The forest stretched before them, thick with towering trees and dense underbrush. Sunlight filtered through the canopy in fractured beams, casting shifting shadows across the damp earth. Calder led the way, his gaze sharp as he scanned the surroundings. Rainer followed close behind, his fingers resting on the hilt of his sword. Vassek brought up the rear, his senses attuned to every rustling branch and distant sound.
"Tracks are fresh," Calder muttered, kneeling to inspect a set of deep claw marks in the soil. "Whatever we're after, it passed through here not long ago."
Vassek glanced at Rainer, noting the tension in his stance. "Expecting trouble?"
Rainer scoffed. "Always."
They moved deeper into the woods, the air thick with the scent of damp earth and pine. The silence was unnatural, as if the forest itself was holding its breath. Vassek felt a prickle along the back of his neck—a warning, perhaps, or instinct sharpened by experience he couldn't quite remember.
Then Calder called out. "Something's ahead. Spread out."
They maneuvered carefully, each taking a different approach as they neared the source of the disturbance. Vassek edged along the treeline, his fingers grazing the hilt of his sword. Calder stepped forward cautiously, while Rainer veered slightly to the side, his movements deliberate.
That was when it happened.
With an almost unnatural speed, Rainer whirled and lunged at Vassek, his blade flashing in the dim light. Vassek barely dodged, stumbling back as the attack missed his throat by inches. Instinct took over, and he drew his sword just in time to parry another strike.
"What the hell are you doing?" Vassek growled, locking blades with Rainer.
A grin, sharp and unnatural, spread across Rainer's face. "Making sure you don't walk away from this."
Then his body shifted. It was subtle at first—a twitch beneath the skin, a ripple of something unnatural. Then it escalated. His muscles bulged, his frame contorted, and his skin darkened, taking on a sheen that looked almost like scales in the dim light. His fingers stretched, nails hardening into something more like claws. His pupils thinned into razor-like slits.
Vassek barely had time to process what he was seeing before Rainer lunged again, faster than before. Vassek barely managed to deflect the blow, the force of it sending him staggering back.
Then the creature they had been hunting appeared.
From the shadows, a majestic wolf-like beast stepped forward, its dusk-colored fur shimmering in the dying light. Its eyes burned with an eerie intelligence, and its muscles coiled with lethal grace. It was unlike anything Vassek had ever seen, and yet—something about it felt strangely familiar. It watched them both for a heartbeat, then made its choice.
It did not charge at Vassek. It went straight for Rainer.
Rainer barely had time to react before the beast struck. Clawed limbs tore into his shifting form, sending him crashing to the ground. He shrieked—a high, unnatural sound—but the beast showed no mercy. It tore into him with savage precision, as though it had been waiting for this moment. Rainer flailed, his body flickering between human and something else, but the wolf was relentless.
Vassek stood frozen, gripping his sword, watching as the creature ripped into Rainer's unnatural form. The fight was over in seconds. Silence followed, thick and suffocating.
Then, the sound of approaching footsteps.
Calder emerged from the trees, eyes widening as he took in the aftermath. His gaze flicked from Vassek to the mangled remains of Rainer.
"What the hell happened here?"