Page 24 of The Pack

CHAPTER 24

Z ara

The city’s eerie silence stretched around us as we stopped to rest in what was left of an old square. The remnants of a fountain stood at its center, the stone basin cracked and dry, its edges covered in moss that shimmered faintly under the light of the sun overhead.

We sat in the shadow of a crumbled building, the pack forming a protective circle around me as we ate. Magnus handed me a piece of dried meat, scanning the ruins as he chewed. The tension in his shoulders never eased.

Eerily, everything suddenly went deathly silent.

Magnus stiffened, his eyes narrowing. “Do you hear that?”

We all froze, the silence broken only by the faintest sound—a low, guttural growl, deep and resonant, echoing through the crumbled streets like a distant thunderstorm.

My heart skipped a beat, and I scrambled to my feet, clutching the cloak around me. “What is that?”

“Trouble,” Thorne muttered, his fear etched across his face.

Another growl answered the first, closer this time. Then another. And another.

“Whatever it is, they’re surrounding us,” Tobias said grimly, his blade already in his hand.

Callum sniffed the air, his expression darkening. “There’s more than one. A dozen, maybe.”

Killian cursed under his breath, his grin long gone. “We’ve wandered into the wrong bloody place.”

The growls grew louder, and the world stopped.

One of the creatures emerged from the shadows in the distance, its massive form loping toward us on two legs. It was… wrong, twisted in a way that made my stomach churn. Its body was muscular, its elongated limbs rippling with unnatural strength. Blackened veins pulsed beneath its leathery skin, which was mottled and hairless in places.

Its head was wolf-like but distorted, the snout too long, the jaws too wide, filled with jagged teeth that gleamed in the dim light. Its glowing yellow eyes were set deep in its skull, radiating a cold, predatory intelligence that made my blood run cold.

But the worst part was the sound it made—a guttural snarl that seemed to vibrate through the air, carrying with it the promise of violence.

“That’s not a wolf shifter,” I whispered, my voice trembling.

“No,” Magnus said grimly. “That’s a mutation. A half-shifter, half… I don’t know what.”

“Radiation did this,” Thorne said, his voice tight. “The virus didn’t stop evolving. Here in the city, it adapted.”

The creature tilted its head, its glowing eyes narrowing as it sniffed the air. Then it let out an ear-splitting howl, its jagged claws scraping against the cracked pavement as it lunged forward.

Magnus grabbed my arm, his eyes locking onto mine. “We’re running,” he commanded. “Now.”

“There are too many of them!” Tobias growled. “We’ll never outrun them all!”

“Two of us will carry her,” Magnus said, already shifting into wolf form. His silver coat gleamed in the haze, his sharp teeth bared. “The rest of you hold them off.”

“No,” I protested, my voice shaking. “I can run?—”

“You’re not fast enough,” Thorne snapped, his pale blue eyes flashing as he shifted into his wolf form.

“I’ll take her,” Callum said, already stepping forward.

Killian cursed again, as he glanced between the approaching beasts and the pack. “This is madness,” he muttered, his grin returning faintly. “But what the hell. I’ll slow them down.”

The creatures emerged fully now, one by one, their massive forms stalking toward us and closing the distance between us with terrifying focus.

They were grotesque, their twisted bodies built for killing. Their glowing eyes locked onto us, their snarls growing louder as they closed the distance between us and them.

“Go!” Magnus barked, his voice deafeningly loud.

Callum grabbed me, his arms strong and steady as he hoisted me onto his back. “Hold on, Zara,” he said, his voice soft, but urgent.

The pack sprang into motion, Magnus and Thorne leading the charge as wolves. Tobias and Killian stayed back, their weapons gleaming as they turned to face the oncoming monsters.

The last thing I saw before Callum bolted with me on his back was the twisted grin of one of the creatures, its jagged teeth bared as it lunged toward Killian.

Then we were running.

In a matter of moments, everything turned to shit.

Callum ran as fast as his legs could carry us, his breaths heavy and uneven as he bolted through the crumbled streets of Dublin. The sounds of the mutated creatures echoed behind us—snarls, growls, the scrape of claws on pavement. They were getting closer.

“Hold on, Zara,” he said, his voice tight with strain.

“I can run!” I shouted, clutching his shoulders as he leapt over a fallen streetlamp.

“You’re safer up here?—”

He never finished the sentence.

A shadow launched out of the haze, a massive form barreling into us with bone-crushing force. Callum went down hard, the impact knocking the air from my lungs as we hit the ground. I rolled away, coughing and gasping for breath, my hands scrambling for the knife at my side.

“Run!” Callum yelled, his voice rough and guttural.

In a flash of motion Callum was already on his feet, his gray eyes blazing as he shifted mid-movement. His wolf form was powerful, his sleek gray coat bristling as he snarled at the creature that had attacked us.

I stumbled to my feet, but before I could move, another beast lunged toward us, its yellow eyes locked on me.

Time seemed to slow as it closed the distance, its huge claws raised, its jagged teeth bared in a snarl that made my blood run cold.

The beast slammed into me, its weight driving me to the ground. Pain exploded in my shoulder as its claws raked across my arm, and I screamed, the sound tearing from my throat as I struggled beneath its bulk.

Its breath was hot and rancid, its jagged teeth snapping inches from my face as it pinned me to the cracked pavement.

Move, Zara. Move!

With a desperate cry, I reached for my knife, my fingers closing around the hilt just as the creature lunged for my throat. I drove the blade upward with all my strength, the pointed edge sinking deep into its chest.

The beast let out a terrible, gurgling roar, its glowing eyes wide with shock as it thrashed above me. Hot blood sprayed across my hands, the thick, metallic scent making my stomach churn.

