Legacy Wolves

Chapter 6: The Chase and the Choice

Cassian sprinted through the forest, his legs burning with every desperate stride. His breath came in ragged gasps, and the arrow lodged deep in his shoulder sent sharp jolts of pain through his entire body. He had no sense of direction, no clear path—just the primal urge to keep running, to get away from the hunters that were tracking him.

But the pain was slowing him down. Each step felt heavier than the last, his muscles weakening as the blood seeped from his wound. He could hear the sounds of pursuit—branches snapping, boots crashing through the underbrush. They were closing in on him.

I can't stop. I can't let them catch me. The panic surged inside him, pushing him forward, even as his body screamed for rest.

Suddenly, something slammed into him from behind. A sharp force knocked him off his feet, and he crashed to the ground with a painful thud. The impact sent a fresh wave of agony shooting through his shoulder, and he screamed, his voice raw and desperate.

Before he could even process what had happened, someone was on top of him, pinning him to the dirt. His vision blurred with pain, but he recognized the figure—a hunter, a woman with fierce eyes and a determined expression.

Alice.

She held him down with surprising strength, one knee digging into his back. In her hand, she gripped a silver knife, the blade gleaming in the moonlight. And before Cassian could even plead for mercy, she pressed it against his throat.

"Don't move," she hissed, her breath warm against his ear.

Cassian's heart pounded wildly, the sharp edge of the knife biting into his skin. His mind raced, panic flooding his veins. This is it. I'm going to die.

"I don't want to kill you," Alice whispered, her voice low and strained. "But I can't let you go."

Cassian's body trembled beneath her, every breath a struggle. The pain in his shoulder was unbearable, but the fear of the knife pressed against his throat drowned out everything else. He wasn't a killer. He didn't want this life, this curse. He just wanted to survive.

"Please," he choked out, his voice weak and desperate. "I don't know what's happening to me. I don't understand any of this. I didn't ask for it. I didn't... I didn't want to hurt anyone."

His words tumbled out, raw and unfiltered, a desperate plea for mercy. He could feel the tension in Alice's body, the hesitation in her grip. For a moment, she didn't move. The knife stayed where it was, pressed lightly against his skin, but the threat felt less immediate.

"I don't know what I am," Cassian continued, his voice shaking. "I didn't mean to... I didn't want to hurt them—my family. Please. I just want to live."

Alice's grip on the knife wavered. He could feel it in the slight release of pressure, the way her breath caught for just a moment. He couldn't see her face clearly, but he could sense the conflict in her, the way her resolve was beginning to crack.

"I know you don't want to do this," Cassian whispered, his voice barely audible now. "I can feel it. You don't want to kill me."

For a long, agonizing moment, Alice didn't speak. The tension hung in the air like a drawn bowstring, ready to snap at any second. Cassian's breath came in shallow gasps, waiting for the inevitable. But then, slowly, the blade withdrew from his throat.

Alice sat back on her knees, her eyes fixed on Cassian with an intensity he couldn't fully understand. There was something in her gaze—something familiar, like she had been in this position before. Like she knew exactly what he was feeling.

They locked eyes, and the world around them seemed to blur, fading into the background. It was as though, in that moment, they weren't hunter and prey. There was no prophecy, no war, no bloodshed. Just two people, caught in a terrible situation they couldn't control.

Cassian felt the weight of her stare, and for the first time since this nightmare began, he saw compassion in the eyes of one of his pursuers. He didn't know why, but in that brief moment, it was like they understood each other on a level deeper than words.

"Alice," he whispered, though he didn't know why he said her name.

Alice's gaze softened, just a fraction, her hand still holding the knife but no longer threatening him. She opened her mouth to speak, but the words never came.

A sudden whistle cut through the air, sharp and deadly. Before either of them could react, arrows rained down from above, thudding into the ground around them. Alice sprang to her feet, the moment shattered by the attack. Cassian scrambled up, adrenaline surging through his body despite the pain.

"Get down!" Alice shouted, but it was too late.

The forest exploded into chaos.

Shouts erupted from the trees, the voices of the other hunters calling out to each other. Cassian could hear the twang of bowstrings, the thud of arrows embedding into the ground and into the trees. But it wasn't just hunters—there was something else in the air.

A low, guttural growl echoed through the night, and Cassian's heart froze. He recognized that sound. The wolves.

Out of the shadows, hulking shapes moved with terrifying speed. Their eyes gleamed in the darkness, and their growls reverberated through the air as they closed in on the clearing. The wolves had arrived.

Cassian's heart pounded in his chest, his body torn between flight and fight. The hunters were shouting, arrows flying in every direction, but the wolves were relentless, attacking from all sides. In the chaos, Cassian looked at Alice, her eyes wide as she scanned the treeline, trying to figure out what was happening.

Their eyes met again—just for a second.

But the moment was gone, swallowed by the violent clash of hunter and wolf. Arrows sliced through the air, and wolves snarled, their massive forms crashing through the underbrush. Cassian barely had time to think before a wolf lunged at him from the darkness, its jaws snapping just inches from his face.

He stumbled back, instinctively raising his arms to shield himself, but the wolf didn't attack. Instead, it bared its fangs, its eyes flicking to Alice, as though waiting for her to make the next move.

Cassian could feel the tension in the air. The wolves weren't just here to kill. They were here for him.

"Alice!" Miller's voice cut through the chaos, his figure emerging from the trees, a crossbow in hand. "Get him out of here!"

But before she could respond, one of the wolves lunged at Miller, knocking him to the ground with a snarl. The forest descended into a full-scale battle, the hunters fighting for their lives as the wolves tore through their ranks.

Cassian, his mind spinning, stumbled backward, clutching his bleeding shoulder. He didn't know who to trust, who to run from. He only knew one thing: he had to survive.

As Alice stood there, her eyes flicking between Cassian and the wolves, it was clear she was torn. She didn't want to kill him, but she couldn't let him go.

But in that brief moment, as the chaos raged around them, Cassian realized something else.

The wolves weren't just hunting the hunters. They were here for him.

And they weren't going to stop until they had him.