The next morning I wake to screaming.Not human screaming. Wolf howls. Full of pain and rage.I jump out of bed and run to the window. In the forest beyond the fortress, I see movement. Fighting. Wolves tearing into each other.My door crashes open. Kael is there. Fully armed. His face is hard."Get dressed. Now. We may need to run.""What is happening?""Someone is attacking my wolves. The ones still loyal to me." He tosses me riding clothes. "Move."I dress fast. My hands shake. When I come out, Kael hands me a knife."If anyone gets past me, you use this. Aim for the throat or eyes. Do not hesitate.""Kael—""Do you understand?"I nod.We run outside. The sounds of fighting are closer now. Three wolves burst from the trees. They are bloody. Wounded. Running for the fortress.Behind them come five others. Soldiers. Wearing the King's colors.Kael moves. Faster than I can see. He meets the soldiers with his sword drawn. The fight is brutal and quick. Kael is terrifying. He moves like water. Like death. Three soldiers fall in seconds.The other two see who they are fighting. Fear crosses their faces. They run.Kael lets them go. He is more concerned with the wounded wolves at his feet.They are young. Two males and a female. All bleeding from multiple wounds."Report," Kael orders.The female speaks through pain. "The King's soldiers ambushed us at the border. They said we are traitors for serving you. That our lives are forfeit. We barely escaped.""When did this happen?""Two hours ago. We ran as fast as we could."One of the males adds, "The King declared it yesterday. Anyone loyal to you is now an enemy of the throne."My blood goes cold. The King is not waiting for the Council's judgment. He is moving now. Trying to isolate Kael. Destroy his support before the month ends."Get them inside," Kael tells me. "Third door on the left from the main hall. Healing room. Supplies are there.""You are leaving?""I need to check if more soldiers followed them. I will not be long." He looks at me. "Can you handle this?"I look at the three bleeding wolves. I have never tended wounds before. But I nod anyway. "Yes."He shifts. His body blurs and changes. Becomes a massive black wolf. Huge. Terrifying. His silver eyes glow.Then he is gone. Running into the forest.I help the three wounded wolves inside. They lean on me. We make it to the healing room.Supplies line the shelves. Bandages. Salves. Medicine. I set to work. Cleaning wounds. Applying salve. Bandaging.The female wolf watches me. "You are the human. The one who bonded with Kael.""I am Aria.""I am Sera. These are my brothers. Dain and Marcus." She winces as I bandage her arm. "They say you are an abomination. That the bond should not exist.""They say a lot of things.""Are you really human?"I pause. Do not know how to answer. "I thought I was.""You smell human," Sera says. "But underneath. Something else. Something old."I finish her bandage. Move to Marcus. "The Elders said the same thing.""A hybrid maybe," Dain says. His voice is rough with pain. "Half wolf, half human. I heard stories. But I thought they were all dead.""Apparently not," Marcus adds. He meets my eyes. "If you are hybrid, the King will never let you live. You represent everything he fears. Change. Evolution. Proof that his hierarchy means nothing."I finish Marcus's wounds. Sit back. "I just want to survive.""So do we all," Sera says. "But survival sometimes means fighting."Kael returns an hour later. He has shifted back to human form. He checks on his three wolves."How bad?" he asks me."Bad. But they will live."He nods. Looks at Sera. "Can you travel?""If we must.""You must. This fortress is compromised. The King knows where we are. He will send more soldiers. Possibly an army." He moves to the map on the wall. Studies it. "There is a place. In the northern mountains. An old safe house. Few people know it exists. We can regroup there.""When do we leave?" I ask."One hour. Pack light. We travel fast."Everyone scatters. I go to my room and gather my few things. The clean dresses Kael gave me. Some food. The knife.When I come out, Kael is waiting. He has packed supplies. Weapons. He hands me a bow and arrows."Do you know how to use this?""No.""You will learn on the way."We meet in the courtyard. Sera and her brothers are there. Moving stiffly but standing. Five horses are saddled."We ride until we cannot anymore," Kael says. "If anyone falls behind, we leave them. The King's army could arrive any moment."No one argues. We mount up. Kael leads. I ride behind him again.We fly out of the fortress into the dark forest. The moon is rising. I look back once. See the empty fortress disappearing behind us.The only place that offered safety. Now gone.We