“Get off her!”

Magnus’s voice roared through the chaos, and then a silver blur crashed into the beast, knocking it off of me.

I gasped, scrambling backward as Magnus’s wolf form tore into the creature, his powerful jaws ripping at its throat.

Thorne’s white wolf form darted between two creatures, his teeth snapping at their legs as he drew them away from Callum. Killian, still in human form, swung his blade with precision, the edge catching one beast across the face and sending it reeling.

Tobias moved like an assassin, his dark eyes focused as he shifted mid-leap, his massive wolf form slamming into a creature that had been charging Magnus.

Everywhere I looked, the pack was fighting, their movements fluid and desperate as they battled the mutated monsters.

One of the beasts lunged for Callum, its claws raking across his flank. He yelped, stumbling, but recovered quickly, his sharp teeth snapping at the creature’s throat. Blood sprayed as he brought it down, but another was already closing in on him.

“Callum!” I screamed, grabbing a chunk of debris from the ground and hurling it at the beast.

The rock struck its head, just enough to distract it. Callum took the opening, lunging forward and sinking his teeth into its neck.

Magnus darted past me, his silver coat streaked with blood as he shifted back into human form, grabbing one of the fallen weapons and hurling it at a creature that had cornered Killian. The blade sank into the beast’s shoulder, and Killian grabbed the opportunity, slashing its throat with a feral grin.

A shadow fell over me, and I turned just in time to see another beast lunge.

I screamed, raising my arms instinctively, but before it could reach me, Thorne’s massive wolf form collided with it midair. The two tumbled to the ground in a blur of claws and teeth, their snarls tearing through the haze.

Tobias barked in my direction, likely telling me to do something like stay back, his dark wolf form circling me protectively.

I saw Callum fall, only to rise again, his teeth bared and his eyes blazing as he tore into another beast. Killian moved like a whirlwind, his reddish-brown hair streaked with blood as he fought on with wild desperation.

Magnus and Tobias worked in perfect sync, their forms shifting seamlessly between human and wolf as they took down one creature after another. Thorne was a blur of motion, his teeth snapping as he drove a beast away from me, his growls reverberating through my chest.

I watched as Magnus shifted mid-strike, his silver wolf form tearing into one beast’s flank before leaping back, his human hands already reaching for another blade. Tobias darted between two of the creatures, his dark wolf form moving like a shadow as he sank his teeth into the throat of one and whipped his head to the side, sending blood spraying across the cracked pavement.

Callum was close to me now, his gray eyes glinting with rage as he swung his blade at a creature lunging for my side.

“Keep behind me!” he shouted, his voice rough with exertion.

“I’m trying!” I yelled back, clutching my knife as another beast barreled toward us.

This one was larger than the others, its grotesque muscles rippling beneath its leathery skin. Its snarls were deeper, its movements slower, but somehow still intelligent.

“Zara, move!” Magnus’s voice cut through the chaos.

I dove to the side just as the creature lunged, its claws scraping against the pavement where I’d been standing. Callum lunged forward, driving his blade into its side, but the beast roared, its massive claws knocking him backward.

I scrambled to my feet, my knife raised as the creature turned its glowing eyes on me. My heart thundered in my chest, the air thick with the scent of blood.

Before it could reach me, Thorne slammed into its side, his wolf a blur of motion as he sank his teeth into its shoulder. The creature let out a guttural roar, swiping wildly at Thorne, but he held on, his powerful jaws locking onto its flesh.

Killian darted in from the other side, his body smeared with blood as he slashed at the creature’s exposed flank.

“Come on, you ugly bastard!” he shouted, his blade glinting in the dim light.

The beast bucked and roared, its claws raking at the air, but Magnus was there in an instant, his silver wolf form lunging for its throat. The three of them moved together as one, and within moments, the creature collapsed, its gigantic body crashing to the ground.

I barely had time to catch my breath before another beast lunged at me, its jagged teeth snapping inches from my face.

“Zara!” Callum shouted, his voice filled with panic as he scrambled toward me.

Trying to retreat, I stumbled back, gripping my knife with trembling hands.

Before the creature could strike, a huge wolf barreled out of the shadows, its dark coat streaked with silver. The beast turned almost in time to meet the wolf’s snarling charge, but it wasn’t fast enough. The wolf slammed into it, teeth sinking into the creature’s neck with brutal precision.

The mutated beast thrashed wildly, its claws scraping at the ground as it tried to shake off the wolf. But the wolf was relentless, its jaws tightening as it dragged the creature down. With a final, gurgling roar, the beast collapsed, its body going still beneath the wolf’s weight.

My heart raced as I stared at the new wolf. Its glowing eyes locked onto mine, and I stared back at it, trying not to panic.

“Who…” I started, my voice trembling.

The wolf tilted its head slightly before stepping back from the dead beast. Then, with a low growl that sent a shiver down my spine, it began to shift.

Bones cracked and reshaped, the dark fur melting away to reveal smooth skin. The transformation was quick, fluid, and when it was over, a tall figure stood in the wolf’s place.

Logan.

“Hey there, sis,” he said softly.

His dark hair was streaked with dirt. His chest rose and fell with each heavy breath, and his dark eyes scanned the clearing, taking in the chaos around us.

“Logan…” I whispered, my voice breaking.

He looked at me, his familiar grin the sweetest thing I’d ever seen. His expression softened for just a moment before he turned back to the courtyard, motioning with one hand.

Behind him, four more wolves emerged from the shadows, their glowing eyes reflecting the fading sunlight as they moved into the square.

Logan’s smirk widened as he turned back to me, his voice calm, but fierce.

“Looked like you could use a hand.”