1. Echoes in the night

The slick sounds of my bare feet running desperately on the muddy ground mix with the cold, heavy rain and hail. As much as the hard and blistering cold rain stings on my barely covered skin, I wish it would rain even heavier. I wish it was strong enough to drown out any sound and any trace I’m leaving on my tracks behind.

My accelerated breathing echoes through the pitch-black woods while I run for my dear life. The only light source is coming from the lightning. The lightning and thunder give this entire scenario a vibe like in a book or movie. The perfect mystery/ horror moment. Only that this isn’t some story, it’s my real life. A life I’m running out on right now.

As much as I try to be as silent as possible, I know they can hear and sense me. There’s no way I am able to cover my tracks, not from them.

No matter how fast I run, I can clearly hear them hot on my tracks only a few feet behind. I can clearly hear my husband, who's also my mate! The last couple of days left, no doubt that he wants me dead.

If only I weren’t broken. If only I was like I should be. Just maybe then I’d stand a chance of outrunning them. Maybe I wouldn’t even be in this situation. But I’m just me, a broken woman who isn’t what she’s supposed to be. A worthless nothing.

While my lungs are burning from the lack of breath and the exhaustion, my mind wanders back to the last days. How could everything change so fast? How could I have been so wrong and blinded for so long?

With every fibre of my heart, I truly believed I had it all. I believed every word he said. He made me feel as though I was good enough. Every whisper, bad word, and gossip from others got wiped away by his words towards me. And now I’m more broken than ever before in my life.

The icy air whips into my tear and mud-covered face, while hoarse sobs escape my blood-stained, swollen lips. At this point, I don’t even know where I’m running anymore, even if I was told to run to the Blood-moon pack, which I don’t trust either. Right now I only know it has to be as far away as possible. Another branch from a bush covered in thorns slices through my already tortured flesh on my calves. It’s not the first one to do so, since I’ve started my try to escape. Just another wound among many others.

My hands try to wipe away the blood, mud, tear, and rain mix from my face to clear my view a little. But no matter how hard I try, there’s no way I am able to see clear. Not even with my better sight.

Unluckily for me, they don’t need to see clear. They don’t care about the heavy rain. It doesn’t make a difference to them.

My anger, fear, and frustration rise by the second, knowing they’ll find me no matter what I do, no matter how hard I fight.

The sound of them getting closer pushes me to run faster than ever before in my life. Pushes me to run way past my limits. Every inch of my body aches and hurts in an indescribable way in this moment. But I can’t give into the pain.

I need to keep going. But where and how? I have no time to waste any thoughts on it. It will slow me down even more. “Just keep pushing, don’t give up," I tell myself over and over in my mind, literally chanting it to myself.

A bloodcurdling scream, unlike anything I’ve ever heard before, fills the night, drowning out any other sound. It takes me a moment to realize that the scream escaped my very own lips while I go down to the ground.

A pain like nothing I’ve experienced before shoots right through my body.

“Keep going," I still tell myself again while I try to get back up. Even in the dark I’m able to see the thick branch, looking like a stake, piercing right through my abdomen. Both hands clutch around it while I stumble further, deeper into the woods.

To be honest, I’m not sure how I’m even able to move a single inch anymore. But I do. There’s a sudden power within me, I've never known. It must be the adrenaline flushing my veins, giving me the strength for the unthinkable. And knowing this isn't just about rescuing my own life.

Dark, sickening laughter echoes in my ears. “I guess you stumbled over one of our perfect little traps, my Love.” His voice is clearly getting closer, with dark excitement lacing his tone. Obviously, he’s shifted back to his human form.

Of course, I knew there were traps out here. I helped build up our defence after all. But there was no way I could have made the traps out in the dark. They're too well hidden, even for my eyes. Besides, he made sure that I never knew the exact positions. Not that I cared at the time, as this was a place I never wanted to go to in the first place.

The danger would have been too big. Looking back at the irony of it now, a pain filled chuckle escapes my own lips about my stupidity.

This was supposed to protect what I believed were my loved ones and myself from the danger beyond these woods. It never occurred to me that the biggest danger was right there with me. And now my own defence system has literally pierced right through my body.

