Bloodbound.
Bloodbound.
It wouldn’t quit. I dashed toward the forest, the dark tree-thing stabbing its branch-legs into the ground as it came along in pursuit. My danger senses weren’t letting up. They combined with the pounding in my head in a cacophony of noise that was impossible to sort out.
I darted under the branches of the forest, the tree-thing moving with increasing grace with every step as it chased me. Under the canopy, I hoped for the warm, protective embrace I had felt so often, but I didn’t get it. While I hadn’t expected the forest to save me, it would have been a nice boost. A surge ofenergy, to keep running as the tree monster came on, moving faster as it aged.
Bloodbound.
I ran on, finding a clear path wherever I went. The wind was heavy even deep in the forest, and each time I glanced behind me, it seemed the wind was blowing bushes or tree limbs into the path of the entity. I had to be imagining it, of course. But my path was unimpeded. I was putting some distance between us. Perhaps I could escape after all.
Something snagged my ankle. I fell, shrieking in fear, knowing the tree-thing would be on me in a flash. Looking over my shoulder, I watched it step through a particular thick section of brush that was reluctant to give way. Slowing it, or trying to. Was the forest acting on my behalf?
I scrambled backward as the tree-thing thrust one dark-wood arm toward me.
Bloodbound.
The tendrils of wood lengthened like leather, the end spreading like a maw of snakes reaching for me. It was death. That’s what it was. I stared it down, my spine gone silent. It knew this was the end. There was no escaping it.
To my left a branch snapped. It was followed by a growl so deep the very forest floor vibrated in return.
Out of the bushes stepped a humungous gray beast, stopping the tree-thing cold with its presence. Death receded in my eyes as I stared at the familiar gray wolf. One eye flashed with fire, the other with ice as it stared down the tree-monster, the two wicked gashes down its flank a vibrant warning that it was not afraid of a fight.
Lincoln
Another growl filled my throat as I crouched low on all fours. How dare it. Howdare thisthing try to bring harm to her. White-hot fury burned its way through my veins. She was mine. Mine to have. Mine to hold.
Mine to protect.
A vicious snarl lashed at the air between us as I bristled at the audacity of the creature that thought it could touchmywoman. The pain was wiped away like it had never been there, the still-healing wounds from the night before no more than a footnote under the anger infusing me with fresh strength. That strength had but one purpose, one desire, one need.
Murder anything that thought it could bring harm to Vee.
I didn’t know what I faced. The shiny ebony skin-armor looked mildly like tree bark, but the facelessthing was unknown to me. Something new. But the stench of the Chained was all over it. That much was clear.
Recovering from my unexpected presence, the spindly creature again reached down toward Sylvie, ignoring me.
Big mistake.
Incredibly powerful muscles twitched, and I launched myself across the clearing in the blink of an eye, slamming the bulk of my massive dire wolf body into it. The creature was tossed back while I stood over my Vee, my teeth bared, snarling until I frothed at the mouth.
Limbs reached down into the forest floor, latching on and acting like anchors, as the monster spun through the air. The thing came to a stop and oriented upward. The entire time, it didn’t make a sound. Moving in eerie silence, it started toward Vee once more, ignoring me.
I stepped forward, blocking its path. One of its tree-limb-like arms whipped out with impossible speed, aiming to simply slap me aside. I barely ducked the blow-but not the backhand. Reversing its course, the limb crashed firmly into my flank, knocking me down and out of the way.
Rolling hard, I leaped to my feet the instant I could recover and pounced on the creature, pushing aside the astonishment at how hard it could hit with just one arm. The power of the Chained was pouring from it now, growing stronger with every passing breath. This was no rabid animal. No warped shadow creature. Whatever this thing was, it was the next stage of the Chained breaking its bonds.
Taking the tree-thing to the ground, I tore giant chunks of soft wooden armor from its flank and then bounced away before it could retaliate. Whatever its purpose, the single-minded focus on Sylvie was certainly helping.
