Page 127 of A Wolfe in the Woods

He laughed, short, sharp, genuinely amused. “Are you really afraid of this place?” he asked. “A ring of old stones?” He shook his head. “I never took you for the superstitious type, believing in old ghost stories. Urban legends. Just a bunch of old ruins…like the rest of this land. But don’t worry—I’ll make good use of it.”

I didn’t reply. My attention was locked onto his feet. Onto the faint line where granite met soil.

Erik noticed. Of course he did. His gaze flicked to my face, caught the tension I couldn’t fully hide, and something darkly delighted sparked behind his eyes. Then, deliberately, he stepped forward. His boot crossed the boundary and broke the low fog.

The air shifted, like the way the pressure dropped before a storm. A low hum crept through the ground, subtle but insistent, vibrating up through the soles of my boots, barely noticeable.

“Are you afraid, Black Wolf?” he asked casually. Not a care in the world.

I still didn’t answer.

“If you want your prize, you’ll have to join me. We’ll settle this the old way.”

My jaw tightened. He was treating Blanche like a toy, an item to be won. “That wasn’t part of the deal.”

“I know,” he said quietly. “But it’s fun. Come, indulge me. You want Blanchette?”

My jaw tightened. I looked past him to his men spaced along the perimeter, then to the trees beyond. To the night pressing close. I felt the circle watching us. I drew in a slow breath and stepped forward cautiously.

The moment my boot crossed the boundary, the wind rose. Air snapped inward, spiraling fast around the circle. Dust and loose leaves lifted, spinning into a tightening ring. The fog that clung low to the seven stones surged upward, thickening. And then the stones were gone, swallowed whole by the fog as if they had never stood there at all. The world outside the Circle of Thornblood blurred.

One of Erik’s men shifted uneasily. Another glanced over his shoulder. The trees beyond the stones bent toward us.

Erik frowned, briefly distracted. I felt it settle then—a pressure like hands closing in around us. We were enclosed inside a boundary.

“Shall we begin?” Erik asked.

He didn’t wait for my answer.

The first blow came fast—an inhuman strike. Erik’s quick fist caught me partially across the jaw. I barely got my forearm up in time, the impact ringing all the way to my elbow as I staggered back.

I reset. Planted my feet. Ready this time.

He came again.

I countered, driving a punch toward his face with everything I had. Erik shifted at the last possible second. My knuckles still caught his cheekbone, but barely. A scratch at best.

Before I could recover, he hit me again. A sharp, precise blow to the ribs.

I lunged a second time, anger bleeding into my timing…and missed. He was already gone, slipped past me like smoke, repositioning before I could even fully turn around.

Too quick,I thought.At this pace, I won’t last.

He came again.

I countered, catching him under his jaw. Hard. Whipping his head to the side. He touched his cheek with two fingers, and that was when I finally saw the break in his facade. A thread of anger gleamed, the one he masked with smiles that never reached his eyes and flippant words meant to keep others in their places.

He’s angry now.Good.

He fought like a tactician, testing angles and cataloging weaknesses. We traded blows. His were sharp and accurate. Mine were heavy and misguided. He slipped past me, caught my arm, twisted hard enough to send pain lancing up my shoulder. I snarled despite myself and tore free. I fought like a man who refused to fall. Blocked when I couldn’t dodge. Took hits I shouldn’t have.

I need to get closer,I realized.I couldn’t match his speed, but I could have the advantage in strength.

I drove forward. My shoulder slammed into his chest, forcing him back a step, and in that brief moment of surprise, I wrapped my arms around his waist. I pivoted hard, swung him through the motion, and pile-drove him into the ground.

He jumped up before circling me slowly, eyes bright, calculating. No longer amused.

The air inside the circle felt tighter now. Charged. I felt it then—the pull. The heat under my skin. The part of me that wanted tostop holding backin this skin.