Chapter 7: The Wilderness

The forest was darker than I’d imagined. Deeper. Every shadow held potential threats, every sound a possible predator. Maya and I walked for hours, putting as much distance as possible between us and our territory.

“We need to stop,” Maya finally said. “You’re exhausted.”

I was beyond exhausted. The bond severance had drained me physically and emotionally. My legs trembled with each step. But stopping meant thinking, and thinking meant feeling, and feeling meant breaking completely.

“Just a little further,” I insisted.

“Aria.” Maya grabbed my arm, forcing me to halt. “You’re bleeding.”

I looked down. My feet had torn through my thin shoes, leaving bloody footprints in the dirt. I hadn’t even noticed. The pain in my chest was so overwhelming that physical injuries felt like nothing.

“We’ll rest here,” Maya decided, guiding me to a fallen log. “Just for a few hours.”

I sank, my body finally giving out. The adrenaline that had kept me moving drained away, leaving only grief. Raw, consuming grief that made it hard to breathe.

“I left him,” I whispered. “I actually left him.”

“You did.” Maya sat beside me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. “You were incredibly brave.”

“I don’t feel brave. I feel destroyed.”

“Those aren’t mutually exclusive.” She squeezed gently. “Sometimes the bravest thing you can do is walk away from what’s killing you.”

Tears came then, hot and endless. I cried for Kaden, for us, for the future we’d never have. I cried for the girl I’d been just days ago, so hopeful and naive. I cried until I had nothing left.

Maya held me through all of it, keeping watch while I fell apart.

When I finally stopped, the sun was high overhead. Hours had passed. My eyes were swollen, my throat raw, but something inside me felt lighter. Or maybe just emptier.

“What do we do now?” I asked.

“We survive.” Maya pulled out a small bag I hadn’t noticed before. “I grabbed supplies before I came to warn you. Food, water, and some money I’ve been saving. It’s not much, but it’ll get us to neutral territory.”

“You planned this.” I stared at her. “You knew I’d leave.”

“I hoped you would.” She met my eyes. “I’ve watched you slowly disappear trying to be what Kaden needed. I’ve watched that pack treat you like dirt. Leaving was the only way you’d ever become yourself again.”

“I don’t know who I am anymore.”

“Then we’ll figure it out together.” She handed me a water bottle. “Drink. Then we need to move. Rogue territory isn’t safe after dark.”

She was right. I’d heard stories about rogues. Wolves who’d been exiled or chosen to leave their packs, living outside the law. Some were dangerous, driven mad by isolation. Others were just desperate.

Like us.

We walked through the afternoon, staying alert for threats. The forest was beautiful in a wild, untamed way. So different from Shadowpine’s manicured grounds. Here, nature ruled without compromise.

“Do you regret it?” I asked as we navigated a steep ravine. “Leaving with me? You had a place there. A life.”

Maya snorted. “What life? Scrubbing floors for wolves who treated me like furniture? Watching you suffer while pretending everything was fine?” She shook her head. “I stayed as long as I did because of you. Once you left, nothing was keeping me there.”

“Still. Your future”

“Is mine to choose,” she interrupted firmly. “Just like yours. We’re done letting other people decide our worth, remember?”

I smiled despite everything. “When did you get so wise?”

“I’ve always been wise. You were just too lovesick to notice.”

We made camp that night in a small cave Maya found. She built a fire while I tried to make sense of our situation. We were rogues now, technically. Wolves without a pack. That made us targets for any territorial Alpha and prey for dangerous rogues.

“How long until we reach neutral territory?” I asked.

“Three days, maybe four.” Maya poked at the fire. “There’s a town there where rogues can trade and rest. We can figure out our next move from there.”

Three days. It felt like a lifetime.

That night, I couldn’t sleep. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Kaden’s face at the border. The desperation there. The anguish. Part of me wanted to believe he’d come after me. That he’d leave everything and choose me.

But I knew better now.

The sound of howling jerked me awake. Close. Too close.

Maya was already on her feet, her body tense. “Rogues. Multiple wolves.”

Fear spiked through me. “How many?”

“At least five.” She grabbed a burning branch from the fire. “Stay behind me.”

They emerged from the darkness like nightmares. Five wolves, all in their animal forms, are circling our small camp. Their eyes gleamed with hunger and madness.

The largest one shifted to human form. A scarred man with wild eyes and a cruel smile.

“Well, well. What do we have here? Two little females, all alone.” His gaze travelled over us in a way that made my skin crawl. “This is our territory, girls. You need to pay a toll.”

“We’re just passing through,” Maya said, her voice steady despite the fear I knew she felt. “We don’t want trouble.”

“Too bad. You found it anyway.” He moved closer. “Here’s how this works. You give us everything you have, food, money, clothes. Then maybe we'll let you leave. Maybe.”

The other rogues laughed, a sound like breaking glass.

“We have nothing,” I said, finding my voice. “Please. Just let us go.”

“Nothing?” He tilted his head. “I think you’re lying. I think you have plenty to offer.”

He lunged.

Maya swung the burning branch, catching him across the face. He howled, stumbling back. The other rogues attacked immediately.

I shifted without thinking, my wolf form erupting forth. I was smaller than them, weaker. But I fought anyway, teeth and claws finding flesh.

It wasn’t enough.

There were too many of them. Too strong. One caught Maya, sending her crashing into a tree. She didn’t get up.

“Maya!” I tried to reach her, but rough hands grabbed me, forcing me down.

The scarred rogue loomed over me, his face twisted with rage and desire.

“You’ll regret that,” he snarled.

I closed my eyes, bracing for pain. For death. For the end of my short, pathetic freedom.

But instead of agony, I heard a sound like thunder.

Silver light exploded from my body, so bright it hurt. The rogues flew backwards, screaming. Power I didn’t understand coursed through me, wild and ancient and terrifying.

Then everything went black.

When I opened my eyes, I wasn’t in the forest anymore. I was in a bed, soft and warm. An elderly man sat beside me, his weathered face kind.

“Welcome back, child,” he said gently. “You’ve been asleep for two days.”

“Maya,” I croaked. “My friend..”

“Is safe. Recovering in the next room.” He smiled. “You saved her life. Saved both your lives, actually.”

“What happened? That light…”

“Was your true nature awakening?” His eyes gleamed with something like recognition. “Tell me, child. Do you know who your parents were?”

“They died when I was young. No one ever told me anything about them.”

“I see.” He leaned forward. “Then allow me to introduce myself properly. I am Elder Thorne. And you, Aria, are far more than you’ve ever imagined.”

“I don’t understand.”

“You will.” He stood, moving to the window. “The silver light you manifested, that power you accessed, it’s not random. It’s your birthright. You come from a bloodline thought extinct. A bloodline that once ruled these lands with wisdom and strength.”

My heart pounded. “What bloodline?”

He turned, his expression grave and excited all at once.

“The Silver Moon Alphas, child. You are the last of their line. The last heir to a legacy that was murdered into silence twenty years ago.”

The words hung in the air, impossible and true all at once.

Everything I’d thought I knew about myself was a lie.

And somehow, that gave me hope.