Pain and exhaustion are taking over my body more and more by the second. The panic within me rises, knowing for sure there is no way I am able to escape this anymore. From everywhere, I hear them getting closer. While in the far I hear fighting at our borders. The Blood-moon pack is using this weak moment to attack as it seems. That’s where I was supposed to escape to?

The bushes seem to be moving all around and not just from the storm. Suddenly I’m very aware of every single leaf moving, every creak, each and every one making me turn.

Another sadistic laughter rings right through the bushes. Even if I was able to move faster, there’s no running anymore. I’m surrounded. The voice I once loved and which gave me a feeling of safety is now the most terrifying sound in the world. He’s clearly enjoying this. It’s a game to him.

Within a split second, I see something move towards me before I feel another sharp pain shoot through my leg. Fangs of his Beta are digging deep into my right calve, making sure to totally take me down, holding me in place.

In the distance, I hear loud howl, the moment my flesh gets torn.

My eyes fill with even more tears, as my mate, my husband comes into sight.

“Why?” Is all I can whisper in my deep pain and desperation.

Alana steps into sight, cradling my new born baby on her arm. “Because he has everything he needs now. He doesn’t need a useless piece of shit like you anymore.” Her once friendly voice spits at me.

“He needs me. He needs his mom," I cry. I knew I had to come up with a plan after my escape to get him back. I just needed to have him away from the guards and gather the strength to get him.

“He doesn’t need you. He won’t even know you existed. I’ll be the perfect mom to him. The mom our future really needs.”

Our future?

Before I’m even able to comprehend her words, I feel myself being picked up from the ground. Panicked, I look up to my mate and then the direction he’s taking me. A shiver runs down my spine as I slowly make out the lake he’s heading towards.

“No, Drake. Please don’t do this. I love you," I plead with a quivering voice.

But his eyes only darken even more. A deep pain runs through my entire body as he tosses me to the muddy ground right next to the lake. Suddenly an excruciating pain causes me to scream from the top of my lungs as my body gets dragged by my hair to the lake. The stake in my body getting dragged along, causing more pain.

Another loud, menacing howl from far off.

Why can’t I just black out already?

One last time, I try everything to find a way to shift, but nothing has changed. I’m useless to my species.

My burning lungs fill with ice cold water from the lake, causing them to burn even more. My hands try to fight Drakes hands, pushing my head under water. I don’t stand a chance.

The only thing left for me now is to give up fighting and let this pain come to an end. The last air leaves my lungs as I notice all tension leaving my body. The cold and pain taking over entirely.

A weight is lifted from me, and I know they’re leaving me here to die. There’s no way I’m coming back from this. Even if they're leaving, I don't have the strength to move a single inch.

A sudden, unknown flash of imense power ripples through my entire body, and a howl deep within me echoes through my head, trying to make its way through the water. The water and, seemingly, everything around me lightens up, as if I was a lightning striking myself. I can feel a shock wave leave my body. Sending waves through the water and the surroundings.

I don’t know how much time passes, but suddenly, I feel my body being lifted from the water. Around me, the power wave has left nothing but destruction. Trees and bodies are scattered equally.

Whatever happened to me, it's taken the last of my strength left.

Strong, warm arms cradle me while cries and howling fill the air. With a last try, I pry my eyes open and look into the most terrifying and at the same time most beautiful face and eyes I've ever seen.

Every fear, every pain, anything bad that has ever happened, all of it is drowned out by an overwhelming unknown, beautiful feeling. The world around me seems to stop for this perfect moment. There’s an unknown pull towards him, as if he’s all that matters. How is this possible? My entire universe lies within his eyes. I'm his, and he's mine.

How is this even possible? Drake is not my mate? I was always sure he was. How can this possibly be my mate? Him out of all.

“I won’t let this happen. This isn’t happening. You hear me? I need you. I'm going to make sure everything is going to be ok, and this comes undone. You're going to come back to me. Come and find me.” He sobs while still cradling my body. "Come and find me," he whispers it over and over again.

I’m not able to ask what he means anymore. I want to comfort him, tell him I'll be ok, but my world goes black. Everything besides his cries and screams fades away until eventually even they do. This is it, I know I’m dying in this very moment, leaving my baby and my mate behind.

If only I had more time with him.

My very last thoughts go to my baby and a repeat of the last five days, which have led to this event.