The alpha crossed the clearing with terrifying speed.
Instinct barely had time to register the movement before the Wolftler was on him.
He stepped aside.
Not far enough.
One of the enormous black antlers caught Moonfall and tore the blade away from his intended strike.
The impact twisted Instinct’s arms and forced him back several steps.
The alpha turned immediately.
No hesitation.
No wasted movement.
It had watched him fight twice now.
And it knew how he moved.
“Careful!” Arwen shouted.
The Wolftler charged again.
Instinct shifted his stance.
Feet.
Shoulders.
Balance.
The lessons from the previous day came automatically now, mixed with the strange instincts that had guided his body since awakening.
The alpha lowered its head.
Instinct waited.
Closer.
Closer.
He moved at the last possible moment.
The black antlers passed beside him.
Moonfall flashed toward the creature’s neck—
The alpha twisted.
The blade cut through its heavy mane and opened a shallow line across its shoulder instead.
It spun with frightening speed.
A paw struck Instinct across the chest.
He flew backward.
His back slammed into the ground.
Pain exploded through him.
” GET UP!
”
Instinct rolled.
A hoof-sized paw crashed into the earth where his head had been.
He came to one knee and slashed.
Moonfall cut across the Wolftler’s foreleg.
The alpha snarled and retreated.
Instinct rose.
His chest burned.
He could already feel Absolute Recovery working beneath the pain.
The alpha circled.
Its cyan-blue eyes remained fixed on him.
Watching.
Calculating.
Arwen moved to Instinct’s side.
“You’ve made an impression.”
“I was hoping for something more flattering.”
“It wants to kill you personally.”
“Exactly what I was hoping to hear.”
The alpha growled.
Arwen shifted her dagger.
“I’ll take the left.”
Instinct nodded.
The Wolftler charged.
Arwen moved first.
She darted toward its flank.
The alpha reacted immediately, twisting its antlers toward her.
That was the opening.
Instinct stepped in.
Moonfall cut downward.
The blade struck the creature’s shoulder and carved deep into flesh.
The alpha roared.
Its body twisted violently.
Instinct pulled Moonfall free before the movement could wrench it from his hands.
Arwen attacked from the opposite side.
Her dagger flashed across the Wolftler’s ribs.
Blood darkened its black fur.
The creature spun toward her.
Instinct moved again.
Moonfall struck.
Another wound.
The alpha retreated.
For the first time, Instinct saw uncertainty in those glowing eyes.
Not fear.
Calculation.
It looked toward the trees.
Instinct noticed.
“So much for making us pay.”
“Don’t underestimate it,” Arwen warned.
The alpha’s gaze snapped back to him.
Then it moved.
Not toward either of them.
Away.
It sprinted toward the edge of the clearing.
“It’s running.”
Instinct started after it.
Arwen moved with him.
This time there was no pack waiting in the darkness.
No coordinated ambush.
No creatures left to hide behind.
The alpha reached the trees.
Instinct pushed harder.
The distance closed.
The Wolftler glanced back.
That single movement cost it.
Arwen appeared ahead of Instinct.
She had taken a different angle.
The alpha saw her and changed direction.
Exactly as she intended.
Straight toward him.
Instinct understood immediately.
He stopped chasing.
Planted his feet.
Moonfall came up.
The alpha charged.
Those vast black antlers lowered.
Instinct could have moved.
Instead, he waited.
Everything narrowed.
The creature.
The distance.
The rhythm of its stride.
The slight movement of its shoulders.
The opening beneath the antlers.
Arwen’s voice returned to him.
Knowing where your blade needs to go and taking the shortest path there.
The alpha entered his reach.
Instinct moved.
One step.
One turn.
One strike.
Moonfall flashed through the darkness.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then the alpha stumbled.
Its front legs folded.
The massive body crashed into the ground and slid across the earth.
Silence.
Instinct remained still.
Behind him, the Wolftler tried to rise.
Once.
Its legs failed.
The cyan marking across its forehead flickered.
Its luminous eyes found Instinct one final time.
Then the light disappeared.
Instinct slowly exhaled.
Arwen approached.
“Better.”
He looked at her.
“That’s all?”
“You stayed balanced.”
“I killed it.”
“Yes.”
“With one strike.”
“After I redirected it toward you.”
Instinct stared at her.
Arwen’s lips curved.
“You’re learning.”
“That sounded dangerously close to praise.”
“Don’t become accustomed to it.”
Instinct looked at the dead alpha.
Its black antlers stretched across the forest floor, the strange marking on its forehead now completely dark.
“What about the others?”
Arwen listened.
Nothing moved beyond the clearing.
“Gone.”
“For now.”
“Yes.”
That answer bothered him.
Instinct wiped Moonfall clean before sheathing it.
” WELL.
THAT WAS PRODUCTIVE.
”
How productive?
A pause.
Then—
” VERY.
”
Instinct waited.
” YOU’RE LEVEL TWENTY-NINE.
”
He stopped.
What?
” TWENTY-NINE.
”
Instinct stared into the darkness.
Before the Wolftlers, he had been Level Twenty.
Nine levels.
” APPARENTLY KILLING A LARGE NUMBER OF MAGICAL ABOMINATIONS IS EXCELLENT FOR PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT.
”
And Arwen?
Another brief pause.
” LEVEL EIGHTY-TWO.
”
Instinct looked toward her.
She was crouched beside the alpha, examining the darkened marking on its forehead.
