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Something cold curdled in my gut.

I had fought wars before. I’d built this camp, this Resistance, to fight against the wolves in the city. This sounded like something different though.

“Then you better start talking,” I commanded.

Varek Dain had the kind of presence that took up space, even when he wasn’t speaking. I didn’t like him. Not yet. Whether that assessment would change remained to be seen, but I was smart enough to listen to him.

His sharp eyes flicked between Rowan and me, evaluating, judging, calculating. I could feel the tension in the air like a tangible thing. Three dominant alphas standing within arm’s reach of one another, all sizing each other up, all waiting for someone to make the first move. I could see the muscle ticking in Rowan’s cheek, and the way his fingers flexed minutely at his sides, resisting the urge to clench into fists. Varek just stood there, relaxed but alert. That made me even more wary.

Finally, he spoke.

“We lost an outpost,” he intoned, voice even, almost bored. “Far to the south, beyond the dead cities. It was a small installation, reinforced with stone, self-sustaining. Not a high priority target. No reason for anyone to attack it.” He rolled his shoulders like the very idea was absurd. “But we lost contact a few weeks ago. No patrols returned. No scouts. Not even a goddamn messenger bird.”

I crossed my arms. “So?”

Varek’s smirk was slow, deliberate. “So, we sent a team. Good men, well-trained men. The kind that don’t fail.” Before he continued, his face hardened. “They didn’t come back.”

I exchanged a glance with Rowan.

Varek continued. “We intercepted a few radio transmissions, what little of it came through the static anyway.” He sighed heavily, as if the memory irritated him. “The usual distress call at first. They were under attack, needed reinforcements. Then the screaming started.”

His voice dropped slightly, his tone shifting—not nervous, exactly, but unnerved.

“The last thing we heard before the signal cut out was a single word: Burrowers.”

A shiver ran through the wolves around me.

Rowan’s brow furrowed. “Burrowers?”

Varek’s met Rowan’s eyes. “That’s what they called them. I’ve seen the aftermath, what was left of the outpost.” He paused, letting the silence drag out before finally saying, “There wasn’t much remaining.”

The air thickened around us.

Rowan narrowed his eyes. “What the fuck are we dealing with? What’s a burrower?”

Varek exhaled slowly. “We don’t know exactly what they are. The old texts say they used to be human, a long time ago, before the world collapsed, but something changed them. Corrupted them.” His silver gaze swept over us, demanding our attention. “They’re not just feral. They think. They hunt in packs, but they don’t kill out of instinct. They strategize.”

I watched him carefully. “And they eat what?”

Varek visibly swallowed and took a deep breath before he spoke. “Everything.”

A universal shiver seemed to go through the camp.

I thought I had seen the worst of what this tainted world had to offer. The virus had turned men into monsters, had created us, had built a system where the strong thrived and the weak were devoured.

But this? This was something different.

Lia stepped forward, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. “Define ‘everything.’”

Varek’s gaze flicked to her, and he seemed slightly amused. “They eat whatever they can sink their teeth into: bone, muscle, especially blood, of any living thing they find.” He tilted his head, watching her reaction. “But humans are their favorite.”

Kendra muttered under her breath, “Of course we are.”

Varek ignored her and redirected his attention to Rowan and me. “They burrow underground, hence the name. They wait for the right moment, and then they swarm. Hundreds of them, crawling up from the dirt, moving like shadows. You won’t see them coming until it’s already too late.”

I exhaled slowly. “So let me get this straight; you’re asking us to help fight monsters?”

Varek nodded. “Iknowyou just had a wolf attack. I know your camp is compromised. I know you’re looking for a way to strike back.” He shrugged. “You want revenge? You want to win? You want to burn that city to the ground and take down the bastards who rule it? You help me do this and I’ll help you take them down in return.”