Page 75 of A Sunwoven Ascent

Shred. Rip. Tear.

The sounds tore from her as much as from them.

Evelyne lunged and pivoted, circling the three Noskari in tight arcs of movement, claws carving, jaws snapping. She knew it was reckless. A death wish. But if she could not overpower them, she would exhaust them. Distract them. Force them to divide their focus.

They had toyed with her and now she would return the favor.

Their posture altered the instant she transformed. It was subtle, but real. Those black, depthless eyes tightened as though measuring her anew, and for one fleeting second she caught it.

Concern.

She slammed her body into the back of one, driving it forward into the second. Gray skin collided with gray skin in a violent tangle. She darted away before their claws could catch her. Another strike. Another precious second bought.

The third Noskari began watching her carefully now, studying the rhythm of her attacks. She felt the change in its strategy and immediately broke her pattern. Instead of circling left again, she turned sharply to the right and lashed out with her paw, claws slicing through the back of its leg. It faltered, dropping briefly to one knee.

“Filthy bitch,” it snarled.

They surged toward her together.

She bolted.

The tunnel swallowed her as she sprinted, muscles burning, lungs searing. She had never run so fast in her life. Noskari were faster—they always had been—but something was different now. Their movements were not as fluid.

They were unsettled.

She kicked dirt violently behind her, scattering debris to cloud their vision. The tunnels twisted unpredictably, and panic surged when she realized she no longer recognized the path.

A wrong turn.

She skidded into another chamber and froze for half a breath.

More prisoners were chained along the walls. Men. Women. Children. Though none with familiar faces. At the sight of a massive wolf barreling into their space, they recoiled, shrieking in terror.

“Please,” one man gasped, chains rattling. “Don’t leave us.”

There was recognition in his voice, as though he knew she was a shifter and not some wild thing of the tunnels. She would not leave the prisoners behind. She knew that with absolute certainty. She would keep the Noskari distracted for as long as she could.

They were nearly on top of her now, and she could not let herself be trapped again. She turned, catching the faint brush of cool air against her fur.

An exit.

Evelyne sprinted toward it and burst from the narrow tunnel mouth directly into them. She collided with the first Noskari head-on, jaws sinking into gray flesh. She tore, tasting bitter blood as it screeched in fury. Another clawed at her flank. A third slammed into her side, driving her to the ground.

Pain exploded through her leg as sharp claws punctured deep into muscle.

A broken, involuntary whimper escaped from her throat.

No.

She was so close.

So close.

Chains began clanking wildly from the chamber behind her. The prisoners were pulling, striking iron against roots, creating chaos. The noise echoed through the tunnels like a riot.

She snarled and thrashed, biting blindly, refusing to go still. If she kept them occupied—if she forced them to focus on her—maybe the others could break free.

All three Noskari were on her now, but she did not stop fighting.