“The first thing Ava Hale noticed was the blood. It clung to her hands, soaked through her ripped hoodie, and pooled beneath her on the damp forest floor. The metallic scent burned her nose, and her heartbeat slammed against her ribs like a trapped animal. She had no memory of how she got here. No memory of what happened. Then she saw the body. Cold. Lifeless. A girl she recognized from school her throat ripped open, eyes frozen in a look of terror. Ava stumbled back, her breath hitching. Her chest ached, her skin burned, and a foreign hunger curled in her gut. That's when she heard it deep in the woods, something was watching her. And then came the voice. "You need to run." Ava spun around, locking eyes with a figure lurking in the shadows. Knox Rivera. The guy no one trusted. The guy who barely spoke. The guy who right now was looking at her like he knew exactly what she was. "You don't understand," Ava stammered, panic rising. "I I didn't do this." Knox took a slow step forward, his expression unreadable. "I know," he murmured. "But they won't care." A howl split the night. More were coming. And this time, they weren't here to save her.”