Chapter Eight

ELLA

My eyes slowly peeled open to find myself back in the cave, without a clue as to how I had gotten there.

"Mom." I sat up quickly, with an awful feeling in my stomach that she might not have survived my mating season last night.

I spotted Mom standing up from a stone before a fire roasting a strange, scented meat.

We both ran into each other's arms.

"I'm glad you're not dead," I said, hugging her tight.

"I'm glad I'm still able to live a little longer with you," she responded, also squeezing me between her arms.

"Did you manage to kill them?" I asked as we stopped hugging, relieved that both of us were still here and safe.

While waiting for her reply, I also wanted to ask if I could see the corpse of my fated mate. I wanted to see the person who was supposed to be the one I was supposed to spend my entire life with, if only he wasn't as evil as his uncle.

"They didn't come?" Mom said.

"How?" I didn't understand.

"It may be that necklace around your neck," Mom said, gesturing toward my chest.

I looked down with a start, realizing it had slipped out of my pink dress.

There was no point in hiding it anymore since she now knew about it.

I held onto the silver moon pendant as Mom sat back down by the fire. She turned the strange meat, which she had pierced with a stick, over the flames to cook the other side.

I could see the disappointment in her eyes that I was wearing the necklace from the witch that she didn't trust.

"I'm sorry, Mom, that I disobeyed you by wearing this necklace. But it saved us in the end, and now you know that witch isn't as evil as you think," I said with a smile, walking out of the cave.

"Your innocence makes you extremely foolish sometimes!" Mom lashed at me, and I lowered my head.

I slowly raised my head to look back at her as I heard her say, "I thought about ripping that necklace from your neck many times while you slept, not trusting the true nature of that thing. But I'm scared that if I do, your demon-fated mate will find you."

I ran my hand over the pendant's smooth surface, sad that I had disappointed her but also deeply relieved she hadn't taken it off.

"Tomorrow, early in the morning, we will leave from here to find answers from a friend about that necklace around your neck, whether it's helping you or putting you in greater danger."

I nodded.

Mom began to cough, and the horrible, ragged sound immediately worried me.

"I'm fine; I've inhaled too much smoke," she said as I rushed over to her.

"Sit and eat." She tore off a piece of the roasted meat for me and put it onto a flat rock.

She saw my nose wrinkle as I looked down at the food in my hand.

"I know it smells awful, but it's the only meat I could find here, since this place was ravaged by fire years ago. You've been passed out for two days, and you need your strength for tomorrow."

Two days. I was shocked at how long I was unconscious. Just then, my stomach growled. It disgusted me to be eating a vulture, but I was too hungry to refuse, no matter how awful it smelled.

The taste was even worse—gamey, with an unpleasant, bitter aftertaste. There was no water to wash the flavor out of my mouth when I finished.

"We'll eat something better when we're out of here," Mom giggled, amused by my reaction to the food.

The next day, before we set out, Mom dusted off a bright purple hooded cloak and told me to put it on and cover my head, while she wore a dark green one.

"Do we still have to keep hiding, even though the magical necklace is protecting me from being found by my fated mate?" I asked, tired of having to live in the shadows my entire life.

"Yes," Mom responded without giving me the slightest glimmer of hope.

"But what if you find out from your friend that the necklace is truly protecting me?" I pushed.

"Even if it is, as long as your fated mate and his uncle are still alive, you will never be safe. You are an heir of the Seracee Pack, and they will always view you as a massive threat unless you are dead."

I lowered my head sadly.

Mom gently hooked her fingers under my chin, tilting my head up to meet her gaze.

"I know you're tired of hiding, but it's the only way you'll be able to be safe."

"I know, Mom," I said softly.

We went straight out of the burned-down land, and an hour later we were in a lush grassland. Having been in a ruined land for three days that reeked of charcoal made me appreciate the fresh scent of this place even more, along with its bright green surroundings after seeing ashes and burnt trees everywhere I went.

In the distance, rising past the edge of the woodland, I noticed a strange and terrifyingly eerie plant wall towering high above all the trees across from us.

"Mom, what place is that?" I stared at it with a mixture of fear and curiosity.

I looked behind me at Mom for an answer, only to see her on the verge of passing out. I bolted to catch her before she crashed to the ground.