Chapter 2 — The Silver Fang Rescue

Ellen Carter

The world swam around Ellen in blurred streaks of neon and rain as she stumbled through the darkness. Her body didn’t feel like her own. Every nerve was alight, her senses sharpened to a degree that was both intoxicating and horrifying. She could hear the distant drip of water hitting concrete, the rumble of a car engine three blocks away, and even the faint, nearly imperceptible scuff of a rat’s claws on pavement. The smells were worse: the ozone of the storm, the pungent copper tang of her own blood, and the oily stench of the city pressing in around her. The glowing gold of her reflection haunted her every thought, but she couldn’t stop moving. Instinct, raw and unrelenting, kept her upright. She didn’t know where she was going—only that she needed to get somewhere safe. Somewhere far from this chaos.

Her injured arm throbbed in time with her heartbeat, each step a battle against the searing pain radiating through her shoulder. The rain plastered her hair to her face as she stumbled into an alley, leaning heavily against the cold, damp brick wall for support. The city’s hum, a constant backdrop of noise she’d long since learned to tune out, now felt crushingly loud. Every car engine, every muffled conversation, every distant wail of a siren rang in her ears like a deafening symphony. Everything was too much: the blood, the noise, the strange energy crawling beneath her skin. It felt alive. Foreign. Like wildfire threading through her veins, threatening to consume her from the inside out.

Ellen pressed a trembling hand to her arm, hissing at the pain, and peeled back the shredded remains of her jacket. The bite wound was deep, the edges ragged and swollen, and the skin around it burned unnaturally hot. Her stomach lurched at the sight, but it wasn’t just the wound that unnerved her. Something was happening to her—something beyond the physical. Her thoughts were fragmented, spinning uselessly between fragments of memory and mounting panic. She clenched her jaw hard enough to make her teeth ache. One step at a time, Carter. First, find shelter. Then, figure out what the hell just happened to you.

The sound of footsteps echoed behind her, faint but purposeful. Ellen froze, her breath catching in her throat. Her heightened senses zeroed in on the sound, amplifying its weight and rhythm. She turned her head sharply, scanning the alley, but saw nothing. Still, the sensation of being watched prickled at the back of her neck.

“Who's there?” she rasped, her voice hoarse from the earlier scream. Her fingers fumbled in her bag, searching for the pepper spray she’d used before, her movements clumsy and frantic.

The footsteps stopped.

For a long moment, the only sound was the persistent drum of rain against the pavement. Then, just as she was about to dismiss it as her frazzled nerves playing tricks on her, a figure stepped out of the shadows.

Ellen’s grip tightened on the pepper spray, her body coiling like a spring despite her injuries. The woman who emerged was tall and broad-shouldered, her form cloaked in a dark hoodie that clung to her like a second skin under the rain. Amber eyes, sharp and unyielding, locked onto Ellen’s, and she felt an inexplicable weight settle over her—a sense of authority and control that demanded attention. The predator in those eyes was unmistakable, but so, too, was something softer. Concern? No. It was more measured than that.

“Easy,” the woman said, her voice calm but firm. She raised her hands in a gesture of peace, though her stance remained poised for action. “I’m not here to hurt you.”

“Yeah, well, you’ll forgive me if I’m feeling a little less than trusting right now,” Ellen snapped, the sarcasm slipping out automatically despite the tremor in her voice. “Who the hell are you?”

The woman took a cautious step closer, her movements deliberate, as though she were approaching a wounded animal. “My name’s Maya. I’m here to help.”

Ellen barked a laugh, though it sounded more like a choked gasp. “Help? Great. Unless you’ve got a first aid kit and a cure for whatever *this* is,” she held up her wounded arm, red staining the shredded leather, “I think I’m beyond help.”

Maya’s eyes flicked to the wound, and her expression tightened, though she kept her voice steady. “You’ve been bitten,” she said quietly. It wasn’t a question.

“Congratulations, you can state the obvious,” Ellen said, though her bravado faltered under Maya’s piercing gaze. “What—what is happening to me?”

