Untamed Fate (Magic Side: Wolf Bound 2)

We continued in silence searching for any sign of the lights, but they

were gone, and everything looked the same.

Panic began to fester inside me, and my skin chilled. As if sensing

something, Jaxson paused mid-step. He cocked his head to the right, scanning

the trees, and then he whispered, “Run.”

It took a second to register, but when he pushed me forward, I sprinted

into the trees. Thunderous movement crashed behind me, and I stole a glance

back, dread coiling in my stomach. Jaxson stood immobile, crouched with his

claws out, ready. I spun behind a tree and peered around the side of the

twisted trunk.

What was he doing? Why hadn’t he come with me?

Suddenly, a giant thing launched out of the trees and soared through the

air toward Jaxson. Its skin kept shifting colors, and its two hooked talons

glinted in the light that permeated from the leaves overhead.

Jaxson shot forward and ducked beneath the monster’s talons. In a flash,

he’d grabbed the creature’s arm and twisted. There was a snap, and then

Jaxson hurled the monster backward.

The beast landed nimbly and paused. As if sensing my presence, it bent

its reptilian head and looked right at me. It tilted its neck back and barked like

a goddamned velociraptor. Seconds later, a similar bark echoed through the

jungle, followed by another.

“Run, Savannah!” Jaxson roared as he leapt out of the monster’s striking

distance. “Get the damn stone. I’ll find you!”

With my gaze locked on the monster, I took a step backward and spun.

But my foot caught on a root, and I tripped, landing hard on my palms.

Fuck, fuck, fuck!

With my pulse pounding in my temples, I scrambled to my feet and

sprinted away from Jaxson and that thing. More barking cut through the

jungle, and the sound of something large moving through the trees toward me

made my blood curdle. Was this a trap to lure us to our deaths?