002| RUN OR DIE

~RAVENNA~

The scream tore out from my throat, so loud that it echoed through the silent night.

“Shit.” Luis groaned, his palm flattening over my lips, pulling me down.

Struggling against his strong hold, the sob tore through my throat.

He dragged me away, while I desperately dug my feet into the ground to stop him.

“Dad, no.”

Tears blurred everything. But I could still make out Dad’s limp body on the floor.

How could they do that? How could they kill him?

Luis stopped, only to pick me up as though I weighed nothing, throwing me over his shoulder.

“Keep quiet!”

I struggled against Luis’s hold again. “Let me go. I will kill him.”

My voice didn’t sound like mine anymore— it cracked and broke with every word.

Luis ignored me. He ran at a speed that almost cut the air from my lungs.

He shifted in an instant. I landed on his wolf’s back.

I looked back again, all I could see was the woods, swallowing us whole with every step.

“Luis, I beg you, let’s go back. Dad, he—”

Suddenly, he stopped moving. I fell off his back with a yelp, only then did I realize I hadn’t held onto him.

Luis quickly shifted back to skin, standing tall, not bothering to hide his nudity.

He towered over me with an angry scowl.

“Don’t you get it? Your father, the Alpha is dead. The least you could do is to let me take you to safety, for his sake.”

I stared up at him, my body trembling.

He turned away, running his fingers through his hair in frustration.

My stomach twisted at his words, I looked away to hide the pain.

“I… I can’t just leave. I can’t just leave mother and the Pack. That will be—”

“That is the right thing to do, princess.” He cut through, squatting down to my level.

“Your father wanted me to take you to safety. I will return to save the queen and those I can. From there we can plan our next steps.” His voice was gentler now, like he was trying to smooth a child.

My eyes stung, my vision becoming blurry.

“I’m sorry…” I choked.

I wasn’t sure if I was apologizing to him or to Dad who had died protecting me. Or for being weak and defenseless.

“I’m sorry.” I broke down completely, the tears taking over, my body shaking uncontrollably.

I can’t believe dad’s no more. How could I ever live with the knowledge he died protecting me?

The memory burned fresh, the night it all started.

I can still remember the terror, the shadows rising, clinging to my skin like living fire.

The look on Dad’s face when he saw it. I can still remember the terror in his eyes, but not of me, but of what it all meant.

The shadow Bride. It was not just a curse, it was a death sentence.

That was why he took me away. Why he dragged me away from the pack that day, in the middle of the night. It was to hide me before anyone else could see. Before anyone else could decide I didn’t deserve to live.

And now, my return had brought his own death.

Oh Goddess, I should have stayed away. Everyone would have been safe; dad would have been alive.

My lips trembled. What have I done?

I felt Luis move, then his finger slid under my chin, bringing my face up to meet his.

“Princess, I apologize, I shouldn’t have used that tone on you…” He removed a strand of hair from my face.

Suddenly, he let go of my chin, moving away with a frightened gasp.

I stared at him in confusion. But his eyes were wide with fear.

“Luis, what’s wrong?”

He swallowed. “Your eyes… they are… glowing.”

I frowned. Glowing, what is he…?

Realizing what he meant, I gasped, turning away and covering my face.

Shit. My contact lens.

Maybe it fell off from the pressure of the wind and my tears. This isn’t good.

I frantically searched the ground, aware of his wide, frightened eyes fixed on me.

They must be here somewhere. They have to be.

“Ravenna… what’s going on?”

He called me by my name. This isn’t good.

‘Please, don’t recognize what I am.’

If he knew what about the shadow bride legend, then he knew what my glowing eyes signified.

How could I explain that my once blue eyes turned to glowing violet the night, I turned 18, and I had to protect it from being seen to be safe?

The contact lens was the last lie, between me and a death sentence.

I reached for my face, feeling frantically, until my fingers touched the damp lens.

I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding, as I quickly put them back on.

That was so close.

But when I looked up, Luis was still standing at that same spot, with the same awed expression.

“You wear contact lens? Why?” He finally asked.

I sought for answers in my head, but nothing tangible came.

“It’s nothing, Luis.” I whispered.

“Nothing. Your eyes glowed with purple light, Princess. That isn’t nothing.”

I shook my head, standing up to match his height.

“It’s just a condition. You don’t have to worry about it.” I lowered my gaze. “Please, don’t tell anyone about it.”

I couldn’t tell him the whole truth. That would only put him in danger.

It felt like forever, before he sighed.

“I don’t know what this is about, but we must leave now. We are not too far away from the pack; it is still dangerous out here.”

I nodded rapidly, eager to get away.

But then, he paused, turning back rapidly.

“Luis—”

He placed a finger to his lip, motioning for me to stay silent as he listened.

I was sure he heard wrong. It must have been the loud beating of my heart he heard, or the…

“Shit. They are coming. We must leave now.” He sounded panicked.

My breath hitched.

He dropped to all four, shifting to fur. I didn’t wait to be told, but got on instantly.

It was only then that I heard it, the fast sound of paws hitting earth, the sound of something moving through the thickets.

If Luis was moving fast before, he was even faster now.

It was almost like his paw wasn’t touching earth as we moved through the woods with frightening speed.

I held onto him, my body bent over his, breathing in the dustiness of his fur.

But even with our speed, it felt as though we were slow, especially when their steps got even closer.

For the first time, I panicked.

“Luis, they are catching up.” The wind hit harshly against my face, as I struggled to say the words.

Suddenly, I felt the rush of winds behind us, and when I turned, there were so many wolves behind us.

The night turned even darker with their number.

Trembling, I tightened my grip around Luis.

“Luis—” I could barely hear my own voice, and as though he understood, he turned the corner too fast, breaking through tight thicket.

Oh, moon goddess, we are going to die.

I turned again, but what I saw made me gasp.

There was a man on a wolf, two actually, coming too fast. The problem was they had an arrow in their hold, ready to shoot.

“Luis…”

Then, with a loud swish sound, the arrows left their bow and headed towards us with the speed of lightning.