I must have fallen asleep and what awakened me was the sharp, thunderous roar of Gale in my mind that startled me awake, and my eyes snapped open as I instinctively shot to my feet.
"Get up and move! "Gale bellowed, his voice urgent and filled with alarm.
My head jerked around as I took in my surroundings, my senses immediately on high alert. The mountain was rumbling beneath me, a deafening roar that echoed like a beast waking from its slumber. My heart sank as I realized what was happening, the mountain was caving in. Snow began rushing down in torrents, carrying rocks and debris with it.
An avalanche.
"Damn it," I growled, cursing my own foolishness. "What madness made me climb this mountain?"
I didn't have time to dwell on the answer. The tremors grew stronger, and the ground beneath my feet shifted violently. On pure instinct, I took off, sprinting down the mountain as fast as I could. Each step felt like a gamble, one wrong move, and I'd be swallowed whole by the chaos behind me.
The snow was relentless, falling so fast that it blurred my vision. Rocks tumbled past, some narrowly missing me, while the icy air burned my lungs. The echoes of the avalanche roared like a feral beast, its power relentless. Gale growled within me, his energy surging in a desperate bid to keep us alive.
"Faster, Tor! Move faster!" Gale bellowed again.
"I'm trying!" I shouted aloud, though my words were lost in the cacophony around me.
Then it hit me—a wave of pure, overwhelming energy that stopped me in my tracks. The power was unlike anything I had ever felt, ancient and raw, pressing against my very being like a storm.
"It's here" Gale whispered, awe and exhilaration lacing his tone.
The next moment, the snow overtook me. I was swept up, tumbling and spinning as the avalanche swallowed me whole. I couldn't see, couldn't breathe, the cold biting into my skin like fangs. Everything moved so fast that my sense of direction was obliterated.
Just as I thought I might succumb, I felt the ground beneath me give way. I plunged downward, landing hard as the noise above began to fade. For a moment, there was nothing but silence.
When I opened my eyes, I found myself lying in a cave. The air was still, the echoes of the avalanche distant now. Snow and debris were scattered around me, but the rumbles had stopped.
I groaned, pushing myself to my feet, every muscle in my body protesting. "What the hell just happened?" I muttered.
Then I felt it again—that power. It wasn't just around me; it was inside the cave. I turned slowly, and my breath caught in my throat. In the corner of the cave, hidden in the shadows, stood a man. His figure was cloaked in darkness, but there was no mistaking the energy radiating from him. It was suffocating and exhilarating all at once. Gale whined a sound I had never heard from him before. "He found us," Gale said, his voice filled with awe and something close to joy. "Tor, he saved us."
I couldn't move, couldn't speak. My body was frozen in place, my mind racing to catch up with what I was seeing. The man's presence was magnetic, his power undeniable.
"It's you" I finally managed to speak, my voice hoarse with disbelief.
The man didn't respond. He simply stood there, watching me, his energy wrapping around the space like a tangible force. I had come looking for a powerful being. I hadn't expected him to find me first.
I pushed my power out, letting it sweep through the cave to pinpoint what—or who—this man was. But before I could grasp anything, he vanished in a flash, disappearing deeper into the cave.
"Damn it," I muttered under my breath.
"He's fast," Gale noted, his tone edged with frustration.
"Fuck it" I replied, already moving. There was no way I'd let him slip away—not after all this. My steps echoed against the stone walls as I followed the faint trace of his energy. The power he radiated was unlike anything I had encountered before, and it drew me forward like a moth to a flame. Finally, I emerged from the cave into the crisp, biting air of the mountain. The view before me was vast—snow-capped peaks stretching endlessly, the thick clouds below swallowing the rest of the island in a hazy shroud.
I scanned my surroundings, hoping to catch sight of him, but the landscape was empty. Just the sound of the wind howling and the steady thrum of my heartbeat in my ears. Descending was slow, the terrain treacherous, and by the time I reached the forest at the base of the mountain, daybreak was already spilling its light across the island. Yet the thick fog remained, hanging over the trees like a warning.
"This place is alive," I muttered, taking in the heavy stillness of the air. Returning to the Bay Shifter pack wasn't an option—not yet. The fog was too dense, and I needed to figure out what the hell I was dealing with before facing anyone else.
I moved deeper into the forest, searching for a temporary shelter. After an hour of wandering, I found a small clearing near another cave and leaned against a tree trunk. A fire crackled beside me, its warmth doing little to chase away the unease curling in my chest.
Gale stirred suddenly, his presence surging within me like a warning bell. "He's here," Gale growled, his voice a low rumble in my mind. "The man. His presence is back."
I glanced into the shadows but saw nothing. I let out a slow breath, forcing myself to relax. "Let him watch. If he wants something, he can come to me."
Gale huffed, clearly unsatisfied with my decision. But I ignored him, closing my eyes and leaning back against the tree, willing to sleep.
It didn't. The minutes stretched on, my unease growing with each passing moment. Finally, I gave up, pushing myself to my feet and deciding to walk off the tension. The forest was eerily quiet, the kind of silence that pressed against your ears and made every small sound seem deafening. As I wandered, something caught my eye—a set of footprints, faint but unmistakable, etched into the soft ground.
I crouched down, studying them closely. The prints were human, but they stopped abruptly as if the person had vanished into thin air.
"A vampire," Gale growled, his voice filled with certainty and disdain. My body tensed at his words. The realization hit me like a punch to the gut.
The man who had saved me, who had intrigued me enough to drag me to this cursed island, wasn't just powerful—he was forbidden. Dangerous. A mortal enemy. I rose slowly; my jaw clenched as the weight of the truth settled over me. "A vampire," I repeated, my voice a low murmur.
"He shouldn't exist here," Gale continued, his anger simmering just beneath the surface. "This is our territory. This is—"
"Our business," I finished for him, my tone grim.
My mind raced, caught between the undeniable pull I felt toward this mysterious figure and the laws that dictated our worlds. Vampires and shifters didn't mix. They couldn't.
And yet, here we were.