HildaA healer brought me fresh clothes while I waited in a small anteroom connected to the infirmary. I changed quickly, tossing my blood-stained garments into a heap in the corner. The soft cotton shirt and leather pants fit better than expected. Wood Pack clothing—practical, durable, nothing like the decorative trash Susan insisted I wear at Moon Pack.I sat on a wooden bench, watching sunlight shift across the floor. Hours had passed since Robin's confrontation. Healers moved in and out of the room where they'd taken Evelyn, but none spoke to me. Twice I'd asked about her condition. Twice I'd been ignored.The door opened. Mark the scout leader stepped in, his posture stiff."Alpha Robin wants to show you where you'll be staying," he said, not quite meeting my eyes.I stood, stretching my stiff limbs. "Where's Ava?""She's eating." His answer came too quickly.I followed him out of the infirmary and into the afternoon light. Wood Pack members stopped to stare as we passed, their e
DamonMy finger had worn a groove in the map. Somewhere in these mountains, these forests—somewhere in all this goddamn territory—Ava was out there. Without me.I traced the same path again. Eastern quadrant. River crossing. The old hunting trails. My eyes burned from lack of sleep, the lines on the map blurring together.Cole's knock—three sharp raps, always the same—pulled me from the spiral."Nothing from the eastern patrols," he said, not bothering with formalities. Dark circles hung beneath his eyes. He looked like shit. Probably matched how I looked."Push them further." I didn't look up from the map. "Past our borders if they have to.""Into Wood Pack territory?" Cole's voice sharpened. "Robin's scouts are watching our every move. One wrong step and—""I said push them further." Something in my voice must have changed, because Cole shut up immediately.Robin's deadline had passed yesterday. Forty-eight hours, gone. No army at our gates—not yet. Just those damn scouts, watching.
HildaThe sun had barely risen when we reached Wood Pack territory. Mark the scout leader and his team moved efficiently, having treated Evelyn with herbs and a painkiller strong enough to keep her stable through the night. By dawn, they'd fashioned a stretcher from branches and blankets, and we set off through the forest.I walked beside Ava, who hadn't slept more than an hour. Her eyes were fixed on her mother's still form, carried between two burly wolves ahead of us."How much farther?" she asked, her voice raspy from exhaustion."Not far," Mark the scout leader answered from the front of our procession. "See those trees with the red markings? That's our outer boundary."He pointed to a cluster of pines with deep slashes in their bark, red sap oozing down the trunks like blood."The pack house is just beyond the ridge," Tessa added. She'd stayed by Evelyn's side all night, monitoring her breathing and changing the dressings on her wound. "Our medical facilities are there."I nodde
Hilda"Fifty-five... fifty-six... fifty-seven... fifty-eight... fifty-nine..."Ava's voice had gone hoarse from crying, but she kept counting, her small shoulders shaking with each number. I stared at her back while wrapping the last strip of cloth around Evelyn's torso, covering the cauterized wound. The skin around it was red and blistered, the flesh inside blackened where I'd burned away the infection. I'd done what I could with our meager supplies, but Ava didn't know that."Sixty... sixty-one... sixty-two... sixty-three...""Ava," I called, but she didn't respond, lost in her counting.I wiped Evelyn's blood from my hands onto my already ruined pants and moved toward the girl. Her voice had taken on a mechanical quality, like she'd forgotten why she was counting in the first place."Ava." I placed a hand on her thin shoulder.She stopped mid-number, her body going rigid under my touch."I'm done," I said into the sudden silence.She didn't move or speak for several seconds. "Can
Hilda"Miss Hilda? Is that working?"Ava's eyes fixed on me, expectant and hopeful. I stared at the useless first aid supplies scattered on the floor, then at Evelyn's wound with its black edges and purple veins spreading across her skin. The words stuck in my throat.What the fuck could I say? Her mother was dying and I had no clue how to fix it.I couldn't look at the girl's face. The weight of my impulsive promise sat heavy on my chest."Ava," I said, forcing myself to focus, "look around the cabin. See if you can find any firewood or something we can burn in the fireplace. We need to warm this place up."She nodded and scurried off, eager to help, to do something—anything—that might save her mother.I turned back to Evelyn, examining the wound more closely. The gash was deep, at least three inches long and gaping open to reveal wet, dark tissue underneath. The edges were blackened and dead, with thick purple veins spreading outward across her skin like spider legs. Yellow-green re
Hilda"Don't you want to save my mother?"I froze, Evelyn's weight suddenly heavier in my arms. The words stunned me, like I'd walked face-first into a tree."What did you just say?" I stared at Ava, unable to process what I'd heard.Her small face was set in determination, tears still streaming down her cheeks. "You heard me."This couldn't be happening. Not now. Not with Evelyn dying in my arms and rogues potentially tracking us. I glanced around at the dark trees surrounding us, anxiety crawling up my spine."Ava, we can't stand here right now. We need to find shelter first."But Ava wasn't listening. She stepped closer, her voice rising with desperation."Dr. Graham said she has friends at Wood Pack who can help us. She was sure about it." Ava pointed toward the distant cabin. "That place doesn't look like anyone lives in it. How can we get help there?"She walked forward with purpose, jabbing her finger toward Evelyn. "Look at her.""What?" I asked, confusion mixing with my growi