Two levels for her.
Nine for him.
The difference made sense.
What had been dangerous opponents to him were considerably less significant to someone at Arwen’s level.
But Level Twenty-Nine meant something else.
Something much more important.
One more.
Nyx knew exactly what he meant.
” YES.
”
Instinct’s attention shifted inward.
Level Thirty.
The first transformation.
Skin.
The threshold Nyx had told him about only the previous morning suddenly felt much closer than it had any right to.
One level.
” EXCITED?
”
Curious.
” LIAR.
”
Instinct smiled faintly.
She wasn’t entirely wrong.
He wanted to know what would happen.
Wanted to know what changing his skin actually meant.
Wanted to know how much stronger it would make him.
That last thought remained longer than the others.
Power.
He had needed it from the moment he awakened.
Against the wolf.
Against the boars.
To save Arwen.
Against the Wolftlers.
And soon, if everything went according to plan, against the basilisk that had nearly killed her.
The stronger he became, the easier it would be to protect himself.
To protect Arwen.
To face whatever else this world placed in front of him.
But beneath those practical reasons was something simpler.
He wanted power because he liked becoming stronger.
Instinct recognized that truth without pretending otherwise.
” CAREFUL, GOLDEN EYES.
THAT KIND OF THINKING CAN BECOME ADDICTIVE.
”
I told you not to call me that.
” AND YET IT CONTINUES TO SUIT YOU.
”
Instinct ignored her.
Arwen stood.
“You’re doing it again.”
“Doing what?”
“Looking at nothing while thinking too much.”
“I gained levels.”
Her expression shifted.
“How many?”
“Nine.”
Arwen stared at him.
“Nine?”
“I’m Level Twenty-Nine.”
Then—
“That is absurd.”
Instinct smiled.
“You gained two.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“You know that too?”
“The bond.”
“Convenient.”
“Very.”
Arwen shook her head.
“Nine levels from two battles.”
“Is that unusual?”
“Yes.”
“How unusual?”
“I have never heard of someone gaining nine levels in two nights.”
Instinct considered that.
“Maybe I’m talented.”
Arwen gave him a long look.
“Perhaps we should work on humility next.”
“I don’t remember asking you to train that.”
“I noticed.”
Instinct laughed softly.
Arwen looked back toward the alpha.
Her amusement faded.
“The levels are useful.
These creatures are still a problem.”
Instinct nodded.
“The markings.”
“And the way they fought.”
“Someone may have made them.”
Arwen looked at him.
“May?”
“That’s all the information gives me.
Creatures altered through forbidden rituals.
Bred or changed for hunting, guarding, sometimes war.”
Arwen’s expression hardened.
“And the marking?”
“Possibly the mark of whoever controls them.”
“Their master.”
Instinct nodded.
“We don’t know who that is.”
“Or where they are.”
“No.”
Arwen looked into the surrounding forest.
“If someone sent the Wolftlers after us—”
“We don’t know that either.”
“The first pack could have found us by chance.”
“And the second?”
Arwen looked at him.
Instinct sighed.
“Less likely.”
“Much less.”
He glanced toward the direction they had been traveling before the attack.
Southwest.
Somewhere ahead, perhaps, were the ruins.
Perhaps a kitsune.
And somewhere else in this forest was a basilisk they still needed to hunt.
Now there was something else to consider.
Someone—or something—capable of creating creatures like the Wolftlers.
Instinct looked at the alpha one final time.
“One problem at a time.”
Arwen nodded.
“We should burn it.”
“And the others?”
“We burn what we can find before we leave.”
Instinct looked at the enormous body.
“We’ve been doing a lot of burning lately.”
“Would you prefer carrying it?”
“No.”
“I thought not.”
⸻
Dawn found them beside another fire.
The bodies they had managed to recover burned among piled branches while smoke rose through the canopy.
The remaining Wolftlers had disappeared into the forest.
Neither Instinct nor Arwen suggested pursuing them.
They had survived.
That was enough for now.
Once the fire had done its work, they continued southwest.
Arwen resumed his training as they traveled.
She was no gentler than before.
If anything, seeing him fight seemed to have convinced her she could demand more from him.
“Again.”
Instinct struck.
“Too slow.”
He struck again.
“Too wide.”
Again.
“Better.”
Instinct lowered Moonfall.
“You realize I fought most of the night.”
“So did I.”
“You gained two levels.”
“You gained nine.”
“That sounds like jealousy.”
Arwen’s dagger appeared in her hand.
Instinct immediately raised Moonfall.
“Training.
Definitely training.”
Her smile was entirely too pleased.
They continued.
By midday, the signs of the Wolftlers were behind them.
The forest changed gradually as they traveled southwest.
The trees grew older and farther apart, their roots breaking through the earth in enormous twisted ridges.
Instinct kept moving.
Level Twenty-Nine.
One more level.
Then Skin.
After that, Level Sixty.
Bones.
Level Ninety.
Organs.
Level One Hundred and Twenty.
Blood.
Each transformation waiting farther along the road.
Each one promising another step toward understanding what Absolute actually meant.
But first—
The kitsune.
The basilisk.
Arwen’s people.
And whatever had created the Wolftlers.
Instinct rested his hand against Moonfall’s hilt as he walked.
There was a great deal ahead of him.
For the first time since awakening in the forest, that thought didn’t feel overwhelming.
It felt exciting.