Page 16 of Furever Bound (Hollow Oak Mates #7)
MADDOX
T he sight of Grimjaw's massive form stalking through the inn's lobby sent primal fury racing through Maddox's system as his wolf recognized an immediate threat to their mate.
The creature had achieved full physical manifestation—eight feet of shifting shadow and bone, antlers that definitely consisted of human remains, and predatory intelligence that made it far more dangerous than any natural predator.
"Sera!" he called through the bathroom window, forcing his voice to remain calm despite the way his enhanced hearing picked up Elena's terrified whimpering from somewhere inside the building. "I need you to break the window. Now."
"Break it?" Sera's voice carried through the glass with surprisingly steady control. "With what?"
"Whatever you have. The ring light, your camera equipment. Just get it open so I can reach you."
The sound of shattering glass was followed immediately by Grimjaw's enraged shriek as the creature realized its prey was escaping through an exit it hadn't anticipated. Footsteps pounded across the inn's floors with inhuman speed as the manifestation adjusted its hunting strategy.
Before Maddox could reach through the broken window to help Sera climb out, he heard the legend splinter through the door, Sera scream and automatically direct her light at it.
Grimjaw shrieked and seemed to pause momentarily as Maddox reached in and grabbed her hands pulling herself through the frame.
"Are you hurt?" he asked, scanning her for injuries while his wolf prowled beneath his skin with barely contained aggression.
"No, but Elena—" Sera began, glancing back toward the inn with obvious concern.
"Elena chose her allegiances when she decided to treat you like a government asset," he replied grimly, guiding her away from the building as Grimjaw's hunting sounds grew more frantic. "Her federal colleagues can extract her if they consider her valuable enough."
They reached the treeline just as Grimjaw burst through the inn's back door, its form more solid and menacing than any folklore had described.
The creature moved with deliberate purpose as it tested the air, tracking their scent with predatory focus that suggested intelligence beyond mindless hunger.
"It's actually real," Sera whispered, staring at the manifestation she'd accidentally created through viral content. "I did this. I brought this thing into existence."
"You channeled energy that was already building," Maddox corrected, positioning himself between her and the hunting creature. "Something was preparing to manifest regardless. Your documentation just focused it into this specific form."
"Focused it into a bone-collecting monster that's now stalking through town looking for people to kill," she said, guilt making her voice raw with self-recrimination.
"Focused it into something we understand and can potentially redirect," he replied, pulling iron-core ammunition from his jacket pocket. "Unfocused manifestation energy creates chaos. Specific folklore manifestation follows predictable patterns."
Grimjaw's attention snapped toward their location as their conversation carried through the night air, and Maddox watched the creature's antlered head turn with mechanical precision toward their hiding spot.
"It knows we're here," Sera breathed, instinctively moving closer to his protective presence.
"It knows you're here," he corrected grimly. "Grimjaw traditionally hunts isolated individuals, but you're the one who gave it form. The connection makes you its preferred target."
The creature began moving toward the forest with flowing grace that defied its massive size, shadow and substance shifting around bone and malevolent purpose in ways that hurt to observe directly.
"What do we do?" Sera asked, her hand finding his arm with touch that sent grounding warmth through his system.
"We run," he said simply, already calculating routes that would lead them toward Council backup while keeping distance from the manifestation. "And we hope Callum and Emmett are in position to provide covering fire."
They moved through the forest with desperate efficiency, Sera keeping pace despite her lack of wilderness experience while Maddox used his enhanced senses to track Grimjaw's pursuit.
The creature followed with relentless patience, never quite catching up but never losing their trail, like something that understood endurance hunting better than direct confrontation.
"Maddox," Sera panted as they paused behind a massive oak, "there's something I need to tell you. When I turned on the ring light just now, the LED illumination actually hurt it. Made it recoil like the light was causing physical pain."
The information sparked possibilities that made his tactical mind race with new strategies. "Traditional folklore mentions bone collectors avoiding areas with concentrated light sources, but most researchers assumed it was metaphorical."
"It's not metaphorical," she said with certainty that suggested her developing abilities included intuitive understanding of supernatural weaknesses. "Artificial light disrupts whatever energy keeps it manifested."
"Then we need to reach town," he decided, adjusting their route toward the main street where electric lighting might provide defensive advantages. "Street lamps, store signs, anything with consistent illumination."
They broke from the forest near The Griddle & Grind, the café's windows glowing warmly despite the power outage affecting other buildings.
Twyla appeared in the doorway with a crossbow that looked suspiciously well-maintained for café equipment, her ageless features sharp with protective determination.
"This way," she called, gesturing them toward her establishment. "Iron mesh in the windows, blessed salt along the threshold, and enough LED lighting to blind a manifestation."
As they ran toward sanctuary, Sera glanced back to see Grimjaw emerge from the forest, its form more substantial and threatening than ever. But when the creature reached the edge of the café's illuminated area, it stopped as if hitting an invisible barrier.
"The light's actually holding it back," she breathed, amazement cutting through her fear.
"For now," Maddox said grimly, watching as Grimjaw began circling the building's perimeter like a predator testing defensive boundaries. "But manifestations grow stronger through fear and attention. And this one's already had more social media engagement than any folklore in recorded history."
Through the café's windows, they could see other residents taking shelter while supernatural defenders coordinated responses to their first fully manifested threat.
The community Sera had accidentally endangered was rallying to protect both her and themselves, treating her as someone worth saving rather than a liability to eliminate.