My throat burned from screaming the second one of the wolves launched at Vaelor.

Terror hit hard enough to make my entire body shake.

Another wolf came from the left.

Vaelor reacted instantly, twisting midair and catching it by the spine with a brutal bite. The wolf yelped in pain before Vaelor hurled it straight into a tree hard enough to crack bark.

But the other two attacked immediately.

Together.

Savage.

Relentless.

Vaelor tried to break free from the chaos, but they kept going for his legs, dragging him down, forcing him to stay trapped beneath snapping jaws and cowardly attacks.

Even injured, he protected his throat perfectly.

One mistake there and he was dead.

A furious snarl ripped from him as he caught one wolf by the leg, sharp fangs tearing straight through muscle. The wolf cried out, collapsing sideways.

Then the third wolf struck.

"VAELOR!"

The scream tore out of me when blood exploded across his thigh.

His wolf staggered.

My heart felt like it stopped.

Tears blurred my vision instantly.

One wolf lay dead already, but Vaelor could barely stay standing now. Blood soaked through his fur, dripping heavily onto the forest floor.

Still, he kept fighting.

Still protecting me.

Even if it killed him.

Vaelor lunged again, going straight for the remaining wolf despite the way his injured leg trembled beneath him.

None of them were supposed to leave that forest alive.

I knew it.

Then something felt wrong.

Another wolf was moving behind him.

Toward me.

Silent.

Using the distraction.

My breath caught painfully.

I was the target.

Vaelor was too busy defending himself to notice.

My eyes darted toward the massive tree beside me.

If I got out of reach…

Maybe they'd stop attacking him.

Adrenaline hit fast.

I jumped for the lowest branch without thinking twice.

My hands caught bark. My shoes slipped once before I shoved myself upward with my knees, climbing higher desperately.

Another branch.

Then another.

I dragged myself onto a thick limb and wrapped both arms around it, lying flat against the rough bark while I fought to breathe.

The wolf beneath me looked completely confused now, pacing below the tree.

For one second, relief hit.

Then I looked down.

And horror replaced it instantly.

The remaining wolves still circled Vaelor, giving him no room to move.

His thigh looked shredded open now, flesh torn badly enough to expose muscle beneath the blood soaked fur.

Still he fought.

Still he refused to go down.

A sudden howl cut through the snarls.

I looked toward the sound.

A white wolf stood in the distance, staring directly at me.

Seconds later, it turned and disappeared into the forest.

The attacking wolves followed immediately.

Gone.

Vaelor remained standing for barely another minute.

Then he collapsed heavily onto the ground.

"No!"

I scrambled down the tree so fast I nearly fell.

"Vaelor—"

I dropped beside him, grabbing his massive body desperately.

"Wake up. Please, wake up!"

He couldn't die.

Not now.

Not when there was still so much between us.

"So don't you dare leave me now," I choked out, tears running freely down my face. "You can't."

My hands shook as I examined the wound on his leg.

The damage was horrific.

Fur ripped away with chunks of flesh. Muscle exposed. Nerves visible beneath the blood.

His back wounds weren't as bad.

If I had supplies—

If I had help—

I looked around wildly through the darkening forest.

I needed to get him help.

Fast.

And somehow… I had to do it alone.