★Nuel's POV★
Mariah bolted toward the towering figure before any of us could move, driven by something I couldn't yet name. Her hand trembled as she reached for its matted fur, inch by inch, until her fingers brushed the coarse strands and swift as lightning, she yanked one of the flags free.
The creature didn't stir. Not immediately. It only shifted once, a deep rumble escaping its chest as its breathing grew heavier. The air around us thickened with the stench of damp fur, old blood and rot. Every exhale from the beast was like wind rising from a grave.
Mariah stood frozen, her body taut with fear, her eyes darting toward us. It hadn't sensed her. Maybe it was because she was still in human form. Or maybe the others had shifted for this very reason, to mask their wolf scent that could have betrayed them to the creature.
She turned, ready to flee but something massive and brown lunged from the shadows, slamming into her.
A wolf.
Lilith of House Derric.
