Chapter 58: Logan

Azura’s POV

The rogue was close enough now that I could hear it breathing. That low, wet sound with every step forward was the worst part. It wasn’t the sheer size of the beast or the rows of yellow teeth that made my blood turn to ice. It was just that breathing. It was slow and patient. It sounded like the creature already knew how this ended and was simply enjoying the walk toward its prize.

My leg was on fire. When the tree trap had swung and thrown us both off Liona’s back, something in my hip had shifted out of place on landing. It wasn’t broken. I knew what broken felt like from the scraps of my childhood. This was different. The joint was in a position it was not supposed to be in. Every time I tried to put weight on that side, a sharp, white pain shot straight up my spine. It made my vision blur. I stood there, stubbornly alone, with nothing else.

I glanced at Liona quickly. She had shifted back to herself. Her cream shirt was torn at the shoulder, and her dark leather vest hung open. The deep scratches from the branches were closing slowly because her body was already working to heal them. But her legs were not holding her up right, and there were still bruises on her skin. She was on her knees with one hand pressed to the ground for balance. Her head was lifted, and her eyes still carried the last traces of gold that had not quite faded back to hazel.

We looked at each other for one second. No words were needed. We both knew we were in trouble.

I turned back to the rogue and raised my dagger. One small blade and a leg that wanted to give out under me were not much of a defense. I knew that. But I was not going to stand here empty-handed while it walked toward me. If it was coming, it was going to earn every single step.

The rogue dropped its head lower. Its lip pulled back in a nasty snarl. Saliva dripped from its teeth onto the leaves at its feet. Where the liquid landed, the leaves curled and darkened at the edges like they were being burned.

I tightened my grip on the handle and held my ground.

Then, a massive black wolf hit the rogue from the side.

He came out of the trees so fast I barely saw him before the impact happened. The sound of the collision reached me in my chest before my ears even caught up. The rogue was taken completely off its feet. Both of them went crashing through the undergrowth, rolling in a blur of fur and teeth before separating. The rogue scrambled upright, snarling in a way that sounded more like a scream.

The black wolf stood between the beast and us.

I had seen him before. There was no question who this was. That fur was deep black from nose to tail. It was the kind of black that did not reflect light but seemed to swallow it whole. He was massive, bigger than anything a wolf had a right to be. There was no question in my mind who this was.

Logan. The Alpha’s wolf. Rhydor was here.

But one of his shoulders looked wrong. Even through the thick fur, I could see it. There was a patch where everything sat differently. The fur there was darker and matted down. The skin underneath carried a burn that had not been there when the journey started. Which means the wound had happened on the road during the fight, an hour ago in the middle of the afternoon. He had been carrying that pain ever since.

Was he beaten?

Before I could think any further, the creature that had been standing at the back in its almost-human form dropped forward. It changed as it fell. By the time it hit the ground, it was a wolf. It was larger than the first rogue, with the same pale, flat eyes and the same sizzling saliva already gathering at the corners of its mouth.

There were two of them now, both facing Logan.

Liona found my arm and pulled me to the side without speaking. We moved together, putting a wide tree between them and us. We had to get out of the direct space between Logan and what he was about to face.

The first rogue attacked from the left. Logan turned into it, taking the hit on his chest and keeping his injured shoulder back and away. He used the force of the collision to throw the rogue past him. His claws dragged across its side as it went. The rogue hit the ground hard. The moment it was down, Logan was already turning. The second rogue had lunged for the back of his neck.

He dropped low on purpose. The rogue sailed over him and he was back up before it had fully landed. His jaws closed on its back leg and he hauled it sideways, away from his wound and away from its teeth. He released it, circled it, and kept himself angled so neither of them could reach his shoulder at the same time.

Every move was deliberate. He was protecting that wound while fighting two of them at once. He was doing it with a focus that was frightening to watch. He used his claws, his weight, and his position to win. He avoided their bites every single time, forcing them to fight on terms he controlled. During the struggle, the blood that came away was just blood. It was red and normal while they were still breathing. I remembered what Axel told me. It was only after they died that everything changed.

The first rogue made one mistake. It came in too straight with its neck exposed. Logan took the opening. When the creature stopped moving, the ground beneath it began to hiss quietly. The pooling blood reacted with the earth, and a faint, bitter smell rose up through the cold air.

He killed the second one shortly after.

And then, he did not stop.

He was still snarling over the bodies. His head was swinging from side to side as he scanned the trees. He was searching for more enemies. His eyes had not changed back. They were fully red, without a trace of amber anywhere in them. They were burning like something that had been set on fire from the inside. His chest heaved and the sound coming from him was not the sound of a victor. It was the sound of a monster that had lost the part of itself that knew when to stop.

Liona’s hand tightened on my arm.

Silas broke through the trees first, with several warriors behind him. He took everything in fast. Then he looked at Logan and went completely still.

"Rhydor." He kept his voice even and careful. "It is done. They are down. Come back."

Logan turned toward the voice. For one second, I thought it had worked. Then he moved. It was low and sudden. Silas threw himself sideways barely in time. He hit the ground, rolled, and came up on one knee while breathing hard.

Axel pulled him back and then stepped forward himself. He held his hands out, his voice steady as he tried to reach him. Logan turned and came at him too. Axel dropped back fast, the force of the movement so close to his face that he stumbled.

Torin shifted next. His large brown wolf moved toward Logan with his head low and his body angled carefully. He wasn’t being aggressive. He was approaching like a wolf trying to speak to another wolf. He made sounds I had no words for. They were deep and rumbling sounds that lived below language.

Logan hit him clean across the side. Torin’s wolf went sideways into the dirt. He was up immediately, looking shaken. He tried again with those same sounds, but Logan answered with a snarl so loud it seemed to push against the trees around us.

Torin shifted back to himself and stepped away. He looked defeated. Nobody could reach him.

I looked at Logan standing alone over the two dead rogues. He was red-eyed and burning, snarling at everything around him. Something in my chest pulled before I could think better of it.

I stepped forward.

"No." Liona’s voice came out sharp and frightened. Her hand closed around my arm again.

Axel moved toward me fast. He put himself between Logan and me. His expression was tight and urgent. "Azura, stop. Your wolf is not present. You have nothing to protect yourself with right now."

"She should not go near him," Silas said from behind Axel. "His wolf has gone berserk."

Axel looked straight at me. "When a wolf goes berserk, it does not see people clearly. It sees threats. And the Alpha’s wolf, even though he is possessive of you, is not in his right mind right now. In this state, he cannot control what he does. He could hurt you without knowing it."

He said it plainly. It was just the truth.

"He is an Alpha," Silas added. "You understand what that means. The strength alone is dangerous. Step back, Azura. Please."

Liona stepped in front of me, her eyes pleading with me to stay safe.

I looked at Logan. I looked at the red in his eyes and the way he was pacing like a caged animal. I saw the way every person who had tried to reach him had been thrown back. Something settled quietly in my chest. I knew what I had to do.

I pulled my arm free from Liona. "Hold my dagger," I said.

She stared at me like I had lost my mind. I held the blade out to her. She took it with shaking hands, her face pale.

I walked forward.