Shadowlands Sector,Three - Mila Young Page 0,2

Mad bellows, and my gut reaction kicks in this time.

I twist and lunge away, ignoring the sensation like I’m trying to turn back around. My wolf’s betraying me. Running isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s knowing when you’re outnumbered and working out a way to take out the leader.

I dodge trees and dart deeper into the dense forest, scrambling for escape. Shadows seem brighter now, my vision sharper and crisper. Glancing over my shoulder, the five of them give chase. But it’s Mad I need to get… chop off the head and the monster dies.

Swinging forward, I charge when an army of shadows emerge from the woods ahead of me.

Fear rattles me instantly. Have more Alphas surrounded me? I startle and skid to a stop by a massive pine tree, stiffening and swing my head in every direction for a way out.

A raspy groan comes from the woods, followed by more noises, and the clatter of teeth or bones follows.

My skin crawls as the first zombie emerges from the darkness.

I recoil. Will they attack me now that I’ve transformed? I step against the tree and glance back to the wolves’ fear-stricken expressions at seeing who’s arrived.

The zombie leading the charge has one missing ear and only a thin layer of hair over a spotty, pale head. Torn clothes hang off his bony frame. Another that comes forward has a mangled arm, others broken limbs.

Then the mass follows like a broken dam. They spill out from the woods, staggering, lurching, groaning. Others are licking the air as if already tasting the blood from the earlier wolves I’ve bitten and killed. That’s what drew them here.

Even more undead stumble out of the woods. There has to be close to thirty.

The leader snaps its jaws and reels forward.

I hastily turn, needing to get out, except... fuck!

Dušan, Lucien, and Bardhyl are still on the ground, lying, waiting to be eaten. Are they covered in blood? I don't remember. Wracking my brain, I can't think straight when the undead approaches.

I dive away to escape, unsure if I'm their food or not.

Leukemia had made me immune to the zombies. A fact I learned recently, and everyone knows when a wolf transforms, all human illnesses heal. That means, I would be a meal for the undead now.

I sprint after Mad and his men who dart out of here, my wolf salivating as she thinks this is a chase. They are already so much farther ahead than me, having taken off the second they saw the Shadow Monsters.

Two more creatures suddenly appear at my right, so fast and unexpected, I do a double-take. My paw hooks under a tree root, and I'm tumbling forward and over my head before I can make sense of what just happened. I smack the ground hard and scramble to my feet.

Panic slams into me, feeling vulnerable and open.

Shadows crowd in around me, seeming to come from every direction.

Teeth gnashing, they close in, and I shuffle backward, ice filling my lungs that they’re coming for me.

The creatures stumble forward, and I shudder. But then they dart right past me without pause.

Startled, I can’t believe my eyes at first, and I study them flowing right past me. They don’t notice or touch me!

It takes me moments to come to terms that I’m safe… and it’s my wolf that takes charge and growls, warning them.

With their sloppy gait, they approach regardless.

One of them brushes right past me, and I flinch away. But they don’t stop. Moaning, they stumble after Mad and his men. These monsters that should attack me don't. Skin peeling away, jaws dislocated, dried blood around their faces, they don’t see me.

I'm invisible to them.

My head spins at first, trying to make sense of why they didn't attack me.

Am I still sick? I blink, watching them move away.

But reality catches up with me too, and I need to get my men to safety. I throw myself into the herd and shove them aside to get ahead.

Leaping over logs and dodging zombies, I burst out in front and into the small clearing where Mad and his men ambushed us.

Except, no one's there.

Not the wolves. Not Mad. And not my men.

Sickness churns in my gut that I’m too late. The bastard took them. I should be happy he saved them from the undead, but it doesn’t make my men safe for long.

I'm also livid that he took them from me to ensure he has a bargaining tool to get what he wants. Snarls roll over