Chapter 8 Chapter 8
Sable POV
The ground trembled again. At this time, everyone was staring at the forest wondering who was coming.
Even the hunters.
The branches of the trees snapped together creating a weird sound,while sending chills down everyone spines.
Then another sound followed.
We could hear heavy footsteps.
My heart pounded painfully in my chest.
"What... what is that?", I whispered.
Yet no one answered me.
Leonidas was still on one knee in front of me, his body tense as he struggled against the strange command my power had forced on the wolves and on him. His injured shoulder was bleeding slowly, the scent of blood filling the air.
But his attention wasn’t on his wound instead his glowing eyes were locked on the forest.
Zander stood beside him, strangely calm despite the danger surrounding us.
"That", he murmured softly, "was not part of the hunters’ plan".
The hunters were beginning to shift uneasily now. Several of them turned toward the trees, gripping their weapons tighter at alert.
One of them spoke quickly into his communicator.
"Something’s approaching from the north side".
Another loud crack echoed from the distance as a thick branch snapped in half.
The shadows between the trees shifted.
And that was when I saw it.
Two glowing golden eyes appeared in the darkness.
My breath caught in my throat.
A massive shape stepped out from the forest.
Gasps spread through the hallway.
The creature was enormous.
It looked like a wolf–but was far larger than any animal I had ever seen before. Its dark fur rippled with muscle as it moved forward slowly, each step it take was deliberate and powerful.
The creature’s head alone reached nearly to my chest.
Its teeth were long, sharp, and deadly.
And its eyes...
Its eyes were locked directly on me.
My body froze on the ground.
The air grew thick and heavy around us.
One of the hunters swore under his breath.
"That’s a rogue".
Rogue?
The word meant nothing to me, but judging by the tension spreading through the crowd, it was something bad.
Very bad.
The massive wolf ignored everyone else.
It kept walking forward slowly. Toward me.
Leonidas finally managed to force himself back to his feet, his muscles trembling from the effort. His wolf was still fighting my strange influence.
"Stay behind me", he ordered quietly.
I didn’t argue.
My legs felt too weak to move anyway.
The rogue wolf stopped several feet away from us.
Looking at it from a closer view, it looked even larger.
It was terrifying.
The hallway had gone completely silent.
Even the hunters seemed unsure what to do.
One of them finally lifted his crossbow and aimed it at the creature.
The rogue wolf’s ears twitched slightly as the hunter fired.
The silver bolt flew straight toward the wolf’s–rogue chest.
But the creature moved faster than my eyes could follow.
It snapped the bolt out of the air with its jaws.
The metal crushed between its teeth with a sharp crunch.
The hunter cursed loudly.
“That thing is not normal.”
“No rogue is normal,” Leonidas muttered.
The wolf’s golden eyes shifted briefly toward the hunters as a low growl rumbled from deep within its chest. The sound vibrated through the ground like distant thunder while the hunters took a cautious step back.
Then the wolf looked at me again.
My heart skipped.
Something strange stirred inside my chest.
That familiar pressure returned.
The moment our eyes met, the sensation intensified.
It felt like something inside me was...responding.
Answering.
"What is happening?" I whispered.
Zander’s voice came from beside me.
"Interesting", he said thoughtfully.
“That creature should be attacking everyone here.”
“But it isn’t.”
I swallowed down nervously.
The wolf took another slow step forward.
Leonidas growled warningly,
"Don’t come any closer".
The wolf stopped.
But it didn’t look at Leonidas.
It was still staring at me.
My breathing became uneven.
The strange power inside me pulsed again.
Suddenly, the rogue wolf
lowered its head slightly.
The movement was small but unmistakable.
Gasps echoed around the courtyard.
One of the wolves among the students whispered in shock.
"It’s...bowing".
Leonidas stiffened.
"That’s impossible".
But I could see it clearly
The massive wolf wasn’t showing aggression.
It wasn’t preparing to attack.
It was acknowledging me.
Why?
I didn’t understand anything that was happening again.
The hunters noticed it too.
Their leader stepped forward slowly, his weapon still raised.
"So it’s true", he said quietly.
My stomach twisted.
"What is true?"
His eyes gleamed behind his mask.
"The Omega really can control them".
Control them?
The pressure inside my chest surged again.
My head spun.
"I’m not controlling anything!",I protested.
But the rogue wolf took another step closer.
And then another.
The hunters reacted immediately.
"Take it down!", one of them shouted.
Three hunters raised their weapons at once. Gunshots exploded through the air. Silver bullets fired towards the rogue wolf.
The creature moved with terrifying speed. It lunged forward with a furious roar.
One hunter screamed as the massive wolf slammed into him, sending him crashing into the ground.
The other hunters opened fire.
Chaos erupted instantly.
Leonidas cursed under his breath.
"Damn it".
Zander stepped aside gracefully as another hunter rushed past him.
"Well", the vampire said casually, "this was expected to happen but it happened too quickly".
The rogue wolf fire through the hunters like a storm.
Its claws ripped through armor. Its teeth snapped dangerously close to silver weapons.
The courtyard became a battlefield.
Students ran in every direction taking coverage.
Some wolves began shifting into their animal forms.
I stood frozen in the middle of it all.
My heart raced.
My head throbbed.
The strange power inside me was growing stronger.
Too strong.
"Sable!", Caius’ voice cut through the chaos.
I turned toward him.
He was moving toward me quickly, his expression dark and serious.
"This is exactly why I kept you hidden", he said.
"What are you talking about?", I demanded.
Before he could answer, another hunter aimed a weapon at me.
Leonidas saw it first.
"Sable!"
He lunged forward.
The hunter fired.
But before the shot could reach me–
The rogue wolf appeared between us.