Rory tugged Anna into the Grey Mist Mountains as they tirelessly scaled mountain after mountain. The night was as deep as a wizard cloaked in black, the air smelled of dirt, rotting leaves, and blood, and the ground was etched with dense wolf paws the marks left by a wolf clan gone berserk.
Anna stumbled as she was dragged by Rory's chains, her grey head and blonde hair disheveled, though she looked exhausted, her pale face maintaining an otherworldly calm.
'You won't get away with this, Wolf Girl.' Anna muttered nervously to herself, her voice carrying a hint of eerie excitement, the blood on her wrists glinting harshly in the moonlight.
Rory ignored it, she was just focused on moving forward, finishing this damn abrasive task, and getting back to see what was going on. However, the familiar smell of the air, laced with some sort of cold metallic scent, and the older, heavier scent of blood, struck again, resonating vaguely with the tattoos on her back, bringing on an annoying tingle.
She tugged tighter, dragging Anna roughly over the rough mountain trail. Wild instincts drove her away from the town, away from the smell that mixed smoke and pine, and threw her heartbeat out of order.
Tonight, however, was destined to be a long, endless night when Milo reappeared.
'Where do you think you're going to get away with this?' The sound of pursuit approached from behind, carrying Milo's distinctive low voice and that familiar scent of smoke and pine. He was fast, weaving through the night like a golden shadow, the Paladin's name was true to its name.
Annoyed, Rory sneered and turned back to Milo, showing a mouthful of fangs.
'Paladin, you're quite the shadowy figure.'
Milo didn't reply, his eyes were firm as ever, he only wanted to reclaim his fiancée, the chains in his hands flung out like living creatures, making a whooshing cracking sound in the air, and wrapping around Rory's ankles with precision.
Rory can't react in time, she trips and falls, losing her balance and rolling towards the hillside with a scream. Anna is thrown far away as Dane the werewolf cries out in panic.
Rory is yanked by her chains and rolls uncontrollably in the direction of Milo, who is also pulled by the force, and the two tumble down the rock and root-strewn hillside, their bodies in uncontrollably close contact.
Cold chains, hard chest armor, rough fur, hot skin ... all kinds of touch mixed. The scent of smoke and pine instantly filled her nostrils, and Rory's breathing became turbulent as a strong wave of heat surged through her blood.
Milo's hand clasped her waist, so strong that it looked like he wanted to rub her into his body, and his eyes blazed like fire in the darkness, reflecting the panic in her eyes.
'You won't get away, I told you we'd meet.' Milo's voice was breathy but huskier and sexier, his taut muscles conveying strength and oppression through his clothing.
Rory struggled with all her strength, trying to tear at the chains with her claws, but Milo's chains were unusually tough, and her struggles instead brought their bodies closer together. That uncontrolled proximity annoyed her, yet brought a hint of intimacy that was foreign to her.
'Let go!' She suppressed her panic, beastly aggression in her voice, while her heartbeat became even more confused.
Milo's gaze lingered on her face for a few seconds, as if catching a hint of something strange in her eyes. Then he let go violently.
'Damn it!' Rory gasped and quickly rolled to her feet, staring at him warily, the usual cold arrogance in her eyes, as if the heartbeat disruption she had just experienced was just an illusion.
'Paladin, you can't catch me.'
Anna's voice came from a short distance away, her whole body falling into a disorientated frenzy, 'The Blood Moon is being born...it tells me secrets...'
The blood on her wrists flickered more frequently as if echoing some ancient power.
The ground began to shake slightly like the mountains were echoing a curse of power. A low, wailing, and summoning sound came from the direction of the Ancient Tree District.
Rory's red pupils flinched as the ancient blood aura became stronger, resonating more violently with the tattoos on her back, tingling so much it made her crack in pain. She pierced through the grey mist with her wolf clan's keen sense of smell, trying to discern the source of the aura.
Milo felt the ground shake as well, and a flicker of gravity flashed through his amber eyes as he looked warily toward the Ancient Tree District.
Just then, a buzzing sound came from the sky, accompanied by flashes of red light.
'Drones!' Rory looked up into the sky, it was an Aurora Council tracker, equipped with silver bullets, the nemesis of the Wolves.
The red light moved swiftly through the grey mist and soon locked onto their position with a piercing beep.
'Get out of the way!' Milo shouted towards Rory, trying to pull her into the cover of the trees.
Rory, however, reacted faster, and almost out of instinct, she lunged at Milo, pinning him to the ground as the two of them hid in the roots of a thick, ancient tree.
Almost simultaneously, a silver beam swept by, followed by a violent explosion. Dust rose from the ground, trees were blown off, and fire lit up the surrounding area for a brief moment.
The scent of smoke and dirt hit her nose, and Rory pressed herself against Milo's back, feeling the warmth and strength of his body. His arms wrapped around her waist, like a protection and a confinement.
This time, she didn't struggle immediately, just leaned against him silently, sniffing the pine scent that annoyed and coveted her at the same time.
Milo's voice rang in her ear with a hint of nervousness, 'How are you doing?'
'Not dead.' Her tone was cold and mechanical, masking panic as if she hadn't been the one who had just saved his life.
The explosions subsided, but the red light still swam not far away.
Anna's voice came again, tinged with sobs, as if she was afraid, but also as if she felt intense satisfaction, 'It's calling me...the Heart of the Blood Moon is calling...'
Rory pushes Milo away violently and stands up. She looked in Anna's direction, complex questions woven into her eyes. The blood on Anna's wrist stood out unusually in the darkness like it was guiding something.
'Who the hell are you?' Rory taunted Anna growling away, desperate to dig the answer out of her mouth.
A wry smile appeared on Anna's pale face, at odds with her soft appearance.
'You know so little, Wolf Girl.'
In the distance, more red lights seemed to flicker in the grey mist as a swarm of drones approached like they had smelled prey. The tattoos on Rory's back tingled more intensely as if warning her of danger.
'We can't stay here.' Rory murmured, her eyes turning in the direction of the Ancient Trees area, where the ancient blood aura was coming from like something was awakening.
As soon as she pulled Anna up, she rushed into the thicker grey mist. Milo followed close behind, he would never allow Rory and Anna to disappear out of sight again.
The grey aerosol spread out like a spell, filling the entire ancient tree area, and in the air, the scent of wolves and hunters, and the eerie glow of Anna's blood, seemed to be foreshadowing that they were being drawn into an even older, more dangerous maelstrom.