Run, Naya Run!

Naya’s POV

"Wait...please...please don't kill me" the bleeding man in front of me said. He looked like he was looking at a ghost, fear filling up his eyes. 

I was hiding in an abandoned house, watching the massacre of my pack, but I could see the fear all the way from here too.

"Please...I'll do anything, I'll..." his words were cut short as the sword of the enemy swung and his head rolled to the floor. I felt like vomiting. 

If anyone had told me I would wake up one morning to find my entire family dead, I would not have believed them, but it was real. 

The Wolfsbane Pack was here and they were wiping us out.

“Oh, goddess…” I whispered, my throat tight. “What do we do?”

She didn’t answer. She never did when it mattered, anyway.

I clutched the tiny baby in my arms tighter against my chest. 

He wasn’t mine, goddess knew I was barely old enough to take care of myself. but when I’d seen him lying beside his mother’s body, blood running down his little head, crying and reaching for someone who would never wake up… I just couldn’t leave him.

His small fists were tangled in my torn shirt, clinging to me like I was the last thing he had left. And maybe I really was.

“Hey… hey, little one,” I whispered, tears spilling freely. “I’ve got you. I promise.”

My voice shook. So did my hands.

“Just stay quiet for me, okay? Please.”

I lifted my head again, desperately searching for my father. The Beta of my pack. The strongest man I knew.

But instead, I saw him.

The Alpha of the Wolfsbane Pack stood at the center of the chaos like he belonged there. Like this was his kingdom. His shirt was soaked in blood, most of it not his... and his face remained unreadable as wolves died at his feet.

Alpha Kade.

He didn’t shout. He didn’t rage. He simply watched.

At one point, his gaze shifted. Not directly toward me—but close enough that my breath caught painfully in my chest. 

For a moment, I thought he could see straight through the trees, straight to where I was hiding, but he looked away, back to something directly infront of him.

Then he gave a single nod, and a second later, pain ripped through the pack bond.

I heard my father’s wolf cry out so raw,  with broken pain and then the connection snapped.

He was gone.

A sob escaped me before I could stop it, my hand flying to my mouth.

"Run"

My wolf’s voice hit me hard from inside.

“But my dad—” I thought desperately.

"Run, Naya. Now."

I didn’t argue again.

I stumbled to my feet and bolted into the trees, clutching the baby tightly as branches tore at my skin. Stones cut into my feet. My lungs burned, each breath coming out ragged and sharp.

I didn’t stop. I didn’t look back.

I didn’t know how long I ran. Minutes. Hours. Time didn’t matter. All that mattered was distance. When the sounds of battle finally faded, I collapsed, my legs barely holding me upright.

I was alive.

We were alive.

I looked down at the baby. He was covered in blood, but his chest was rising and falling. He was safe.

I was bleeding, limping and completely alone.

But alive.

I almost thanked the moon goddess.

Almost.

A twig snapped behind me.

My heart slammed violently against my ribs as I froze, pulling the baby closer. Then a foul, rotten scent hit me. Fuck. A rogue.

Fear wrapped around my spine as my body reacted before my mind could catch up. I barely shifted in time.

My wolf burst out of me with a snarl, but I was slow. Too slow. I had lost too much blood, and my limbs felt heavy.

I didn’t have time to fight properly.

I gently grabbed the baby between my teeth and ran.

The rogue crashed into me from the side.

I hit the ground hard, pain exploding through me. I looked up just in time to see the rogue rip the baby from my grip—and shake him violently.

“No!” I screamed, shifting back, lunging forward—

The baby fell.

He didn’t move.

Blood poured from a wound too large for such a small body.

“No… no… no, please,” I sobbed, crawling toward him. “Please…”

He wasn’t breathing.

My heart was breaking within me. The child i had protected, only to die a cruel death. I barely  heard the rogues footsteps until his teeth sank deeply into my shoulder.

I screamed as fire spread through my veins, the venom burning and crawling beneath my skin. The pain I felt  was unbearable.  But none of it mattered.

The baby was gone.

Something inside me shattered completely.

I shifted again, rage drowning out everything else, and tore into the rogue with what little strength I had left. My claws ripped across his throat once. Twice. Blood sprayed as he collapsed, twitching.

I didn’t wait to see if he was dead.

I ran.

I shifted back mid-run, my skin burning even in the cold air. The venom spread fully through my body, making every step agony. I was naked, shaking, bleeding—and barely conscious.

I kept running anyway.

Until my legs gave out.

I collapsed beneath a pine tree, blood soaking into the earth beneath me, my chest heaving.

“I can’t die like this,” I whispered weakly. “Please… help me.”

The goddess stayed silent.

I let out a broken laugh.

“Fine,” I muttered. “If you want me dead that badly, then I hope you’re ready. Because when I get there, I’ll burn your entire throne room down.”

My vision blurred, but I heard footsteps crunched nearby.

I couldn’t move, I couldn’t open my eyes. My body felt heavy, and useless.

A presence stopped close to me, so strong, so cold... so damned powerful.

A hand brushed the damp, bloody hair from my face.

“She’s alive,” a voice said.

“That rogue bite is bad,” another replied. “She won’t last the night.”

“She will.”

There was a pause before I heard that commanding tone say again...

“Carry her.”

They was another pause like his companions were refusing to do his bidding. I didn’t know them, but Fuck them.

“Never mind. I’ll do it.”

Strong arms slid beneath me, lifting me easily. I was pulled against a solid chest, surrounded by the scent of blood, war, and something dark and commanding.

My wolf stirred weakly...

"Mate" I heard her say down the bond we shared, trying so hard to be awake.

"Huh? What did you say" I asked aloud just before the darkness claimed me completely.