CHAPTER TWO: THE TUNNEL OF NO RETURN

I raced forward as soon as the door of the stone shut behind me. My mother's final instruction still resounded within my mind.

Run.

The darkness consumed me as I sped through the tunnel, my feet slipping on stone. I couldn’t catch my breath.

I couldn’t think straight. My chest was on fire so badly it hurt as though my rib cage would split open.

But even behind me, muffled by stone and earth, the battle was raging still. Screams in the distance.

Steel clashed loudly. Roars sounded faintly. Each one tore at me. But I kept running.

Tears blurred my vision but I wiped them away furiously. There was no stopping now. Lucan's wolves would find the tunnel entrance.

They would search all the passages beneath the mountain. And then they would kill me.

The tunnel turned sharply before me. I slammed one hand against the wall as darkness enclosed around me, preventing my body from stumbling.

But then another scream rose up faintly behind me, Luna Thaila's voice. I came to an abrupt halt.

“Mother…” I murmured in anguish.

But then her cry died out. Silence followed. It filled me with horror. No more screams or clashing steel. Only silence. The silence spoke volumes.

Weakness gripped my legs, making it all too tempting to turn back. But then Luna Thiala’s image came rushing to my head.The way she had thrown me into the tunnel.

The fear in her tone of voice. She had sacrificed herself so that I might have enough time. By going back, I was condemning her sacrifice to go to waste.

Tears burned my eyes as pain ripped at my chest so hard I had to hang on to the tunnel walls to keep my balance.

I pushed forward despite the agony that racked my body. One step.Then two steps. Then I started running as fast as I could.

The deeper I went, the colder the air got. Drops of water continued dripping endlessly somewhere up ahead of me.

Nothing ever seemed endurable except for darkness, exhaustion, and horror that I’ve just lost everything.

At one point, I tripped on some jagged rock and collapsed on the tunnel ground below me.

Instant pain ripped through my hands. I held back a scream and stood rapidly to my feet. Move, just move, I silently urged myself.

As I was moving, however, a low rumbling suddenly sounded from behind me. I spun around, and dust fell from the ceiling.

Then one of the walls of the tunnel fell off downwards. Stone crashed down into where I was just moments ago.

The roar reverberated through the underground tunnel. I looked at the wall in horror. If I hadn’t kept running, I would be dead already. Panic flooded me. I ran faster.

At last, however, the tunnel started sloping upwards. Every inhalation of breath burned in my lungs, feeling increasingly weak from exhaustion.

Then came cold air on my face. I stood still immediately. Fresh air! Light showed itself dimly ahead. It was morning light.

I rushed up through broken rocks and tangled roots until I emerged from the tunnel into the forest.

The cold wind struck me like a blow. I bent forward abruptly, gasping desperately for breath. This forest was immense. Vast.

Entirely unlike Cirgee’s own territory.

Towering trees spread out endlessly all around me, the branches sprung upwards covering much of the sky above.

At this moment, I finally felt how completely alone I was. My throat seized painfully.

Turning once more, I gazed at the concealed tunnel entrance. It was almost impossible to see in the tangled root and rock.

The mountain seemed to have swallowed Cirgee in its entirety. The pain in my chest hurt too badly that it made it hard to breathe again.

But I couldn’t stop, not when I knew how dangerous staying there would be. So, I forced myself onward through the deep forest.

Leaves whipped against me while I moved through the dense forest. Thorned vines snared on my tattered cloak.

Time moved on. I was not sure for how long. The farther I went, the more miserable I became. My belly burned with hunger while my legs hurt from fatigue.

However, fear forced me to go on. I jumped with surprise at any noise. A breaking twig. Moving leaves. Roaring animals around me.

Once, I heard wolves' howls coming somewhere from behind me. Pack wolves were calling for each other. This made me freeze instantly.

I fell down behind the broken tree trunk, laying myself low on the wet ground. Wolves continued howling again. This time even closer.

Searching for me? My heart beat wildly inside my chest. After several minutes, I lifted my head up. Silence followed.

However, I didn't feel safe anywhere now and it started raining. The Heavy Cold Was There Too. It took only several minutes to become wet.

The forest was so dense that my boots stuck into the mud when I moved through it in the darkening sky under the trees.

I was Exhausted, Hungry And Afraid. Yet, I started looking around carefully. The forest was unlike Cirgee here. It’s less organized. had gaps in between trees. And one other thing, smell markers.

These Pack territory boundaries were Fresh markers. So I stopped. My stomach tensed up. I had wandered into another Pack’s territory.

I turned around where I stood. No traces of Cirgee lingered on me. Not even slightly.

This revelation stung me like nothing else. I wasn’t only out of my Pack’s territory. But out of all safety. The Howls from a distance came again.

It seemed like a patrol communication. My body immediately tensed. I stepped backwards slowly. I stepped again slowly. Then I saw the boundary markers.

Large wooden poles embedded in the rock and ground below. Markers burned into them with carved symbols. Spelt as Greenwood. It signified borders for an active pack territory.

I did not know the name yet, but somehow, I knew this place was unlike any other pack that I have encountered. I held my breath involuntarily, For in that moment, I comprehended what exactly was happening.

Going forward is accepting yourself but

being seen by others means getting judged by them. I faltered. My fingers tightened a little on either side.

But then a voice sliced the air.

Cold and controlled. “Stop right where you are.” I froze suddenly and slowly spun around. In front of me stood two warriors, Weapon drawn and prepared to do battle,

Scanning me as if I was already an unsolved dilemma. My breath caught in my throat. One of them took a step forward. “State your Pack.”

My mouth opened but nothing escaped my lips. For the first time since Cirgee burned. I do not have a Pack, and depending on my response, I could live or die in their world.