The moon hung low in the heavens, giving the thick forest a silver glow. A cool breeze bearing the aroma of moist ground and secret knowledge murmured through the trees.
Elara moved with silence, her senses keen, like a ghost through the shadows.
She had led this life for years. Denying. Seeing. still alive.
She was not a pack member anymore. She hardly even lived in the world she knew.
She was a shadow amid wolves—unseen, unheard but always there.
She also had discovered one indisputable fact: wolves living in the light perished first.
She had been thrown out of Blood fang three years ago. Three years after Kieran turned his back as like she meant nothing, rejecting her.
She had been taken under hunt. She was broken.
She had never, however, been vanquished.
She now traveled between territory, seldom staying in one area for too long. Everywhere Rogues were not welcome, she knew better than to fight unless absolutely required even if she could eliminate most of the wolves who tried to oppose her.
Survival required wisdom. invisibility.
Still, tonight she was not only moving.
She was monitoring.
There seemed to be a flaw.
The air smelled strange, one that screamed in warning every instinct in her body.
There was a fresh opponent in the area.
She also had to determine why.
Leaching low on a ridge, Elara peered down into the clearing below. In the night three figures stood.
She knew one right away: Dante.
Her blood froze.
She had heard whispers that the Alpha of Obsidian Fang was organizing something, but she had not expected to find him this far into neutral territory.
Though their poses told volumes, the other two figures were unknown. They were not here supporting friends.
Their presence here was for negotiation.
Elara struggled to hear.
One of the foreigners said, "…can secure the Blood fang borders if we have your support."
Dante smiled. "And in return?"
The voice of the stranger sank. You let us pick the rogues.
The pulse of Elara halted.
They were not only looking for territory.
They were out looking for her.
Elara's heart sped up. Though she had been hunted before, this time was different.
This transcended her past as well.
This dealt with something more eminence.
She did not have a pack. Not any allies. Nobody to call in case of need.
She would not allow them to seize her, though.
She turned, poised to vanish, and ran across a wolf.
Time stopped just for a moment.
The rogue was enormous, his fur dark, his eyes a stinging hue of amber. Among Dante's soldiers, he was a scout—probably dispatched to guard the territory.
His lips snipped in a snarl.
Elara made first movement.
She hit before he could change or set off the alert.
Her dagger zipped over his chest in the moonlight.
He hailed, staggered back, but he was not dead.
And today, the others had heard.
The cover of Elara was blown.
She went running.
She never fled. But this time she was powerless.
She knew the instant Dante's head turned up and his glittering eyes locked on her.
She was behind count.
Wolves ran after her, their snarls shattering the quiet of the night, and shouts erupted around.
Elara pushed harder, her body a blur as she wound among the trees.
She has to go to the river.
She might lose them in the mountains if she could get on the other side.
Past her ears the wind cried. fastest. She had to move more quickly.
Then, suffering.
A stinging blast of pain tore across her shoulder.
An arrow here.
She gasped, staggered, her steps stuttering for only a moment—and that was all it needed.
From behind, a body crashed into her into the ground.
She twisted, howling, but hands held her wrists, holding her down.
She turned to look up and found Dante towering over her.
Elara clamped her teeth and gasped aversely.
Dante bent next to her; his smile shockingly serene.
"I have to admit," he said, "I expected you to be a little harder to find."
Elara sprayed her blood on the ground. "Go to heaven."
Dante laughs. Oh, I appreciate you.
He observed her and his eyes shone. You realize that you have been a thorn in my side for years?
She stayed silent.
He pushed in closer. But you are not only some renegade, are you?
Her muscles locked.
Dante's smile grew broader. "No; you were Blood fang only once."
The pulse of Elara screamed in her ears.
He was knowledgeable.
naturally he did.
Dante said, his voice careful, "I wonder, what Kieran would do if he knew you were still alive."
Elara's gut turned upside down.
Dante bent in, his voice lowering to a whisper.
You know, you may come back.
She stops.
Dante's smile was exactly terrible evil. " Join me."
Her heart knocked against her ribs.
She had thought of death.
Anticipated sentence.
However, this?
This was far worse.
Her hiss were "I would rather die."
Dante laughed, got to his feet. "You say that now.."
He pointed to his guys. "Grab her. She is following us.
Elara battled, but the hold on her was relentless.
She was captured, for the first time in years.
She also wasn't sure whether she could flee—first in a long time.
With Elara, what actually does Dante want?
Will she be able to flee before Kieran learns?
Of her past, how much will be turned against her?
Her haven had been the darkness.
They now had turned into her prison.