Darting back in, I took a chunk out of its leg and then raced back out of reach just ahead of the strike. Now that I knew howfast it could move, I could time my attacks better and make sure-
Its leg split in half in a giant sweeping kick that should have been impossible given its forward momentum. The blow slammed into my flank with sledgehammer force, landing right on top of the deep cuts left from the night before.
Agony blinded me as I was thrown halfway across the little clearing. A tiny sapling gave way, simply snapping in half as I went right through it, the splinters not even noticeable under the intense pain lashing at my eyes.
When I came to a halt, my body was crying out for a moment’s respite-a second to catch its breath, to recover and let the pain subside. My wolf and I disagreed with the physical manifestation of ourselves. There simplywas no time. Take a second, and the tree-thing would get to Sylvie. That absolutely couldnot happen. Not while I still drew breath.
United in our furor, we forced ourselves up on all four legs. The world spun around us, but we took a step forward anyway. And then another. Sylvie was helpless before the tree-thing, and it was up to us, up to me, to stop it. Any way I could. If that meant suffering further pain for her, so be it. I would do whatever it took, to make sure she survived.
I couldn’t do less. Regardless of what I tried to tell myself, I couldn’t ignore that Sylvie was coming to be a core part of who I was. Of what I was. Without her …
Without her.
Cold fear at the idea of losing her dulled my brain, dulled my pain. Dulled everything except for the one thing that mattered-the battle ahead of me. Saving Sylvie.
Throwing myself clear across the gap, I landed on the tree-thing. My claws dug deep into its wooden armor, ripping gaps.
Then I bounced off, and hit it again. And again. Driving it back, step by step, while ripping its outer body apart until it was practically shredded.
But nothing stopped it. Inexorably, bit by bit, it slowed my progress. Then it began to push forward. It hit back. Blood poured down my sides, and into my right eye, partially blinding me. Still it came on.
I didn’t yield. I couldn’t. Sylvie needed me.
Growling angrily, I gathered myself for yet another attack. But in my weakened state, that split second telegraphed my next move. The tree-thing saw it, and as I leaped for it, its arm split apart, unwinding into the many individual branches that made it. Reaching out toward me in what would have been a punch right to the snout, instead ended up a trap. Dozens of tendrils of wood wrapped themselves around my wolf’s head and, with a powerful twist, slammed me into the ground.
Wood tightened, squeezing, and I howled in pain, claws scrambling at the ground, trying to find traction, anything. The world started to go dark. If I gave up now, the light would never return, and Sylvie would die. She would die because I gave up.
Spinning my body around, I used the finger-trap as leverage so I could rake all four paws along its body, digging deeper and deeper with each frantic swipe. Something wet and warm began to pour down my hind legs, but I didn’t let up.
The force on my head relented, and loosened. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to draw breath. With that breath came renewed strength, and my jaws were able to trap a few strands between my teeth. I pulled them loose. Then some more.
The tree-thing slammed me into the ground by my head again, but I didn’t stop. I didn’t care. It was it, or me, and I hadnever lost a fight. I wasn’t about to now. Not to this perverted monstrosity.
Snatching my head free, I twisted as fast as I could, placed my legs on the ground, and lunged at the tree-thing. My jaws yawned open wide, and then snapped down with as much force as I could muster. Wood crunched, and then, with all the strength I could find left, I whipped my neck around, shaking it like a chew toy.
Something snapped, and what would have been the throat on a human came away in a fountain of blackened sap. A fermented, vile taste filled my mouth even after I spat out the chunk of tree-flesh.
The monster clapped both branch-arms to its neck and stumbled backward. A second later, a horrific keening sounded through the forest.
It was so loud and painful that both Sylvie and I fell to the ground, her hands over her ears, my paws trying desperately to blunt the sound before it destroyed my eardrums. Sylvie was screaming still as I managed to maneuver until she was under me. Safe.
Staggering, the tree-thing no longer advanced on us. Instead, it started to retreat.
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