Chapter 213
Behind us, doors slammed. Voices rose. Boots hit dirt.
Human boots would have been loud. Heavy. Clumsy.
These were not.
I let my wolf rise, not fully, just enough. My legs lengthened. My stride ate the ground. Sounds sharpened until every footstep behind us snapped into focus, each one placed with intent.
“Ben,” I whispered as we ran. “They’re fast.”
“I can hear them.”
We cut left, then right, weaving through trees, doubling back across our own trail the way the Hunters taught me. Mud splashed my calves. Branches tore at my sleeves. The forest pressed close, alive and watching.
It felt wrong, using those lessons now. Using them against something that smelled like my own kind.
We vaulted a fallen log. I landed and kept moving, barely slowing. My lungs burned, but it was a good burn. Alive. Powerful. The kind of pain that meant I was still ahead.
The pursuit faltered.
Not stopped. Hesitant.
I slowed deliberately.
Then I turned.
Ben skidded to a halt beside me, chest heaving, eyes wide. “Savannah, don’t.” I ignored him.
I let the shift roll higher. Not full. Not yet. My spine burned as muscle rearranged, strength flooding my limbs in a rush that made my fingers curl. My teeth ached as they lengthened just enough to feel dangerous.
I growled.
It tore out of me without thought, low and resonant, vibrating through the trees and my bones alike. The sound carried far, threading through the forest with unmistakable authority. It was not a warning.
It was a statement.
Mine.
The forest went quiet.
Not empty. Never empty. But still, in that way predators understand. Even the insects seemed to pause, the night holding its breath.
I breathed in deeply, letting the truth settle.
Wolf.
Multiple.
Not feral. Not rogue. Trained. Familiar pack structure layered into their scent, ranks
and discipline woven through it like muscle memory.
Ben swore softly beside me. “They feel it.”
“They know,” I said.
Footsteps shifted. I could feel eyes on me now, not just tracking but measuring. Calculating. Testing boundaries.
One of them stepped forward just enough for me to catch the outline of a silhouette between the trees. Tall Confident. Balanced on the balls of their feet like they could move in any direction in an instant.
I bared my teeth.
Another growl ripped out of me, sharper this time, threaded with command whether I intended it or not. Power curled through my chest, oler and instinctive answering Something deeper than thought.
The response was immediate.
They backed off.
Not running. Not fleeing. But retreating, careful and controlled. Respectful in a way that made my stomach twist.
Ben stared at me like he was seeing me for the first time. “You didn’t even touch them.”
“I didn’t have to.”
The forest exhaled as they melted back into the dark, sounds fading until there was nothing left but the night and our breathing.
I forced the shift down. Bones ached
as my body settled back into itself,
the aftershock of power leaving me
suddenly unsteady. My knees
wobbled as adrenaline crashed hard.
Ben caught me before I could fall.
“Hey,” he said quietly. “I’ve got you.”
I leaned into him, grounding myself in his scent and warmth, reminding myself
where I was. “They weren’t human.”
“No.”
“They were wolves.”
“I know.”
We stood there for a moment, listening, counting heartbeats, making sure the silence was real and not just a pause before another strike.
Somewhere far off, an engine started, then stopped.
“They’ll regroup,” Ben said. “They won’t try again tonight.”
“Because they didn’t expect me,” I said.
“And now they know exactly who you are.”
I looked into the darkness where they had disappeared, my wolf stirring restlessly
beneath my skin, unsettled but unafraid.
“Good,” I said. “Let them.”
Ben squeezed my hand once, firm and steady. “We need to move before they circle back with more.”
I nodded. “South. Toward the creek. Hard to track.”
We started walking, not running now. Measured. Careful. Every snapped twig sounded louder than it should have. Every shadow felt heavier with meaning.
This was not an ambush meant to scare us away.
This was a test.
And now that they knew what I was, the game had changed.