LOGINWithout saying another word, Kael brushes away the moss and sniffs the air. He pauses for a moment.“Kael, maybe we should—”Fredrick’s words are cut off as Kael immediately shoves the symbol with all his strength. A low rumble echoes through the tunnel. Fine dust falls from above as the symbol slowly slides aside.It’s a door.“Come on, Maddie.” Kael holds out his hand. “Get on. We’re checking out this tunnel.”“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Ash squeaks nervously.Damian lets out a quiet scoff. “Got a better one?”Without another word, we all reluctantly step into the tunnel.The steady rhythm of Kael’s footsteps vibrates through his back as we move deeper inside. Fredrick’s flashlight sways in his hand, its beam reflecting off the rusted Capitolis emblem embedded in the stone wall.“It smells strange,” Ash whispers, clutching the arm wrapped in strips torn from Fredrick’s shirt. “Like rust... and something rotting.”“This tunnel’s been abandoned for a long time,” Fredrick says q
Behind the curtain of acidic mist that slowly clouds my vision, the shadow of a massive creature steps out. Its vertical yellow eyes stare straight at us. The creature has a small horn above its nose and a row of hard scales running down its back.Kael notices the creature’s presence. He doesn’t say a word, but I can feel the muscles in his shoulders tense beneath my grip.“What the hell...” Fred gasps.A loud snort bursts from its nostrils, releasing a cloud of hot steam. Without warning, it suddenly charges straight at us.BANG!Its horn slams into a solid wall of earth, sending a tremor through the ground beneath us.“Run! My wall won’t hold it for long!” Fred shouts.Kael sprints through the dense forest. I feel a violent jolt every time his feet pound against the ground.Behind us, the heavy footsteps of the predator crush dry branches beneath its weight. It’s chasing us with murderous intent.“Damian! Fredrick! Move!” Kael shouts without looking back.The rain pours even harder.
The tension between them reaches its boiling point. Sparks from Loki’s fingers begin licking against the skin of Kael’s arm.My body tenses instantly. I’m terrified a fight is about to break out in the middle of this forest. Even Fredrick and Damian immediately go on alert.But Kael doesn’t move. His eyes stay locked on Loki’s icy, dagger-sharp gaze.“You threatening me, wolf?” Loki hisses, his voice trembling with restrained anger. “After I save your asses?”“I appreciate your help. But that doesn’t give you the right to touch my teammate.” Kael’s voice is low and flat, but full of authority. “Not even once.”Loki lets out a short mocking laugh. His free hand clenches, ready to unleash a close-range fire attack.Suddenly, Fredrick steps between them. He places a hand on Kael’s shoulder and gestures for Loki to calm down. I guess Chief doesn’t want this situation to turn into a bloodbath between the Strains.“We’re in the middle of a death game, not some contest to show off power. Lok
The wind roars violently in my ears as gravity pulls me down. My heart feels like it stops beating, and I can’t breathe!The ground below looks like a massive yellow field ready to crush every bone in my body. I shut my eyes, waiting for the impact to end everything.Suddenly, a hard jolt slams into my stomach. The air is forced out of my lungs.“Hold on, idiot!” a very familiar voice shouts.I open my eyes, and my body is no longer falling freely through the sky.Damian, in his sleek bird form, grips my stomach and chest with his claws. He lowers our altitude quickly. His wings shake violently under the weight of my body.“Damian! We’re going to crash!”“Shut up or I’ll drop you right now!!” Damian snaps harshly.We dive sharply toward the ground. Damian is already exhausted from avoiding the prehistoric birds’ attacks, which still chase us. He doesn’t land smoothly. We’re still several feet above the ground when he releases me.My body crashes into the sharp, tall grass. I slam into
One of the prehistoric birds dives sharply toward Ash. Fredrick tries throwing a mass of earth at it, but the creature is too agile. It twists away and slashes Ash’s shoulder with its massive claws.“Ash!!” I scream.I try to move forward, but Kael holds me back.“Don’t panic! Stay beside me!” Kael growls.How can I not panic? My friend is bleeding just a few feet away from us. There’s no way I can stand still and leave Ash in danger!“Ash is hurt! She could die, Kael!” I shout desperately.“I told you not to panic! We can get out of this if we work together and stay calm!”“To hell with staying calm!! My friend needs me!”I yank myself free from Kael and run toward Ash.Dozens of screeches echo from every direction. They’re no longer attacking from one side only. The prehistoric birds begin surrounding us. They fly low through the tall grass, revealing razor-sharp wing edges.We’re trapped in the middle of an open field with nowhere to hide.“Damian! Fly and distract them!” Fredrick
The moment we entered the forest area, and each team split off, my heart started pounding harder. My feet followed my teammates, trying not to make any noise.My eyes glanced at the baton in my hand, and once again regret crept in… why didn’t I learn how to use another weapon? What could this baton possibly do against prehistoric creatures?We entered a forest with suffocating air. The deeper we went, the hotter it became. Even though the trees were dense enough to block out most of the sunlight.“It feels like we’re going in circles.” Fredrick stopped and looked around. “You guys notice that?”Kael only glanced at him briefly without stopping. “Keep walking.”No one dared argue with Kael.First, he had an incredibly sharp sense of smell. Maybe he could detect tracks if we were walking the same route again. Second, he had instincts.I lost track of how long we’d been walking, but my legs were aching badly. Eventually, the trees began to thin out. Sunlight slipped through the gaps in t
I walked out of the training room, passing other participants who were rushing toward the dining hall. Curious, I followed them, walking along the pedestrian path without hurrying.The digital announcement board was no longer showing static numbers like it had for the past few days. My heart droppe
Kael brushed his lips against mine—just for a second—and it made me blink in surprise. Then he kissed me again, deeper this time, consuming me until my thoughts began to blur.I should have fought him. Or pushed him away. But I didn’t want to.Kael’s hands slid from my waist to my shoulders, then do
My hands started to tingle. My thighs ached and felt numb. Clinging to the tree trunk like this was far from comfortable. The only good thing was the view from up here. From the tropical forest below, I saw tall bushes rustling. Something was moving toward me, fast and agile. I blinked. Was
Sweat dripped from my forehead onto the floor as I knelt there, completely drained. I’d been training nonstop since yesterday—from the crack of dawn until midnight—until my palms were raw and my whole body felt crushed.Along with that, my spirit and energy started to crumble. No matter how hard I







