The air inside the cave felt heavier than outside.
Still, we moved deeper. Slow. Controlled.
No one spoke.
We couldn't afford the noise.
Even our breaths came shallow, muffled behind gritted teeth and tightened throats. Somewhere above us, the helicopters were still circling. Maybe they knew what was hunting us. Maybe they didn't care.
Behind me, Martinez and Kol took positions near the entrance, laying sensors and checking weapons. Hale and Rourke formed a loose perimeter around the deeper bend in the cave, flashlights off, relying only on memory and instinct.
It was working—until it wasn't.
Crack.
A stone snapped under too much pressure outside.
Not far.
Everyone stilled.
Kol's hand went to his sidearm. Kade turned sharply toward me. Our eyes locked.
And that was all it took.
I shifted first.
Bones flexed, skin rippling like liquid. The sensation tore through me—painful, but clean. Familiar. Power laced itself into every inch of my new form, fur rising like static, claws sharpening against stone.
Kade shifted a moment later, his wolf form darker, bulkier. Quieter.
But it was Nyx who made herself known.
Finally, she snarled, you let me out.
I didn't respond. Just let her drive.
And him? she snapped, ears flattening as she stalked around Kade's wolf. What's he doing here? Playing loyal mutt all of a sudden?
Kade's trying to help, I told her.
He had his chance to help you before. He left. And now he thinks showing his teeth makes him useful again?
Kade didn't kill any of our people. The thing outside did.
Nyx growled but turned her attention outward.
The forest just beyond the cave mouth was darker than before. Quiet again. But not still.
Something moved.
Kade caught it too—his ears twitching, nose angled up, body lowering into a defensive crouch.
Nyx circled around the edge of the formation, keeping herself between our team and the opening.
Kade can take left, she muttered. I've got the right.
You're actually cooperating? I asked.
Only because I'm not letting him be the one who dies protecting our pack.
I huffed through my snout. Fair enough.
Then we heard it.
A breath.
Not human.
Too deep. Too… wet.
Nyx tensed so hard my spine ached.
It's here.