Mira’s heart pounded.
The street was dark and quiet, the only thing that could be heard was the echo of her footsteps…
And another.
Mira turned once more but found nothing.
Only this time, she was certain she was being followed.
A cold gust of wind hit her, carrying that familiar, dreadful scent of danger.
The same scent she’d caught that night, the night she’d been abducted.
The night she’d witnessed her mother’s murder.
It was happening again.
Rogues.
Bile rose to her throat.
‘Adrian,’ she reached out through the mindlink only to get…
silence.
She was blocked.
No.
She tried again, and again, desperately trying to reach her mate for help.
Only to get cold, painful silence in return.
She squinted, trying to make her way through the street.
There was barely any light.
Barely any light.
She glanced up, her breath hitching.
There was no moon in sight.
It was a new moon.
Her blood ran cold, dread settling deep in her bones.
The footsteps multiplied.
The stench of rotten skin filled the air.
It wasn’t just one person following her, it was multiple.
Jenny would be halfway across town by now, Adrian was too busy with Ivy to care.
Her eyes watered.
In a desperate moment of despair, she reached out to Mason.
A sob escaped her throat.
That was all they needed.
Mira sensed the shift, sensed the atmosphere tightening, the danger growing closer.
She charged.
But it was too late.
They attacked at that exact moment.
A wolf descended from the shadows, black and angry.
It slammed into her, knocking the air out of her lungs.
Her back slammed against the wall—hard.
A startled gasp escaped her lips.
But she didn’t hesitate.
Her instincts took over, her wolf’s will morphing into hers.
A low, powerful growl tore out from her throat, reverberating through the entire street.
The rogues hesitated, shaken by the aura from a powerful Luna wolf but their thirst for blood won against logic.
They attacked.
Mira didn’t hesitate, she fought back, her heart beating, adrenaline coursing through her veins.
They came from every direction, their attacks sloppy and feral.
One of them lunged, aiming for her head.
Her body moved without hesitation, her claws scratching his face, blood spraying everywhere.
The fight went on for a while, Mira holding her own despite her wolf’s weakness from the new moon, despite the exhaustion weighing on her bones.
Her eyes darted around, looking for an escape.
One of them noticed her distraction.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, he lunged.
A searing pain tore along her side, claws digging into her ribs.
She gasped, staggering.
Her hand instinctively moved to cover the spot.
She felt blood warm and sticky under her fingers.
Her vision blurred but she lashed out again, power crackling along her skin in defiance.
A sharp kick sent one of them sprawling, but another one caught her along her shoulder, the strike jarring her teeth together.
Everything spun.
She stopped fighting, her body weakened from the pain and bloodlust.
She turned a corner, and another, heart pounding, hot white pain flaring.
But she didn’t stop.
She couldn’t.
She tried again to reach for Adrian, but he still had her blocked.
“No.”
She gasped, her eyes watering.
There was a dead end.
She whipped around, but it was too late.
They approached, laughing maniacally—some of them in their wolf form, some in their human form.
Her breathing came out ragged, her clothes soaked with blood and sweat, sticking uncomfortably to her skin.
She fought back the tears threatening to spill.
All she’d wanted was to see her best friend and go home but somehow, she’d ended up in an alleyway, cornered by rogues.
“Not so tough now, huh?” One of them sneered, his eyes glinting with menace.
“Back off,” she warned, unable to stop the tremor in her voice.
That only seemed to amuse them.
They took their sweet time getting to her.
For every step they took forward, she took one back.
Then another, and another, till her back pressed against the wall and there was nowhere else to run.
Completely at their mercy.
She shut her eyes tightly.
Her mind desperately searching for a way out.
She wouldn’t go down, not like this.
She felt them closing in, smelled the rot and hunger.
Her knees buckled.
The alley tilted violently, the world narrowing to sound and pain.
Her wolf snarled once—weak, distant—before retreating entirely.
This time, she didn’t get back up.
Mira tightened her fist, preparing for one final attack.
If she was going to go down, then she would go down fighting.
They lunged, but the attack never landed.