Instinct Unleashed -chapter 9- By Kind Nightmares -

Elias circled slowly, never entering Kael's peripheral vision. A tactic meant to unsettle. It didn't. Nothing unsettled Kael anymore—not the blood under his nails, not the dreams of running on four legs through cities of bone, not the way his shadow sometimes moved a second after he did.

And in the silence that followed, the rain stopped. The moon held still. And something in the dark—something older than the pack, older than the forest, older than fear—opened its eyes and recognized a kindred hunger. Instinct Unleashed -Chapter 9- By Kind Nightmares

Kael stood at the edge of the treeline, breath fogging the air despite the summer warmth. His hands were no longer trembling. That was the problem. For weeks, the tremor had been his anchor—proof that the thing inside him was still a passenger, not the driver. But now, stillness had settled into his bones like a second skeleton. Calm before the claw. Nothing unsettled Kael anymore—not the blood under his

The pack had scattered three nights ago after the incident at the silos. He could still hear the wet snap of Tobias's shoulder dislocating, still see the way Lena had looked at him—not with fear, but with the hollow recognition of someone watching a friend drown in slow motion. She had whispered, "You're still in there, Kael. Fight it." And something in the dark—something older than the

End of Chapter 9.

Kael smiled. It was not a human expression. It was something the face did when the thing beneath the face decided to wear it like a mask.