The forest was still alive with the echoes of the creature's dying screams. Luna's heart pounded like a war drum as she and Cade ran, weaving through the trees. The air was thick with tension, the scent of decay and dark magic clinging to her like a second skin.
The memory of what she had just done of the light that had erupted from her hands and obliterated the creature made her blood run cold. It wasn't normal. It wasn't a wolf. It was something else entirely. And it terrified her.
"Luna, keep moving!" Cade's voice was sharp, urgent. She didn't need to be told twice. The whispers in the shadows weren't gone. They had only retreated for now.
The trees thinned, revealing the river Cade had mentioned. The moonlight reflected off the rushing water, and the sight filled Luna with a desperate kind of relief.
"Jump!" Cade ordered. Luna barely had time to brace before he grabbed her hand and pulled her forward. They leaped into the frigid water, the icy shock stealing the air from her lungs.
She went under, the current grabbing at her, pulling her down. Panic clawed at her chest, but she forced herself to kick, to fight the water's grasp. She broke the surface with a gasp, sucking in precious air.
Cade was beside her, his face grim. "The current will carry us downriver. Stay close."
Luna nodded, too exhausted to speak. The water pushed them forward, and she let it, her body sore and spent. Minutes passed. The sounds of the forest grew distant.
Finally, the river slowed, and Cade pulled her toward the bank. They crawled onto the shore, breathing hard. Luna collapsed onto her back, staring at the sky. Her body still hummed with whatever power had erupted from her earlier.
"What happened back there?" she asked, her voice raw.
Cade sat beside her, dripping wet and just as exhausted. He ran a hand through his dark hair, his jaw tight. "You tell me." Luna closed her eyes, trying to remember the feeling. The panic. The desperation. The burn of the mark on her neck.
Then power. "It felt like… something inside me snapped," she admitted. "Like something was waiting to be woken up."
Cade exhaled. "That wasn't just power, Luna. That was magic."
She shook her head, sitting up. "No. Wolves don't have magic."
Cade met her eyes, his expression unreadable. "Some do."The words sent a chill through her, colder than the river had been.
"But that means…" Luna swallowed. "The Shadow Pack didn't mark me to hunt me." Her stomach twisted. "They marked me to turn me into one of them."Cade nodded grimly. "And if you don't fight it, that's exactly what will happen."
Luna clenched her fists. "No. I won't let them control me."
"Good," Cade said. "Because if you're going to survive, you must learn how to use that power before they take it from you."
After catching their breath, they pressed on. Cade led her through the thick forest, his movements careful but deliberate.
"Where are we going?" Luna asked.
"Somewhere safe," Cade replied.
Luna scoffed. "Nowhere is safe from them."
"Maybe not," Cade admitted. "But there's someone who can help us."
Luna hesitated. "Who?"
Cade hesitated. "An old ally. If he's still alive."
That didn't inspire much confidence.
But she didn't argue. She didn't have many options.
They walked for hours. The moon had long since disappeared behind thick clouds, leaving them in darkness. But the deeper they went, the more Luna felt a strange pull.
Like something was waiting for her. Then, the scent hit him; she stopped short, her body locking up.
Cade noticed immediately. "Luna?"
Luna's pulse raced. "Blood."
She could smell it. Thick. Metallic. Fresh.
Cade's expression darkened. "Stay close."
They followed the scent, pushing through the trees until they found the source. Luna's stomach twisted.
A body lay in the clearing.
A wolf.
Its fur was matted with blood, deep claw marks raking across its chest. But it wasn't just any wolf. Luna knew this wolf.
"Kellan," she whispered.
He had been part of her old pack. One of the few who had survived the Shadow Pack's first attack years ago. He was still alive, barely.
"Luna…" Kellan's voice was weak, his golden eyes flickering open.
She dropped to her knees beside him, pressing her hands against his wounds. "Don't move, Kellan. We'll get help."
He coughed, blood trickling from his lips. "No time… They're coming."
Luna's blood ran cold. A rustling in the trees made her breath hitch. Cade pulled her to her feet. "We have to go. Now."
"But
"He's gone, Luna."
The words sliced through her like a knife. But she didn't have time to grieve. Because behind them, the shadows were moving.
Luna and Cade ran. The forest came alive with movement, the trees bending unnaturally as dark figures emerged. The Forsaken.
They weren't just hunting her anymore. They were herding her. Luna gritted her teeth, pushing herself harder. Her lungs burned, her legs ached, but she couldn't stop.
A Forsaken wolf leaped from the shadows, its fangs bared. Cade turned mid-stride, shifting in a blink. His black wolf tackled the creature mid-air, bones cracking as they hit the ground.
Luna kept running. The,n a whisper. Not from behind her, From inside her mind.
"Run all you want, little wolf… But you cannot escape your fate."
Luna's heart slammed against her ribs. She knew that voice.
But it wasn't her Cade. It was Cade, Alpha of the Shadow Pack. He was in her head; the mark on her neck burned.
"Come home, Luna. Stop running. You belong to us."
No. Luna forced the voice out, slamming a mental wall between them.
But she could still feel him lingering in the corners of her mind, Watching. Waiting.
"Luna!" Cade's Authentic voice snapped her back to reality. She barely had time to react before a Forsaken wolf lunged at her. But this time, she didn't freeze. This time, she fought.
Luna ducked, twisting out of reach, then let the power inside her loos. A blast of pure energy erupted from her hands, hitting the creature square in the chest.
It screeched, its body disintegrating into nothing. Luna stood there, panting, her hands trembling.
Cade stared at her. "You're getting stronger." Luna's jaw tightened. "Then let's end this." But deep inside, she knew the truth.