Ava stumbled through the dense woods, her breathing labored, her chest aching with every step. Blood dripped from her shoulder where a bullet had grazed her, staining her once-clean jacket a deep crimson. The crack of twigs behind her made her heart lurch—someone was following her.

She didn’t dare look back, didn’t dare stop. The shadows of the towering pines loomed over her like dark sentinels, offering no comfort. Her legs were screaming for rest when her foot caught on an exposed root, sending her sprawling onto the cold, damp earth.

“No,” she whispered, clawing at the ground to get back up, her body trembling from exhaustion and fear.

That’s when she saw them—glowing eyes in the darkness, watching her. Her breath hitched as a tall figure stepped out of the shadows. The stranger moved with an eerie calm, the dim moonlight glinting off the knife they carried.

Ava scrambled backward, her back hitting a tree. “Please,” she begged, tears streaking her dirt-smeared face. “Don’t—”

Before the figure could take another step, a low voice cut through the night. “Step away from her.”

From the other side of the clearing, another figure emerged—a woman, cloaked in a long coat, her stance commanding yet calm. The blade in her hand gleamed as she pointed it at Ava’s pursuer.

The assailant hesitated, their confidence faltering under the stranger’s icy gaze.

“This doesn’t concern you,” they growled.

“It does now,” the woman replied, her voice steady. “Leave, or you won’t walk out of these woods.”

The tension was palpable, but after a moment, the assailant cursed under their breath and disappeared into the trees.

Ava’s head was spinning, her vision blurring as adrenaline drained from her body. The woman knelt in front of her, her tone softening. “You’re safe now. I’ve got you.”

As Ava’s world went black, she clung to the thought that for the first time tonight, she wasn’t alone.