Page 23 of A Warrior's Fate

They’re solitary. Dwell alone.

Isla had no idea what the fuck was happening, but she knew her odds against two of the creatures in her current state. She needed to run…and if her instincts were correct, so did the Trainee.

Her next moves went by in a blur as she twisted to the sky and ripped a howl so loud that she hoped to the Goddess that they could hear it in Callisto. Then she was gone, so fast she didn’t even know if the bak had started to pursue her.

With the wolfish sense he did have, the Trainee picked up on her call and was already up on his feet. Little did he know, a couple of feet behind him, Isla’s suspicions were confirmed. Another set of red eyes.

There were no more coincidences. They were being ambushed. Hunters hunted.

They both darted in a flash, Isla’s injured leg hampering her enough to even their speeds. As they powered through the dead forest, hearing the roars and heavy steps of the bak behind them, Isla howled. She howled and howled and howled until she felt dizzy.

Someone had to hear her. Someone had to call back. Someone. Anyone. If they had any hope of getting out of this alive, not only did they need to sprint, they needed any backup they could get.

No response.

Another howl.

Nothing.

The Trainee hissed as he began to lose steam. Decisions had to be made. Quickly.

Isla could let him drop off and keep running, likely saving herself as the bak had their fill. The guilt would gnaw at her stomach until the end of time, but she’d be alive. What an existence.

Or she could turn and fight, hope to the Goddess that she could go three-on-one successfully. The Trainee would get more distance, maybe find some help, and then she’d take off too. If she was still standing.

For the smallest moment, she thought beyond herself, beyond him. The Trainee had a family. No mate, but a mother and father that loved him. A sister who’d just had her own child that he’d told her about at the feast. He was a son, an uncle, a brother, and a friend. He wanted to be a warrior, despite all the odds against him.

And if she had any say, he was going to be.

In a split second, she threw herself into a stop that hurt like hell.

The Trainee noticed and followed suit. “What are you doing? We have to go!”

Isla growled at him in response, and his face fell in shock as he understood. She turned, a snarl ready on her face for the predators to come barging through the brush at any moment.

If Fate let her get through this, she’d do exactly as the goddess pleased. Take Kai as her mate, upend her life, leave her family, move to Deimos, and even become its luna. Locked in a life she never wanted with a man she didn’t love. She’d do it all.

Just let us get through this.

She jumped when she felt a presence beside her and turned to find the Trainee standing with his sword at the ready.

There wasn’t even time for her to protest. Hell came down upon them quickly.

It was all a melee of teeth and claws and metal. Isla and the Trainee were back to tail, making sure to keep the beasts in front of them until Isla began using the environment to her advantage. She ducked through trees, agilely maneuvered under hits, camouflaged within cracked limbs.

Eventually, she was able to pick one of them off—a smaller, weaker one, miraculously—clamping down on its neck and tearing it apart, but the triumph had taken a toll on her body. She was becoming so exhausted; she wasn’t sure she could maintain her shift much longer.

More decisions.

If she went down, this was all for nothing. The two remaining beasts would team up and take the Trainee out in seconds. They’d both be dead.

She had to draw them apart. Give him, at least, a small chance.

Making sure she had one of the creature’s attention, she mad dashed further into the forest.

Inches, feet, yards—she wasn’t sure how far she’d gotten before the beast got her legs out from under her and had her pinned to the ground, hovering over her body, its putrid breath flooding her senses, and its ravenous eyes all she could see.

It was going to devour her right there on the dirt. Leave her a shell or rid her from this world completely. Her heart felt like it had stopped beating in anticipation of its erasure. The will of her wolf faded as her systems felt their collapse.

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