ATASHA’S POV


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    I knew it was crazy. Maybe I had lost my mind a long time ago, maybe it was instinct, or maybe it was just in stupidity. I wasn’t sure anymore. All I knew was that I was running after him, chasing Cassian through the snow like my life depended on it.


    The cold bit into my skin, the red moon casting everything in a bloody glow, but none of it mattered. The only thing in my head was him, his massive form, his ws tearing through the snow as he disappeared into the night.


    Then it happened.


    Something dropped from the sky like a blur, mming into Cassian and driving him into the ground. The impact cracked through the clearing, spraying snow in all directions. I froze, my lungs locking as I finally saw it.


    The creature wasn’t a wolf. It wasn’t even like the other beasts. It had wings, enormous, leathery things that stretched wider than any banner I had ever seen, snapping the air with each violent movement.


    Its body was bloated, swollen with veins that pulsed a sickly green, the skin stretched so thin it looked ready to split. Its head was a warped nightmare of a bat, ears jutting like knives, its snout twisted and elongated with rows of jagged teeth jutting out at every angle.


    Its eyes bulged red and yellow, rolling madly in their sockets, and each exhale carried a stench so foul it coated my throat with bile. Poison. I could smell it from here, sharp and rotting, like something dead left out in the sun for too long.


    This… aura. The suffocating weight crushing the air, it wasing from this thing.


    It screeched, a sound that made the snow shiver, and then it bit at Cassian, its fangs sinking into his shoulder. Cassian roared, his massive wolf body twisting, ws raking across its gut. The bat shrieked again, but instead of fleeing, it pressed harder, wings thrashing as it tried to hold him down.


    I stumbled back against a tree, heart hammering, and ducked behind it. My fingers gripped the bark so it dug splinters into my skin. I dared a nce around the trunk.


    tightly


    That was when I noticed it. The forest was empty. No glowing eyes in the shadows. No low growls from the treeline. There was nothing around me.


    The weaker beasts had fled. They always did when something stronger imed the ground. Relief pricked through my chest, at least nothing else woulde for me here. But the price of that was standing right in front of me, tearing into Cassian.


    He was already bleeding. Long gashes streaked across his sides, ck–red blood dripping into the snow, steaming in the cold.


    But he didn’t fight like a man wounded. He didn’t even seem to notice. He fought like a beast, savage and relentless, his ws slicing open chunks of the bat’s hide, his fangs ripping through its flesh. He tore and bit as though pain meant nothing, as though nothing existed but the kill.


    8:14 Mon, Sep 15


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    The bat shrieked again and surged forward, wings beating hard enough to knock snow from the trees. Itshed its head low and rammed into Cassian’s legs.


    He staggered, ws slipping in the churned snow. Before he could regain his bnce, the bat lunged again, its teeth snapping shut on his hind leg, dragging him down.


    My hands flew to my mouth, mping shut around the gasp wing up my throat. I couldn’t make a sound. I couldn’t distract him.


    Cassian ripped free with a savage twist, but blood sprayed across the snow. He dropped <i>to </i>one knee, massive chest heaving, and the bat didn’t wait, itshed out again, ws raking across his nk.


    He didn’t dodge. He didn’t even try. He threw himself back at it, snarling like a wild animal, ignoring the way the wounds opened wider, ignoring the blood pouring down his fur. What is he doing? Can he not think? Why was he acting like… like a real beast?


    My heart pounded so hard I thought it would break. The bat was on him again, mming into his side, biting, wing. Each strikended heavy, shaking the ground beneath them.


    Cassian was staggering now, his massive frame shuddering under the weight of each blow. His ws still shed, his fangs still tore, but his movements weren’t as sharp as before. Blood streaked his fur, dripping into the snow in thick lines that marked every step he took. The bat pressed harder, its wings hammering against him, forcing him back with every strike.


    My dagger shook in my hand, but I couldn’t make myself move. I stayed crouched there, pressed against the tree, trembling as I watched him bleed like a damn coward.


    No. This wasn’t right. I couldn’t just sit here while he was being ripped apart. My teeth sank into my lower lip until I tasted blood. I had <i>to </i>decide right now. Either keep hiding like a coward or step out and do something


    before it was toote.


    I bit down hard, the taste of iron flooding my mouth as I sank my teeth into my lip. My body shook, my dagger slipped in my sweaty grip, but I forced my legs to move.


    Then I stepped out from behind the tree. “Hey!” My voice cracked, but I pushed it louder. “Hey, Ugly! Come fight me instead!”


    Both Cassian and the bat snapped their heads toward me. Their eyes locked on me at the same time. My heart nearly gave out, but I didn’t wait.


    I turned and bolted for the cave.


    The snow crunched under my boots. My thoughts were a blur, but the logic was simple. If the bat came for me, Cassian would have a chance. He could heal, he could recover, he could survive. Me? I could take it. My body was made to mend. Even if it tore me apart, I’d live.


    The air shuddered with the beat of massive wings. I didn’t need to look back to know the bat was following. Its screech pierced the night, the kind of sound that made your skin crawl. I pushed my legs harder, knowing full well I was slower, but every second I dragged it with me was another second Cassian had to pull himself together.


    The impact came fast. A felt a rush of air behind me. I spun, dagger raised. My first swing missed, slicing


    8:14 Mon, Sep 15


    :


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    through nothing but air. The secondnded, biting into the side of its leathery wing. The bat screeched, flinching back.


    Sadly, it wasn’t enough.


    The wing mmed against me, harder than any strike I’d ever felt. The world spun, snow exploding around me as I was hurled backward. My body skidded across ice, bones rattling, until I mmed against a jagged stone. The blow knocked the air clean out of me, stars bursting in my vision.


    For a moment, everything was numb. Then pain came rushing back, but already I felt it. My veins lit up, my ability working without permission, stitching flesh, forcing ribs back into ce. My chest burned, but my body was already mending itself.


    I scrambled onto my hands and knees, then pushed to my feet, staggering but upright. The bat shrieked, its wings ring wide as it swooped down again, fury dripping off every jagged movement.


    And then-


    A massive shadow dropped in front of me, blocking the bat’s path.


    I gasped, stumbling back, my hand instinctively reaching forward. My fingers brushed coarse fur, hot and damp with blood. Recognition hit me in a rush, my throat tightening.


    Cassian.


    He was standing between me and the beast, his massive wolf form braced against the snow. His back faced the bat, his broad frame covering mepletely. He didn’t move to attack right away. Instead, he turned his head, just enough that his zing eyes met mine.


    My breath caught, frozen in my chest.


    Without thinking, I pressed my palm harder against him, shoving my ability into his body. Warmth spread under my hand, mending the gashes, knitting torn flesh even as blood still poured down his fur.


    Behind him, the bat let out another screech, the kind that rattled stone and sent snow crashing from the treetops.


    But I didn’t look at it.


    I only stared at him.


    And he only stared back.