CHAPTER 55: CHAPTER 55: WHEN THE WORLD STOPPED

The moment shattered. With a sound like thunder tearing through the clouds, the rogues lunged from all sides. It was chaos.

Fangs gleamed in the dying light, claws scraped against the earth, and snarls filled the forest like a storm that had finally broken free.

Selene stumbled backward on instinct, the dagger trembling in her grip as bodies clashed before her. Kael’s massive black wolf slammed into the first attacker with bone-crunching force, sending it sprawling into the underbrush.

Luca was filled with pure rage, his crimson-hazed wolf eyes tearing through flesh without hesitation.

Aeron fought like a demon unleashed—graceful and merciless, his fury sharpened by something rageful and possessive.

And Lucian, wounded but unwavering, stood like a wall between her and the monsters, blood still dripping from his chest as he fought whoever dared to approach her, his strength refusing to falter.

But there were too many.

Dozens turned into scores. Rogues poured from the shadows, from the trees, from the choking mist—more than they could hold back.

And some...still slipped through.

Selene’s eyes widened as two rogues broke the line of defense, barreling toward her. She backed away, her breath catching in her throat, her heart racing so loud it drowned out everything else.

She tried to run.

But she wasn’t fast enough.

One of them reached her.

Rough claws slashed through the air, catching her by the arm, tearing through skin. She screamed, falling backward as another lunged at her—but before it could reach her, Lucian’s wolf crashed into it, sending it skidding across the blood-soaked forest floor.

Still, it wasn’t enough.

Because in the next heartbeat, something cold and vicious grabbed her from behind.

A rogue—larger than the others, eyes wild with madness—snatched her like she weighed nothing. She kicked and screamed, thrashing with all the strength her fragile body had left, but his grip was unrelenting.

"No—LET ME GO!" She cried, voice cracking, pure terror ripping through her chest.

But the rogue didn’t stop.

He ran in the other direction, with his fangs digging deeper in her waist.

The others froze for a single breath. Then they lost their minds altogether.

"SELEEEENE!"

Aeron’s voice roared through the trees like a war cry, his wolf exploding forward with lethal speed, tearing through the rogues in his path.

Lucian let out a savage, blood-curdling snarl and lunged after her, his fury blinding, his massive form crashing through anything that dared block his way.

Kael and Luca followed, beasts more than men now, driven by something deeper than rage—something that felt like pure instinct, like soul-deep panic clawing its way out of their chests.

But the rogues were everywhere.

Dozens—no, hundreds—surged forward, forming a wall of bodies between them and the running figure who held Selene.

Growls echoed from both sides, but neither side backed down.

And through it all, Selene screamed again—high and desperate, the kind of scream that was filled with terror.

And still, the rogue ran deeper into the woods. Away from everything—and everyone—that could save her.

And behind him, four alphas tore through the battlefield like devils from a nightmare, not caring how many they had to kill, not caring if they bled or broke—because the only thing that mattered now...was getting her back.

Blood soaked the earth.

Snarls split the air like thunder. Claws raked through flesh, and the cries of the dying echoed through the forest as the four alphas tore through everything in their path.

But none of it mattered.

Not the pain, not the wounds, not the rogue wolves falling around them like broken dolls.

Because ahead of them...Selene was being dragged away.

The rogue that held her ran like a creature possessed, weaving through the trees, bounding over rocks and roots with inhuman speed. His grip on her was brutal, fangs digging into her waist as she fought and screamed and thrashed like a wild thing.

"Let me go! LET ME GO!" She cried, voice hoarse, eyes wild with terror. Her nails clawed at the rogue’s arm, her legs kicking against the wind, but nothing worked. She was trapped. Dragged through the forest like a lifeless doll in the hands of a mad beast.

And behind them, hell followed.

Aeron’s eyes were nothing but glowing amber, a silent snarl splitting his face as he lunged over fallen logs, leapt through broken branches, and slaughtered any rogue that dared stand in his way.

Lucian was all blood and madness, his injured body moving like death incarnate. His snarls tore through the air louder than any wolf’s, his rage burning through the wound in his chest as though pain had never existed.

Kael and Luca moved in unison, barely breathing, barely thinking—just chasing to save her from the mad rogue’s clutches.

Nothing else mattered. Not even their own lives.

But then... The forest opened. The trees fell away. And the rogue ran straight toward the cliff.

"No..." Aeron’s voice cracked with disbelief, his feet slamming against the edge of the clearing. "No, no, no—STOP!"

But the rogue didn’t stop.

He didn’t even slow down.

Selene’s screams grew louder as the wind howled around them, the roar of a raging river rising from below. Her eyes widened in horror as she saw it—the end. The void. The blackened abyss that no one returned from.

"No! Please—don’t! STOP!" She sobbed, her voice breaking, her hands trying to pry herself free. "SOMEE!"

The rogue didn’t even flinch.

He was running straight toward the edge, his movements wild and unhinged, like a creature with no mind left—only destruction.

"No!" Lucian snarled, faster now, his paws bleeding after tearing countless rogues. "Don’t you fucking dare!"

Kael leapt forward, mouth open in a feral roar, trying to close the distance. Luca was right behind him, every breath a scream.

Selene’s scream pierced the sky. But not to avail, the rogue launched off the cliff with her, vanishing into the darkness below.

Time stopped. Everything stopped.

No!" Aeron lunged forward, desperation tearing from his throat like a wounded animal.