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But I didn’t stop.

I reached the house just as Annika stepped out onto the porch, her hair wild, her eyes blazing. She had a dagger in one hand and blood smeared across the other.

My warrior princess.

She saw me, and relief flashed in her eyes. Then it was gone, replaced by something sharper. Fiercer.

“Behind you!” she shouted.

I turned as claws raked the air where my head had been. I dodged, twisting, and drove my blade up into the shifter’s ribs. It snarled, hot breath on my face, but I shoved harder, cutting through flesh until it went limp.

Annika was already moving, slicing through another one before I reached her.

“We need to move!” I shouted.

I had no idea what happened… when… or how…

I was still fighting. Blades were flashing, blood slick on my hands. The air was filled with smoke and screams, but I barely heard them. My focus was on her. Always her.

A massive shape lunged at her, half man, half beast. Its arms were thick with muscle, its mouth full of teeth. She stabbed it, but another grabbed her from behind, twisting the dagger from her hand. She kicked, fought, but they overwhelmed her.

“No!”

I ran harder, slashing through anything in my path. Blood sprayed, hot and sharp, but I didn’t stop. Couldn’t stop.

Then one of them—a wolf, half-shifted—threw her over its shoulder like she weighed nothing.

“Annika!” My voice cracked, raw and savage.

Her eyes locked on mine. Wide. Terrified. Then the wolf turned, disappearing into the trees.

I was almost there. Just steps away. But something slammed into me. A bear, massive and snarling. Its claws tore into my shoulder, ripping flesh, and the pain hit like fire. I shoved it off, drove my blade into its throat, but it cost me seconds. Precious, impossible seconds.

When I looked up again, she was… gone.

The forest swallowed her whole.

I ran. Didn’t think. Didn’t feel. Just ran. My vision blurred, red at the edges, but I chased the scent of her blood, her fear, through the trees.

Shapes moved around me. The shifters were retreating, the shadows shifting, but I didn’t stop to fight. They were scattering. Vanishing. Taking her with them.

“Annika!” I roared, the sound ripping through the night. Birds scattered, and the forest stilled, like even the earth knew what I’d lost.

But she didn’t answer.

The scent faded. It was too faint.

I fell to my knees, fists digging into the dirt. Blood smeared my palms. Hers. Mine. It didn’t matter. My chest heaved, and I barely noticed the pain lacing my body.

I’d failed her.

Then, a hand landed on my shoulder, firm and steady.

I spun, fast and vicious, shoving Kael back before I even thought. “Don’t touch me!” My voice came out raw, sharp enough to cut.

Kael didn’t flinch. He staggered a step but didn’t raise his hands, didn’t fight. He just stood there, watching. Waiting.

I hated him for it.