Maya hesitated, her jaw working as though she were debating how much to say. “You’re changing,” she said finally. “And if we don’t get you somewhere safe, that change is going to rip you apart.”

The words sent a chill down Ellen’s spine, freezing her in place. Her sarcastic retort died in her throat, replaced by a wave of cold, clinging fear. “Rip me apart?” she echoed, her voice barely above a whisper.

Before Maya could respond, the sound of a low, guttural growl cut through the air. It was close. Too close.

Ellen’s head snapped toward the mouth of the alley. The rain obscured her vision, but the faint glint of glowing eyes in the darkness made her blood run cold.

“Move,” Maya ordered, grabbing Ellen’s uninjured arm and pulling her forward with surprising strength. Ellen barely managed to keep her balance as Maya propelled her down the alley and into the maze of backstreets.

“Wait, wait!” Ellen protested, her feet stumbling over the uneven pavement. “What the hell is—”

“Not now,” Maya cut her off, her tone leaving no room for argument. “They’re hunting you.”

Ellen’s pulse skyrocketed. “They? Who the hell is ‘they’?”

Maya didn’t answer, instead yanking her around a corner and into a narrow passageway that seemed to wind deeper into the city’s underbelly. The growls grew louder, joined by the sound of claws scraping against concrete. Ellen risked a glance over her shoulder and caught a glimpse of shadows moving unnaturally fast.

“They’re getting closer!” she gasped, her voice laced with panic.

“I know,” Maya said grimly. “Hold on.”

Before Ellen could respond, Maya slung an arm around her waist and practically dragged her forward, her pace relentless despite Ellen’s uneven footing. The world became a blur of rain, shadows, and adrenaline, every step a fight to stay upright.

They burst out into a wider street, the dim glow of distant streetlights casting everything in an eerie, rain-soaked haze. Maya scanned the area quickly before pulling Ellen toward the edge of a dense forest that loomed like a wall of darkness on the city’s outskirts.

“You seriously want to go in there?” Ellen panted, her voice tinged with disbelief.

“Unless you want to stay out here and die, yes,” Maya shot back, already plunging into the trees.

Ellen had no choice but to follow, her boots slipping on the wet undergrowth as she stumbled after Maya. The forest was alive with sound—the rustle of leaves, the creak of branches, and the distant howls that seemed to echo from all directions. The air was thick and damp, carrying a scent that was somehow both earthy and electric, like the aftermath of a lightning strike. It made her senses reel, her heightened perception struggling to process everything at once.

“Where are we going?” Ellen demanded, her voice cutting through the cacophony. She was struggling to keep up, her body protesting every movement.

“Silver Fang Manor,” Maya replied without looking back. “You’ll be safe there.”

Ellen barely had time to process the words before a snarl erupted behind them. She turned her head just in time to see a massive, hulking shape burst through the undergrowth, its glowing eyes locked onto her with predatory intent.

Maya reacted instantly, shoving Ellen behind her and stepping into the creature’s path. In one fluid motion, she shed her hoodie, revealing tactical gear beneath. Her movements were impossibly fast, and before Ellen could fully comprehend what she was seeing, Maya’s body twisted and shifted, her form erupting into a powerful, hulking wolf with streaks of black cutting through her rugged brown fur.

Ellen’s brain short-circuited. “What the—”

“Run!” Maya snarled, her voice guttural and distorted, but unmistakably hers.

The sight of Maya—no, the wolf that was Maya—standing between her and the creature snapped Ellen into motion. She turned and ran, her legs moving on autopilot as the sounds of snarls and claws tearing through flesh filled the air behind her.

The forest seemed endless, each step dragging her deeper into its shadowy embrace. Her chest burned, her breath ragged, but she didn’t dare stop. Not until she saw it—a break in the trees and the faint outline of a sprawling, gothic structure looming ahead.

Silver Fang Manor.

Ellen stumbled into the open, her knees buckling as exhaustion threatened to overtake her. The last thing she saw before the world went dark was a tall, imposing figure striding toward her, his ice-blue eyes piercing through the rain like twin beacons of light. Somewhere faint, almost imperceptible, the scent of blood lingered.

And then, everything went black.