Maya's escape

"Rowan!"

The voice that shattered the silence was deep and wild, echoing through the trees like a beast had spoken. My body tensed in Rowan's arms. Even in my weakened state, I knew who it was.

Kael.

Rowan’s muscles stiffened. His steps slowed but didn’t stop. Blood soaked his shirt where the wolves had gotten to him. His breathing was rough, but his grip on me didn’t loosen.

I turned my head slightly, my cheek brushing his chest. “Is that... him?” I asked despite knowing the answer. 

“Yes.”

His answer was tight. Cold.

Behind us, the forest groaned and growled with approaching footsteps. The hunt wasn’t over. But Rowan kept going, even as the tension in his body trembled with rage.

He was afraid. Not of Kael. But what would happen if Kael reached me.

---

We made it to a clearing where the moonlight poured like silver over the trees. Rowan slowed and carefully set me down on a large stone, gently like I was made of glass.

“You’re burning up,” he said, brushing hair away from my face. His fingers were stained with blood—mine and his.

“I feel... dizzy.”

“You lost a lot of blood. You shouldn’t have survived that attack.”

“I shouldn’t have survived a lot of things,” I whispered.

His mouth twitched, almost like a sad smile. Then he turned toward the trees.

“I know you’re there!” he shouted.

A moment passed. Then the shadows moved, and Kael stepped out from the forest, his black cloak fluttering in the breeze like wings. His eyes—those cold, dangerous eyes—locked on Rowan first.

Then on me.

“What did you do?” Kael’s voice was low and deadly.

Rowan stood protectively in front of me. “I saved her.”

“She was supposed to be dead.”

My heart dropped. The words came from Kael’s mouth like venom.

“Why?” I asked softly, trying to sit up.

Kael’s eyes flicked to me, then away like he couldn’t bear the sight.

“You don’t understand what you are.”

“I’m your mate,” I said, louder now. “You marked me.”

Kael’s jaw clenched. “That was a mistake.”

Rowan growled. “You really haven’t changed.”

Kael turned to him, something dangerous flashing in his eyes. “You don’t get to talk about change. You killed her.”

“She was gone, Kael. That wasn’t her anymore.”

I looked between them, confused. “Who are you talking about?”

Rowan's voice softened, but his eyes remained cold. “Someone who meant too much to him. Someone who changed everything.”

Kael’s eyes glowed faintly with power. “You had no right.”

“You wouldn’t do it,” Rowan said. “You loved her too much. Even after she turned.”

Kael’s hands curled into fists. “Don’t speak about her.”

“But she was dangerous,” Rowan said. “You know she would have killed you. Killed us all.”

I gasped softly. “Are you saying... he had a mate before me?”

Kael didn’t answer. Rowan did.

“Not a mate. A promise. A betrothal. She was supposed to be his queen.”

My heart thudded. “Kira’s sister. Andrea?”

Kael turned sharply. “Don’t say her name! .”

Rowan ignored him. “The seer said she’d come back. Said her soul wasn’t finished. That she’d be reborn in another form. And when that happened... the bond would find her.”

Kael stared at me like I was a ghost. “I didn’t want to believe it. But then you walked in and the bond hit me like fire. I thought... no. Not again.”

Tears pricked in my eyes. “So you think I’m her?”

“I don’t know,” he growled. “But I won’t go through that again. I won’t let myself be fooled.”

“She’s not Andrea,” Rowan said sharply. “She’s Maya. She’s not cursed.”

“You can’t be sure.”

Rowan stepped closer. “You don’t even want to be sure. You’re looking for a reason to hate her because it’s easier than loving her again.”

My heart throbbed painfully. “You really sent men to kill me?”

Kael didn’t speak. His silence was enough.

“You marked me,” I whispered. “Then tried to destroy me.”

Kael’s voice was low. “You don’t know what you carry. You don’t know what she did to me.”

“I’m not her,” I said. “I don’t even know who she was!”

“You will,” he said darkly. “It’s only a matter of time.”

A howl broke through the trees.

More wolves. Kael’s warriors.

He glanced over his shoulder, torn. “They’ll take her back.”

“She’s not going with you,” Rowan said.

Kael stepped closer. “You’re bleeding. You can’t protect her.”

“Try me.”

I reached for Rowan’s arm. “Please... let’s go.”

Rowan scooped me up again, wincing. “You had your chance, Kael. You lost it.”

Kael watched us disappear into the trees, his fists clenched, his jaw tight.

But he didn’t follow.

He let us go.

For now.

---

We didn’t stop until Rowan collapsed to one knee, nearly dropping me. We had reached the edge of an old ravine, far from the main roads.

“You’re hurt badly,” I whispered.

“I’ve had worse.”

I tried to help him, but I was too weak. My body felt like fire and ice at once.

He finally laid me down against a fallen tree.

“Why did he say I was dangerous?” I asked.

Rowan looked at me, eyes soft but shadowed. “Because... the curse didn’t die with Andrea. It moved.”

“To me?”

He didn’t answer.

Instead, he looked at the stars. “I watched Andrea fall apart. Her smile faded. Her eyes went black. I saw Kael lose her, piece by piece. And when the seer said she would return... I thought it was just pain talking.”

“But it wasn’t?”

Rowan shook his head. “You’re not her, Maya. I know that. But you might carry what she carried. And if Kael marks you again before we understand it... it could destroy you both.”

I shivered. “Then why are you helping me?”

He looked at me for a long time. “Because I couldn’t save her. Maybe I can save you.”

Silence fell between us. Heavy. Broken.

And then... voices.

Not Kael. Someone else.

Rowan’s ears twitched. He tensed.

He grabbed my hand and whispered, “Stay here.”

I watched him disappear behind the trees.

And then I heard it—two strangers speaking in the shadows.

“She survived. Kael’s going to lose it.”

“We should kill her before the curse awakens.”

“No. Let them think she’s dead. The prophecy can’t unfold if she never remembers.”

I gasped too loudly.

The branches snapped.

Rowan burst back through the trees. “We have to go. Now.”

“What did they mean?!”

He didn’t answer.

He pulled me up into his arms, stronger than I thought he could be, and took off into the darkness.

As I faded back into unconsciousness, his words echoed in my ears:

“True mates never stay strangers for long.”