Lorraine's POV
I stood frozen, every instinct in me screaming that something was wrong. Very wrong.
"Lorraine!" Elise's hand clutched my wrist tightly. "Move!"
"She's just standing there, Astrid Voss," I whispered. "Why is she...."
"Forget her!" Felix barked. "We need to hide, now!"
The hunting ground stretched before us like an open graveyard. Tall trees loomed over narrow paths. Thick underbrush tangled at our feet. The sun filtered in weakly through the branches, making everything feel like a slow-burning fever dream.
Around us, chaos erupted, wolves began to shift with sickening cracks of bone and muscle, launching into the forest. Growls, howls, and the sound of pounding paws filled the air. It had begun.
Professor Alaric Cain's words still rang in my head:
