Chapter four

Bella's POV

I began to run as fast as my legs could carry me, even though I was wolfless.

I was agile and had always secretly trained myself to be strong, even though I had no wolf.

A Luna was supposed to have strength to defend the pack alongside her Alpha. I had done all these so that I could be seen as worthy. A tear fell from my eyes as I thought about it, but I quickly cleaned it, not wanting to give Ronan nor his pack the opportunity of seeing me breaking before them.

I continued to run as fast as my legs could take me, my chest heaving, my lungs burning, as I noticed the number of warriors who were following me on Ronan’s orders and his promise.

How ironic, none of them recalled that my parents had been one of them. And in the process of defending the pack from the rogues, while they had been fighting at the border, they had lost their lives.

None of them wanted to stop or even question Ronan’s orders. Nor was any willing to help me, despite knowing that it would be impossible for me to get away from the pack with the number of men who were following closely behind me.

Their footsteps thundered like a storm chasing me down.

In the middle of my weariness, a hand suddenly jerked me towards the side of the hallway I had been running through.

My eyes lit up when I saw Lilian.

Lilian was a servant who I had saved when she was almost traded away to the rogues who sold she-wolves to brothels. I couldn’t believe that she would be the only one in the whole pack who wanted to defend me.

To my shock, she bowed her head before me, the way she always did when I was still known as the Alpha Prince’s fated mate.

“Run, Luna. I will stall the men from here. Run in the direction of the free plains where no wolf will be able to forcefully take you away. I will protect you until you have escaped,” she added.

I was shocked and surprised at the same time, my mind unable to even process her words. That her, of all people.

Before I could say anything, she pushed me away, urging me to run as she began to shoot arrows towards the warriors rushing in our direction.

She had always been skilled in archery. Ever since she was almost sold away, she had devoted her time to learning it, so she could defend herself… so no one would ever reduce her to helplessness again.

I began to run while she stayed behind me, shooting arrows at the men in twos and threes as they approached.

When I seemed to have gotten far away from the pack, she would shift and sprint closer to where I was, then stand behind me again as I continued to run, while she kept on shooting at the men, buying me more time and giving me a chance I never thought I would have.

The sound of arrows cutting through the air, the groans of wounded men, the pounding of my heartbeat, it all blurred into one desperate rhythm of survival.

I looked at Moonstone Pack for the last time when I was almost at the border, my steps slowing just for a second as the weight of everything pressed down on me. Reminding myself that once I stepped away from it, I would become a rogue as I had already been rejected by the Alpha of my pack.

I was still contemplating the decision, still standing on that fragile line between past and future, when Lilian rushed towards where I was.

Her hand was bleeding profusely, crimson staining her skin as it dripped to the ground. It seemed as if she had been shot.

“Lilian, are you—” I wanted to ask, panic rising in my chest, my voice trembling.

But before I could finish, she pushed me.

Hard and off the border and down the steep slope that led to the free plains owned by the rogues.

She had sacrificed herself, all so that I could be safe and so that I could be able to escape from the shackles of Ronan’s grip.

I fell down the slope, unable to control myself from falling until my back hit a tree, the impact knocking the air out of my lungs as the trunk wedged me in place.

Pain flared through my body, spreading through every bone and muscle. And then I heard the sound of Lilian’s screams.

It tore through me.

I tried to stand up, wanting to rush back to save her, my body trembling as I forced my hands against the ground. But a second thought stopped me—she had sacrificed herself for me. And worse I could barely move. So how would I even be able to save her?

Still, I forced myself to stand.

But the moment I did and lifted my head, my breath caught in my throat.

I had been surrounded.

Ronan’s men stood around me, their figures closing in like a cage. And Lilian was being held by two of them who stood at the border.

Her face looked as if it had been struck multiple times by the claws of a wolf. Blood stained her skin, her body weak, yet she still tried to stand straight.

“Where can you escape to now, Bella? You don’t even have a wolf… and your fellow traitor has been arrested.” Ronan mocked as he began to approach me slowly, like a predator circling its prey.

My heart pounded as fear and desperation clawed at me.

And as I stood there, trapped between regret and fear, wondering what to do, a voice suddenly cut through the air.

“The young lady is in the free plains. And according to the rules, there is no status here. No Alpha or followers and everyone is equal and expected to make their own decisions.”

Everyone froze.

Heads turned toward the voice.

And then shock spread across their faces.

Draven.

The Rogue Lord and Ronan’s uncle, stepped forward, a rogue standing silently behind him.

“This doesn’t involve you, Draven. This is between my mate and I,” Ronan snapped angrily, his voice tight with restrained fury.

Draven’s gaze shifted to my neck.

There was no mark.

In the last four years, Ronan had never claimed me.

And somehow, that had saved me today.

“I… she…” Ronan stammered, his words failing him for the first time, trying to find an excuse to explain why his mark wasn’t on me. To make Draven leave.

But Draven didn’t move.

“Mate or not, everyone is meant to obey the laws of the free plains. Prince Ronan, are you trying to say that you want to disobey the laws set by the Alpha Council? You have already trespassed rogue lands, does this mean that you are ready for a war?” he asked.

His voice was calm, yet commanding.

Cold, yet suffocatingly powerful.

And for the first time in all the years I had known Ronan, I saw fear.

Real, undeniable fear.

It flickered in his eyes, breaking through his pride, forcing him to take a step back.

And then another.

Until he had no choice but to retreat.

Him and his men.

I thought that was it—but Draven’s cold, taunting voice suddenly came again, slicing through the silence and making me root to the exact spot I stood in.

My breath caught halfway in my throat, my body betraying me as it refused to move. It was as if the ground itself had claimed me, holding me there to listen and feel every word he was about to carve into me.

"The rogues won't be merciful next time, Ronan. Crossing the border will equate your death. And in the free plains, no alpha council will be able to save you"

The warning pressed down on me sinking deep beneath my skin like a curse I couldn’t outrun.

Because it wasn’t just a threat.

It was a promise. A promise from the demon rogue lord