𝐒𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐄
The forest swallowed me whole the moment Kaia burst through my skin in one painless motion, the world sharpening into a high-definition lattice of scent and motion. Instinct took total command as my paws tore through damp earth and frozen leaves.
The trees blurred past in streaks of obsidian and emerald, branches whipping like lashes at my flanks. Heady adrenaline pumped through every muscle, singing with the remembered geometry of flight. I did not look back; the gods knew I didn't need to. His presence slammed into the woods behind me, heavy and inevitable as death itself.
The ground gave way to tremors with every powerful arch of his strides, vibrating through my pads even with the distance remaining between us.
It confused me.
And it gave me hope, in a way.
I had expected the High Alpha of the Umbra realm to be a stealthy, shadow-bound hunter, but I could sense him clearly behind me. My mind computed without strain exactly how much distance split us.
