Randell stepped deeper into the undergrowth, boots sinking softly into damp soil as his eyes swept across the forest with careful precision.
Moonlight filtered through the canopy in fractured streams, painting the ground in shifting silver patterns. The deeper he moved, the quieter the world became.
No insects.
No movement.
Not even wind.
That alone unsettled him.
Most forests breathed at night. Leaves rustled. Small creatures moved through the dark. Predators stalked prey beneath the brush.
But here
Nothing.
Randell crouched beside the base of a massive tree, bushes beside and ahead. fingers brushing against exposed roots thick enough to resemble twisted stone. The bark carried fresh claw marks running several feet upward.
Large creature.
Recent.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"Something claimed this area already…"
Behind him, Ryker secured the horses to a lower branch while scanning the darkness beyond the trees. The animals remained restless, stamping against the earth and snorting uneasily.
They sensed it too.
Ryker loosened the sword at his waist.
"Problem?"
Randell rose slowly.
"Maybe."
The wind shifted.
A foul smell drifted through the trees.
Rot.
Blood.
Wet fur.
Ryker's expression hardened instantly.
Then—
A growl echoed somewhere deep within the forest.
Low.
Heavy.
Close.
The horses panicked immediately, pulling violently against their restraints.
Randell moved without hesitation.
"Quiet them."
Ryker grabbed the reins before the animals could bolt while Randell stepped forward into the darkness, one hand resting near the dagger hidden beneath his coat.
The growl came again.
Closer this time.
Branches cracked.
Something large circled them beyond the tree line.
Randell's breathing slowed.
Careful.
Listening.
Watching.
Then the darkness moved.
Two pale eyes appeared between the trees.
Another followed.
Then six more.
Ryker's grip tightened around his weapon.
"…Dire wolves."
Massive shapes emerged slowly from the forest, their bodies lean and scarred beneath coarse black fur. Their eyes reflected pale silver beneath the moonlight while strands of saliva dripped from exposed fangs.
Seven of them.
No—
Eight.
One remained hidden behind the others.
The alpha.
Randell noticed it immediately.
The wolves spread outward silently, surrounding them with practiced coordination. They weren't starving animals acting on instinct.
They were hunting.
Ryker exhaled quietly.
"Of course it had to be wolves."
Randell's eyes remained fixed on the darkness behind the pack.
"They're waiting for us to panic."
The largest wolf finally stepped forward.
Nearly the size of a horse.
Its body was covered in old scars while one ear hung partially torn from previous battles. A deep growl rumbled from its chest as its gaze locked directly onto Randell.
The pressure changed instantly.
The weaker wolves lowered themselves slightly.
Waiting for the command.
Ryker shifted his footing.
"We fighting?"
Randell didn't answer immediately.
His eyes studied the terrain instead.
Dense trees.
Limited movement.
Bad angle for mounted combat.
And worse
No clean escape route if the horses panicked.
The alpha took another step forward.
Randell finally spoke.
"Kill the leader first."
The moment the words left his mouth
The wolves attacked.
The forest exploded into motion.
Two wolves lunged from the left while another
charged directly toward Ryker. The horses screamed in panic as claws tore across the ground.
Ryker drew his sword instantly.
Steel flashed beneath moonlight.
A wolf collided with him head-on, jaws snapping toward his throat, but Ryker twisted sideways and drove his blade upward through its jaw with brutal force.
Blood sprayed across the trees.
The corpse crashed sideways into the dirt.
Meanwhile Randell moved differently.
No wasted motion.
No panic.
One wolf leapt toward him from behind,
He ducked beneath it smoothly, grabbed its fur mid-air, and used its own momentum to slam the creature headfirst into a nearby tree hard enough to crack bone.
Another lunged immediately after.
Randell stepped inside its attack instead of retreating.
His dagger flashed once.
A clean cut across the throat.
The wolf collapsed before it even understood it had died.
Fast.
Precise.
Efficient.
The alpha watched carefully from the rear.
Studying them.
Then it moved.
The sheer speed caught even Ryker off guard.
The massive beast crossed the distance in seconds and slammed directly into him like a charging boulder. Ryker barely raised his sword in time before claws crashed against steel hard enough to send him skidding across the ground.
"Damn—!"
The alpha pressed forward relentlessly, jaws snapping inches from his face.
Ryker planted one foot against its chest and kicked hard, forcing the beast backward just long enough to recover his footing.
But the wolf wasn't alone.
Three more attacked simultaneously from different directions.
"Ryker!"
Randell moved instantly.
He sprinted forward, vaulted off a tree trunk, and drove both feet into one wolf mid-air, crushing it sideways into another before landing in a low crouch beside Ryker.
The alpha circled slowly now.
Smarter than the others.
Its pale eyes shifted between them with animal calculation.
Then it looked upward.
Randell noticed first.
"Move."
Ryker reacted instantly.
A massive shape crashed down from above where it had hidden among the branches.
Another wolf.
Larger than the rest.
Its claws ripped through the space Ryker occupied a second earlier.
Ambush predator.
The alpha had been distracting them.
Randell's expression darkened slightly.
"…Clever."
The second large wolf snarled and stepped beside the alpha.
Two leaders.
Not one.
The forest fell silent again as the remaining wolves regrouped behind them.
Ryker spat blood onto the ground and tightened his grip on his sword.
"You just had to say maybe."
Randell ignored him.
His eyes remained fixed on the wolves ahead.
Then slowly
He smiled.
Very slightly.
The kind of expression that appeared only when something dangerous finally became interesting.
The alpha growled again.
And the forest erupted into violence once more.