Raine pov
The forest felt alive in the worst way.
A slow, crawling sensation prickled along my skin as I locked eyes with the glowing red orbs in the darkness. A deep, guttural sound rumbled from the shadows—not quite a growl, not quite a snarl.
It was something else.
Something unnatural.
My pulse hammered against my ribs, my breath shallow as my fingers twitched at my sides. Every instinct screamed at me to run.
But I couldn't.
Lena was frozen beside me, her breathing sharp, barely audible. I knew she felt it too—the wrongness.
The thing in the shadows took a step forward, and the weight in the air doubled. My muscles tensed, like something unseen was pressing down on me, pinning me in place.
"What the hell is that?" Lena whispered, her voice tight.
I didn't answer.
I couldn't.
Because , I felt like prey. And that thing is my predator.
The creature—whatever it was—didn't fully emerge. It lingered in the darkness, just out of reach of the moonlight filtering through the trees. But I could see its outline, the way its eyes burned like embers, the way its shoulders shifted with slow, calculated movements.
It wasn't even moving like a wolf.
It was moving like something that enjoyed toying with its prey.
The realization sent a cold, sinking dread through my veins.
And then—
It moved.
A blur of motion. A flash of something dark and fast.
"MOVE!" I shoved Lena just as the thing lunged.
A rush of air. A sharp, slicing sound.
We hit the ground hard, rolling over dried leaves and broken twigs. Pain shot through my shoulder, but I barely registered it because—
The thing missed.
Barely.
I scrambled up, grabbing Lena's arm and dragging her to her feet. "We need to go. Now."
But the thing didn't attack again.
Instead, it stood there. Watching.
Waiting.
Like it was letting us run.
Like it wanted us to.
Lena grabbed my wrist, her fingers cold. "Raine, I don't think it's alone."
The moment she said it, a branch cracked somewhere to the left.
Then another.
And another.
Surrounding us.
My breath caught in my throat. "We're being hunted."
Lena's grip tightened. "Then we better not make it easy."
We ran.
Hard. Fast.
Ducking under branches, leaping over fallen logs. My legs burned, my lungs screamed for air, but I didn't stop.
Because stopping meant dying.
Something moved through the trees behind us. Not just one thing. Multiple.
Shadows flickered in my peripheral vision. I could hear them—hear the low, guttural growls, the rapid footfalls against the forest floor. They were enjoying this,driving us deeper.into the forest.
And I knew—this was a trap.
A damn trap.
Lena yanked me sharply to the right. "That way! The ridge—if we get high ground, we can lose them!"
I didn't argue.
We veered toward the slope, scrambling up the incline. Rocks slipped under my feet, my fingers digging into the dirt for balance. Behind us, the sounds grew louder, closer.
They were closing in.
I dared a glance back—and immediately wished I hadn't.
One of them had broken through the trees.
And it damn scary.
Its shape was wrong—longer, limbs stretched unnaturally, almost like it had been warped. Its fur was matted, but its eyes… those red eyes burned with something more than just hunger.
I forced my legs to move faster, my heart hammering in my chest. "Lena—"
"I see it!"
We hit the top of the ridge and—
Stopped.
Dead end.
The drop-off was steep, at least a twenty-foot drop to the river below.
Lena swore under her breath. "Now what?"
The sounds behind us grew louder.
Closer.
We didn't have time.
I turned to Lena, my breathing ragged. "We jump."
Her eyes widened. "Are you insane? We don't even know how deep it is!"
"We don't have a choice!"
Branches snapped.
Something growled.
We turned—
The creatures stood at the tree line now, their glowing red eyes staring at us.
Too many.
Too close.
My stomach twisted.
They weren't attacking.
They were waiting.
Like they knew we were trapped.
I met Lena's gaze. "On three."
She exhaled sharply. "You better not get us killed."
I almost laughed. "No promises."
One.
The creatures took a step closer.
Two.
The air grew heavier. The feeling of being hunted wrapped around my throat.
Three.
We jumped.
The air rushed past me. A split second of weightlessness—
And then—
Impact.
The cold shock of water swallowed me whole.
The current dragged me under, flipping me over like I was weightless. I fought against it, kicking hard, my arms burning as I struggled to find the surface.
Lena—
I couldn't see her.
I twisted, my lungs screaming for air, and then—I broke through.
Gasping. Coughing.
The river was fast, pulling us downstream, but I spotted Lena a few feet away, barely keeping her head above water.
I forced myself toward her, the current trying to rip us apart. "Lena!"
She turned, eyes wide with panic. "Raine—"
Another rush of water crashed over us.
I grabbed for her, catching her wrist just as the current slammed us into a rock, knocking the breath from my lungs.
Pain flared through my ribs.
But I held on.
Somehow, we fought our way to the bank, clawing onto the muddy shoreline. I collapsed onto my back, chest heaving, my body trembling from exhaustion and cold.
Lena coughed beside me, spitting out water. "Holy. Shit."
I closed my eyes, trying to calm the pounding in my head.
Then—
A sound.
Low. Close.
My stomach dropped.
Slowly, I turned my head toward the tree line.
And my blood ran cold.
Because they were there.
Standing just beyond the trees.
Watching.
Waiting.
Not crossing the river.
Almost like they couldn't.
Lena noticed too. "What the hell…?"
We stared at them.
And they stared back.
Neither of us moved.
Neither did they.
The only sound was the rush of water between us.
Then—
The creatures vanished.
Like it did last night.
Just disappeared.
Like they had never been there at all.
A chill settled deep in my bones.
Because whatever those things were—
They were something else entirely.
And they were still out there.
Waiting.
Watching.
For what, I didn't know.
But I was going to find out.
Because this wasn't just some random attack.
It was a warning.
And I wasn't going to ignore it.