The moment my feet hit the ground outside the the wall fence, panic fuels me. I don't manage to get away unnoticed.
From the corner of my eye, I catch movement, they're following me, swift and merciless.
This place is like it was built in the heart of woods, although when inside of the compound, you cannot tell, it's fancy in there.
The voice in my head barks sharp instructions, pumping what feels like raw energy into my exhausted body.
Every word it says pushes my muscles to go faster, my mind to stay sharp.
I dart through the woods, weaving between towering trees whose twisted branches claw at me like skeletal hands.
The forest is thick and endless, but they don't let up, their growls and snarls ripple through the night air.
The ground trembles under their pounding paws. But no matter how fast or hard they chase, they don't manage to reach me.
"Stop," the voice says, calm but urgent. "They are not going to stop chasing."
I almost stumble from shock.
"I should stop?!" I shout breathlessly, confused, my legs still pumping desperately. Why the hell should I stop if we're trying to escape?!
"Yes, stop. Turn to them. And howl," it commands, voice firm like iron.
"What? I don't know how to do that, I've never..." the words tumble out between gasps.
"It's just like screaming, but you have to connect with your inner wolf," the voice explains quickly.
"I just told you, I don't know how to do that!" My chest heaves with frustration.
"Okay, okay... just try groaning. Screaming. Something!"
Still running, heart thundering against my ribs, I clench my fists and scream into the night like it tells me.
But the sound that comes out is pathetic, a cracked, broken thing, not even loud enough to echo.
The voice in my head laughs. It actually laughs.
I can practically feel it shaking with amusement inside my skull.
"You got the nerves to laugh now?!" I snap, furious.
"That was funny, yo..." the voice chuckles mid-sentence.
Before it can finish mocking me, a heavy hand slams against my shoulder, spinning me around.
Instinct takes over. Without thinking, I shove back, mouth open to shout, maybe from fear, but what bursts out isn't a word.
It's a growl.
A deep, vicious snarl that erupts from somewhere ancient inside me.
The ground literally shudders beneath us.
The wolves chasing me yelp and crash to the dirt like puppets whose strings were cut. They scramble, disoriented, as if that single growl ripped through their very bones.
"Come on now," the voice urges, sharp. "Let's lose them."
No time to question what just happened.
I spin and tear back into the woods, heart hammering.
After a while, the voice softens.
"Okay, you can stop. They won't be able to find us anytime soon."
My steps slow, breath burning in my lungs.
"What was that?!" I rasp out. "That wasn't me!"
"Wasn't it?" it teases, sarcasm dripping from every syllable.
I clench my fists.
"Anyway," it says, more serious now, "you gotta find Axel. He's looking for you right now."
A knot forms in my stomach.
"I don't wanna see his face," I mutter, the words bitter on my tongue. But even as I say it, I know it's a lie. I want to.
"Why?" the voice taunts. "Because he slept with you and now he's acting like it never happened? You get that it was just dutiful, right? It was just to awaken me inside you. That's what it all was for. I belong to him. And he belongs to me. That's what it is."
My chest tightens.
He's dead. Seth, or whatever this spirit is, is supposed to be dead.
How are they even still belong to each other?!
A dead spirit settling inside me... I can't do anything about it.
I shake my head violently, trying to chase away the icy feeling crawling up my spine. Whatever. Whatever. The jealousy dripping from his voice sends goosebumps racing down my arms.
I force myself to shut down my personal feelings and focus.
Focus on surviving.
Focus on getting this spirit out of me once this nightmare is over.
"You promised you'd tell me everything," I remind him, my voice low, trembling with a desperate edge.
If anyone saw me talking to myself right now, they'd think I was completely insane. "How did I ended up like this. Everything else."
I square my shoulders, grounding myself.
"I'm not going anywhere until I know everything happening," I add firmly.
And I mean it. I'm not moving an inch until I get the truth.
"Alright," the voice sighs. "What do you wanna know?"
"I said every single bit of whatever's happening," I grit out.
A heavy silence falls. Then the voice speaks, low and serious:
"Well, first of all, know that your father is a monster. And he killed Axel's family. Every single one of them. Not just them..."
The words slam into me like a blade to the gut.
For a moment, everything inside me just blanks.
The trees blur around me. The wind whistles like a scream through the darkened woods.
I blink once.
Twice.
Unable to process what I just heard.