The forest swallowed the body behind me. Snow drifted down, covering blood like the earth itself was ashamed.
I should've felt sick.
The man's face still burned in my mind, his eyes wide and terrified. But every time I tried to focus on guilt, the memory slid away, replaced with the taste — the heat of his blood flooding my mouth. My stomach was calm, sated in a way it had never been in life.
Life. My other life.
I'd died. I was sure of it. I just didn't remember how. One moment I was in that cramped apartment, the hum of the PC fan in my ears, then… nothing. Then the gold eyes in the dark.
I flexed my claws. The snow crunched under my... paws?
I crouched without thinking, body folding low. The motion was fluid, silent. My muscles wanted to move. My blood sang for it.
The whisper in my head was back. Urgent now.Hunt.
I moved before my mind caught up. Each step was a ghost over the snow, each breath perfectly timed. The forest shifted around me, alive with sound—the creak of branches, the faint hiss of snow sliding from leaves, the quick, light rhythm of prey.
I saw it. A deer, thin from the season, its muzzle buried in the snow, digging for something green.
The hunger flared. My heartbeat slowed from instinctual focus. Every inch of me aligned with the moment. I could see the twitch of its ear, the ripple of its flank under fur, the exact spot where its heart would be.
I pounced.
The distance closed in a blink. The deer's head shot up, eyes rolling in panic, but my claws were already digging into its shoulders. We hit the ground hard. It thrashed, but I was heavier, stronger. My teeth found its neck, and hot blood burst into my mouth.
I tore until it stopped moving. The taste was different from the man.
It was wilder but ultimately still satisfying.
When I finally pulled away, steam curled from the torn hide. My breath came heavy, each exhale clouding in the cold. My hands were soaked red to the wrists.
I should've stopped. I didn't.
By the time I looked up, the moon had shifted higher. My belly was full, the hunger dulled but not gone. It never truly went.
That's when I heard it—movement, but not prey. Heavy boots, crunching in the snow. Metal clinking.
Voices.
I slipped into the trees, staying low and silent. Two figures emerged into the clearing where the deer's body lay. Armor caught the moonlight—not Imperial this time. Fur cloaks, iron helms. Bandits.
One swore under his breath when he saw the carcass."By the Nine… wolves didn't do this."
The other knelt, touching the shredded flesh. His voice was low, grim."No wolf I've seen. Look at the bite marks. Big. Too big."
They both straightened, scanning the trees. I froze, every muscle coiled. I could smell the fear rolling off them—the scent assaulted my nostrils... ah, too sweet. My claws itched to move.
The hunger whispered again.
Hunt.
I could leave. I should leave. But the longer I stayed still, the louder it got. The bandits drew their weapons—one an axe, the other a battered sword. The scent of oiled steel mixed with their sweat.
My head tilted.
I didn't remember deciding to move. One moment I was in the trees, the next I was on the first man. The axe barely came up before my weight crushed him into the snow. My claws ripped through leather and fur like wet parchment. The scream cut short when my teeth found his throat.
The second man shouted something—rage, terror, I couldn't tell—and charged. His sword slashed across my shoulder. Pain bloomed from the wound. I roared, the sound tearing from deep in my chest, shaking the air.
He hesitated. Just a second. Enough.
I hit him hard enough to hear ribs snap. He went down gasping, blood frothing at his lips. My claws punched through his chest like it was nothing, finding the heat inside.
When it was over, I was standing in the snow, chest heaving, surrounded by silence. My wounds were already knitting together, the torn flesh sealing. The scent of blood—mine and theirs — hung heavy in the clearing.
The whisper was softer now. Almost pleased.
Good.
The wind shifted, and another scent reached me, slightly faint. Dozens of heartbeats. Leather, steel, oil. Torches flaring in the distance.
Damnation!
Hunters...