The Feral Pact

nst invisible forces that dragged her deeper into the shadows. The scent of damp earth and iron mixed in her nostrils,

around her wrists and ankles stopped her, pulling her back into reality with a jolt. The chains were heavy, their cold weight seeping into her bones. She couldn't remember how she had gotten he

couldn't remember who, but the betrayal had been sharp, cutting through the night like a knife. She had fought back, of course. They always fought back, but t

n she couldn't see, her mind raced, trying to pull

lmost imperceptible at first, but unmistakable onc

warning, and then the unmistakable sou

a primal instinct she couldn't deny. She wasn't alone. Whatever it was, it was close.

presence pressing down on her as though they were alive, crawling along her skin. She was in some kind of cave, she realized, or at least a structure m

og that clouded her mind. She could hear the creature now, its movem

he saw it. Two gleaming orbs, yellow like molten gold, watching her from the darkness. The figure was hunched, its form impossibly elongated, and

n them had thickened, waiting, holding its breath. Solara could feel her pulse

ward, its movements unnervingly smooth

the words wet and distort

t werewolves, and only whispered about in the oldest legends. It was supposed to be a myth, a warning, a creature so twisted and cursed that eve

o her skin as she struggled to free herself. Her claws, long and

its voice growing louder, more frantic. "Your kin

extinct, wiped out centuries ago by a war between the supernatural factions. But if she was truly one of them, it explained why she had felt dif

her voice hoarse and raw, yet def

many. It stepped closer, its eyes never leaving hers. "You're the last one.

bone-deep certainty. She had to get ou

of your kind. Was that true? Was she truly the last Shade-Wolf? Was that why sh

's presence. She could feel the air grow colder, the temperature dropping with every breath. A strange pressure built in her chest,

with a surge of strength. The metal snapped and fell to the ground with a clatter, and before

claws connected with its chest, sinking deep into the creature's flesh, but it didn't scream. Instead, it seemed t

hadows that had once been so oppressive now seemed to retreat, dissipating into

hing wasn

ion as if the cave itself were waiting for something. She could f

r within the cavern. Heavy, deliberate,

her voice steady despite th

eatures obscured by a hood, but its presence was unmistakable. Solara tense

e," it said, its voi

ed her eyes.

ing a face she knew, a face she t

t you need to fear," the figu