Chapter Four

Freedom wasn't quiet or peaceful. It was a chaotic symphony of snapping twigs, her own ragged gasps for air, and the frantic pounding of her heart against her ribs.

Kara crashed through the underbrush, blind to everything but the primal urge to flee. Low-hanging branches tore at her clothes and scratched her face, but she barely felt them. The only thought in her mind was a desperate, repeating mantra, Elspeth’s last word to her: North. North. North.

The forest she had once walked as a respected Luna was now a terrifying labyrinth. Every rustle of leaves was one of Kael's warriors. Every shadow was a patrol sent to drag her back to her fate. The adrenaline was a fire in her veins, but she knew it wouldn't last forever. She had to keep moving.

Just as her legs began to feel like lead, a sound ripped through the night that froze the blood in her veins. A howl. Not a lone wolf, but a chorus—the deep, boisterous howls of the pack's males going for a "run." A hunting run.

Terror seized her, and she risked a frantic glance over her shoulder, searching the darkness behind her. It was a fatal mistake. Her foot caught on a thick, gnarled root she hadn't seen, and she went down hard, the air knocked from her lungs as she slammed into the forest floor.

She lay there, gasping, her ears straining against the pounding of her own blood. Panic choked her. Had they heard her fall? The sound of snapping twigs and cracking underbrush came from her right. Closer. She squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for the feel of a warrior's hand grabbing her.

But nothing happened. Hesitantly, she opened her eyes. A few yards away, a pair of yellow eyes regarded her with simple, animal curiosity. It was just a wolf—a normal gray wolf, not a shifter, its fur shaggy and its build lean. After a moment, it gave a soft snort, turned, and trotted away, melting back into the shadows as if she were of no concern.

A shudder of relief went through her as the wolf disappeared. She was alone, but for a moment, she was safe. But then, a new pain, sharp and electric, ripped through her lower abdomen. She cried out, doubling over as the cramp seized her, a terrifying preview of the heat her body was preparing for. It passed almost as quickly as it came, leaving her trembling with a new kind of fear.

She staggered to her feet, her mind racing. She couldn't shift. An unmated Omega's wolf was a prisoner inside them, unable to be called upon without an Alpha's bond. Her weak, human legs were her only hope.

Fueled by a fresh wave of panic—not just of Kael, but of her own body betraying her—she ran. She burst through a final line of trees and found herself on the edge of something she hadn't seen in hours: a road. A black ribbon of asphalt cutting through the wilderness. It was a sign of civilization, of escape.

She didn't hesitate. She scrambled down the small embankment and onto the road, running without looking. She heard it before she saw it—the sudden, terrifying squeal of tires on pavement. She turned, blinded by two brilliant beams of light.

There was a moment of immense, shocking force, a flash of chrome and the sickening sound of impact, and then, the world went completely, blessedly dark.