ride for hours. The terrain gets rougher. Steeper. We are climbing into mountains. The air gets cold.Behind us, I hear something. Many horses. Many wolves. Coming fast."They found us," Sera says."Faster," Kael orders.We push the horses hard. But the sounds behind us get closer. They are catching up.Kael pulls up suddenly. Ahead is a narrow pass between cliffs. The only way through."That pass is defensible," he says. "We can hold it. Slow them down.""Or die trying," Dain mutters."Better than being caught in the open," Marcus says.We ride into the pass. Dismount. Kael positions us. Sera and her brothers take the high ground. Kael and I stand at the center."When they come," he says to me, "stay behind me. Use the bow. Aim for horses or exposed wolves. Do not think. Just shoot.""I have never shot anyone."His silver eyes meet mine. "You will now."The King's soldiers pour into the pass. Twenty of them. Maybe more. All trained warriors.Kael shifts. Becomes that massive black wolf. He roars and charges.The battle is chaos. Kael tears through soldiers like they are nothing. Sera and her brothers fight from above. Arrows rain down.A soldier breaks through. Comes at me. I lift the bow. My hands shake. I shoot. The arrow flies wild. Misses.He is almost on me. His sword raised. I am going to die.Then something inside me snaps.Everything slows down. I see every detail. His movement. His weight shift. Where he is vulnerable.My body moves before my brain catches up. I drop the bow. Grab the knife. Dodge his sword. Slide under his guard. Drive the knife into his throat.He falls. Blood pours out.I stand there shaking. I just killed someone.But there is no time. Another soldier comes. This time I am ready. I move fast. Faster than I should. The knife finds flesh. He drops.The battle ends as fast as it started. The soldiers retreat. They did not expect such fierce resistance. They thought we would be easy prey.Kael shifts back. He is covered in blood. None of it his."We need to move. They will come back with more." He looks at me. At the two dead soldiers at my feet. "Are you hurt?""No." My voice sounds strange. Distant."Good. Mount up."We ride deeper into the mountains. My hands will not stop shaking. I killed two wolves tonight. Felt their blood on my hands.But I also felt something else. That strange speed. That clarity. Like my body knew what to do before I thought it.What is happening to me?We reach the safe house at dawn. It is a cave hidden behind vines. Inside is bigger than it looks. Someone prepared it long ago. Sleeping rolls. Stored food. Firewood."My father's place," Kael says. "He used it when he needed to disappear."Everyone collapses. Exhausted. We have been riding and fighting all night.Kael checks everyone's wounds. Makes sure we are all stable. Then he looks at me."Come. We need to talk."He leads me to the back of the cave. Where the others cannot hear."What happened during the fight?" he asks. "I saw you move. That was not human speed.""I do not know. I just reacted.""It was more than reaction. Your body is changing. The bond is doing something to you." He pauses. "How do you feel?""Scared. Confused. Like I am becoming something else.""You are." His silver eyes are serious. "The Elders were right. You are not fully human. Something in your blood is waking up. The question is what.""What if I turn into a monster?""Then I will help you control it." He steps closer. "You are not alone in this, Aria. Whatever is happening, we face it together."I want to believe him. But fear eats at me. What if I hurt someone? What if I cannot control whatever I am becoming?Kael seems to sense my thoughts. "Sleep. Tomorrow we start figuring out what you are. And how to survive it."I lie down on one of the sleeping rolls. Close my eyes. But sleep does not come.Instead, I dream while awake. Images flood my mind. Running through forests. Claws and fangs. A white wolf with gold eyes. Is that me? Or something inside me trying to get out?I open my eyes. The cave is dark. Everyone is asleep.Except Kael. He sits at the cave entrance. Keeping watch. Always watching.I get up and move beside him. He does not look at me but I know he knows I am there."I am scared," I whisper."I know.""What if I am dangerous?""You are dangerous," he says simply. "But dangerous is not the same as evil. You have power. Power can be used for good or bad. That is your choice.""What if I do not get to choose? What if whatever is inside me takes over?"He finally looks at me. "Then I will bring you back. That is what the bond is for. To anchor each other."I want to believe him. I try to believe him.But deep inside, that wild thing stretches and grows. And I do not know if I can stop it.