the most wolf-like feature, with thick human-like arms that ended with savage claws and large tooth-filled maws that snarled and snapped at their victim.

In that half-second, they pounced.

She managed another scream before a black wolf lunged at her, grabbing hold of her throat and ripping it open. Hope tore like she was made of tissue paper.

A spray of blood gushed from the gaping hole in her throat.

Another one of them bit into her stomach, wrapping their massive jaws completely around her body. It was followed by a sick, wet crunch.

It took a moment, but I managed the strength to look into her eyes.

She was still alive, and I think in her last moments, she saw me. She looked right at me but couldn't make a sound. It was a mercy when she went limp.

The wolves surrounded her, blocking off my view as they feasted on the dead girl.

Soaked in blood, they raised their heads and howled into the darkness above them. Some of them were so wet with it that it flattened their fur to their skulls and gave them the appearance of literal demons. Wasn't that what they were?

Fucking monsters.

At that moment, the clouds rolled back from the moon, and a shock of silver fur caught my attention. A silver wolf.

It was him.

Rage and grief and a miasma of a dozen other emotions paralyzed me for several harrowing seconds before instinct kicked in. Run.

I whipped around and dashed away, running until my lungs burned and the muscles in my little feet ached.

The pit in my stomach grew until it threatened to swallow me whole. I'd just watched my cousin get ripped apart by wolves, and it was more barbaric than I could have imagined. This was what happened to Sarah when she'd been chosen—surrounded by feral monsters who saw her as nothing but a meal, scared and alone, knowing her family had purposely sent her here.

It made me sick.

How could the Elders do this to us? How had they so thoroughly brainwashed our burrow into thinking this was the only means of keeping peace with the wolves?

I hated feeling so helpless, unable to do anything but run when faced with the injustice of this evil. But I was so tired of running.

It was as if something was listening to my thoughts, a deity that heard my prayers and decided to throw me a bone. A gleam of something bright and metallic through the trees caught my eye. I followed it into a clearing, and at its center was a stump. A ray of moonlight illuminated the object sticking from the stump like a spotlight.

It was an ax.

I shifted back to my human form and approached the stump. Grasping the worn handle, I tugged it free and held it up. The moonlight caught on the blade, making the sharp edge gleam like it was Excalibur, only I didn't feel like a knight in shining armor. I wasn't even wearing pants.

All I had was an old ax for a weapon and fury for armor.