"When the body falters, it's the heart that decides whether to rise or fall."----- Khaimah Peter
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Owen lunged.
The forest trembled as he clashed with Karl, their fight a brutal blur of teeth, claws, and shadow. Each strike sent ripples through the ground, Owen's blood splattering against the stone like rain. But he didn't falter. Couldn't.
Karl's blade sliced across Owen's shoulder, black mist hissing from the wound like venom. "How long do you think you can last?" Karl sneered, eyes gleaming like embers. "You're already fading."
Owen grinned, blood streaking his fur. "Long enough."
Karl's expression darkened.
Meanwhile, Gravill, Nicholas, and Elsa ran.
Branches tore at their skin as they bolted through the trees, feet pounding against the earth. Nicholas kept glancing back, magic flickering at his fingertips, but Elsa kept dragging them forward.
"We can't stop," she panted. "If Owen dies, he dies buying us time. Don't waste it."
Gravill's chest ached, guilt gnawing at him like a parasite. But the Forgotten Isle's pull grew stronger, the promise of answers — of salvation — just beyond the horizon.
They didn't see the figures watching them from the shadows.
Meanwhile, at the Silverfang Pack's stronghold...
Beta Lucien paced the stone floor, fingers twitching against the hilt of his dagger. His heart hammered, but it wasn't just anxiety — it was the orb.
The glass sphere, tied to Owen's life force, pulsed weakly on the altar. The once-vibrant glow that symbolized their Alpha's strength now flickered, dimming with every passing second.
"He's dying," Lucien whispered, voice tight. "The bond is breaking."
The warriors in the room exchanged uneasy glances, their gazes lingering on the fading light of the orb.
"What do we do?" one of them asked, voice shaking.
Lucien clenched his jaw. "Prepare the pack. If the Alpha falls, we ride." His eyes burned with determination. "We find him. Or we avenge him."
Back in the forest...
Owen staggered, his legs barely holding him up. Karl, untouched and grinning, twirled his blade.
"You're a stubborn mutt," he mused, shadows licking at his boots. "But you've lost."
Owen wiped blood from his mouth, chest heaving. But when he spoke, his voice was steady.
"They're alive," he rasped, lifting his gaze to meet Karl's. "Which means I win."
Karl's eyes gleamed with something dark. He stepped forward, lifting his blade for the final strike.
And somewhere deep underground, unseen and unfelt by the trio or the wolf...
Hades watched.
From his throne of obsidian, the God of the Underworld smiled.
"This is only the beginning," he whispered, voice echoing through the void.