We are as clouds that veil the midnight moon;
The mud sucked at Emily's boots. Cold. Wet. It seeped through the leather, biting her toes. She stopped. Listened. Only the wind in the pines. And her own breathing. Too loud.
She shouldn't be here. The clinic shift ended four hours ago. The bus stop was two miles back. But the road was long, and the forest was short. Cut through the trees, save twenty minutes. That was the logic. Bad logic.
Mother always said the woods had teeth.
Emily tightened her grip on the medical bag. Leather strap digging into her shoulder. Her knuckles white. She stepped over a fallen branch. Dry snap. Echoed like a gunshot. She froze. Waited. Nothing.
Then she saw the smell.
Iron. Copper. Blood. Thick in the air.
She moved toward it. Didn't mean to. Feet just went. The moon was out, but clouds kept eating it. One second light, next second dark.
There.
A shape in the ferns. Black against the grey.
Emily crouched. Heart hammering against her ribs. Not a deer. Too big. A man. Face down.
He lay too still. Reminded her of David. Two years gone. Same stillness in the shoulders. She hadn't checked that pulse either. Too late then. Not this time.
She reached out. Gloved hand hovered over his shoulder. Didn't touch. Not yet.
"Hey," she whispered. Voice cracked.
No answer.
She turned him over. Heavy. Dead weight. Moonlight caught his face. Pale. Too pale. Silver hair matted with dirt. And the wound.
Right shoulder. Arrow. Black fletching. The shaft was gone, broken off. Only the tip remained. Buried inside.
Blood pooled under him. Sticky. Warm.
Emily's stomach turned. She swallowed bile. Opened her bag. Hands shaking. She couldn't stop the shake. Took out the gauze. Pressed it to the wound.
The man gasped.
Eyes flew open. Amber. Slitted. Wild.
He grabbed her wrist. Grip like iron. Pain shot up her arm.
"Let go," she said. Pushed against his chest. Hard.
He didn't let go. Breath came in ragged tears. Chest heaving. Under the skin of his neck, something moved. Veins. Glowing blue. Faint. Like lightning under water.
Emily stopped breathing.
"What are you?" she asked.
He didn't answer. Just stared. Pupils wide. Swallowing the iris.
A sound. Far off. Horns. Blowing.
Hunter's horns.
The man's grip tightened. Bones creaked. Emily winced.
"Listen to me," she said. Low. Urgent. "They're coming. You bleed out, you die. I fix you, you live. Choose."
He blinked. Slow. The glow in his neck faded. Grip loosened.
Emily exhaled. Didn't realize she was holding it.
She pulled the med kit closer. Scissors. Cut the shirt away. Fabric tore. Skin underneath was hard. Scarred. And those marks. Blue lines. Woven into the muscle.
"Not human," she muttered.
Doesn't matter. Blood is blood.
She cleaned the wound. Alcohol sting. He flinched. Didn't make a sound. Just watched her. Eyes never leaving her face.
"Hold this," she said. Put gauze in his hand.
He held it.
She dug through the bag. Cotton balls. Scissors. A roll of gauze, yellowed with age. She pushed it aside. Found the pliers. Metal cold.
She gripped the arrow tip.
"One," she said.
He tensed.
"Two."
She pulled.
He roared. Not a human sound. A growl. Deep. Vibrated in the ground.
Emily dropped the tip. Blood sprayed. Hit her cheek. Warm.
He collapsed back. Eyes rolling. The blue veins flared. Bright. Then dim.
"Stay with me," she said. Shook his shoulder. "Don't sleep. Sleep kills."
He looked at her. Focus returning. Slow.
"Why?" he rasped. Voice like gravel.
"Because," Emily said. Wiped blood on her jeans. "I'm tired of digging graves."
Horns again. Closer.
Lights through the trees. Torches. Flickering orange.
"Can you walk?" she asked.
He tried to sit. Fell back. Leg twisted wrong.
"No," he said.
Emily looked at the lights. They stopped. Fifty yards away. At the creek.
"They won't cross the water," she said. "Old rules."
"Maybe," he said. "One will."
Lights stayed back. Only one shadow moved forward. Past the stream. Past the stones.
"Can you stand?" she asked.
He tried. Staggered. Lean on her.
They moved. Slow. Quiet. Behind the thick oak. Roots wide as cars.
He slid down. Sat against the trunk. Breathing hard.
Emily looked back. The single shadow stopped. Ten yards away.
"Found you," the shadow said. Low. From the dark.
Alex stood up. Fast. Too fast for a wounded man. Pushed Emily behind him.
"Run," he said.
"No," Emily said. Grabbed his shirt.
"Run!"
The shadow stepped into the light. Man. Tall. Mask covering the lower face. Leather coat. Silver badge on the chest.
"No need to run, little healer. We know where she lives."
Emily's blood went cold.
They knew her.
The man raised a gun. Not normal gun. Barrel glowed blue.
"Who are you?" the man asked. Looking at the wounded man. "Alpha?"
No answer. The wounded man just stared. Silent.
"Name," Emily said. Looking at him. "What do I call you?"
He looked at her. Said nothing.
"Friends don't hunt friends," the man said.
"Friends don't hide humans either." The man looked at Emily. Eyes narrow. "She smells wrong. Like us. But not."
Emily stepped out from behind the man. Legs shaking. Stopped them.
"I'm a nurse," she said. Voice steady. Surprised herself. "I fix broken things."
"You fix enemies," the man said. Raised the gun.
The wounded man moved. Blurred.
Gun fired. Sound like thunder.
He took the hit. Shoulder. Same side. Spun him around.
He didn't fall. Grabbed the man. Threw him.
Man hit a tree. Crack. Bone breaking.
Silence.
He stood over him. Chest heaving. Blue veins pulsing hard.
"Tell your master," he said. "She is mine."
The man laughed. Blood on teeth. "Yours? She is the key. You know nothing, pup. The others won't cross the line. But I did."
He kicked him. Hard. Man didn't move.
He turned to Emily. Eyes wild.
"Go," he said.
"No," Emily said.
"Now!"
"No." She picked up her bag. "We go together."
He stared at her. Confused. Angry.
"You stupid," he said.
"Maybe."
He grabbed her hand. Rough.
"Follow me. Don't stop. Don't look back."
They ran.
Into the dark. Into the trees.
Behind them, the man on the ground coughed. Spoke to the air.
"Tell the Uncle. The moon is veiled. But the cloud breaks soon."
Emily didn't hear. She was running.
Branches hit her face. Mud sucked her boots.
He pulled her. Strong.
She didn't let go.
Above them, the clouds parted. Moon shone down.
Light on the path. Light on the blood.
Light on the lie.