Chapter 3-The Escape

Elara

I don't remember how I got to my feet.

I don't remember walking away from the ceremonial grounds, past the gawking pack members, past the children who pointed and laughed, past the adults who looked at me with pity or disgust.

But I must have, because I found myself in my tiny room in the Omega quarters, staring at the few belongings I owned.

A worn blanket. A single dress. A small wooden wolf that my mother had carved for me before she died.

That was it. That was my entire life.

I stood there for a long time, swaying on my feet, the bond wound still gaping open in my chest. It felt like a physical wound, like someone had reached inside me and torn out a piece of my soul.

And then I realized something.

The bond was gone. The mating bond that had tethered me to Kael, that had pulled at me for six agonizing months, that had made me believe I might finally belong somewhere...

It was gone.

And with it, any reason to stay.

I grabbed the wooden wolf, shoved it into my pocket, and walked out of the room.

No one stopped me. No one even looked at me. I was nothing now, less than nothing, a ghost haunting the edges of a pack that had rejected me.

I walked to the edge of the territory, to the old gate that had once been used for trading but had fallen into disrepair. The gate was rusted, half swallowed by ivy. It hadn't been used in years.

No one guarded it. Why would they? No one wanted to leave Silvermoon. It was one of the most powerful packs in the Northern Territories.

But I wasn't anyone. I was nothing.

I slipped through the gate and into the forest beyond.

The moon was still high and full, casting silver light through the canopy of ancient trees. The forest around Silvermoon was dangerous filled with rogues and wild beasts and things that lurked in the shadows.

I didn't care.

I walked until my feet bled. I walked until my legs gave out beneath me. I collapsed against the trunk of a massive oak and finally, finally let myself cry.

The tears came in great heaving sobs that tore at my throat. I cried for everything for the mother I'd never known, for the pack that had never accepted me, for the mate who had thrown me away like garbage.

I cried until there was nothing left, until I was hollow and empty and utterly broken.

And then I heard the growl.

I looked up, my vision blurred with tears, and saw the pack of wolves.

They were massive, their eyes glowing red in the darkness. Rogues. At least a dozen of them, circling around me, their teeth bared.

This is it, I thought. This is how I die.

I didn't even have the strength to run. I just sat there, back against the tree, watching them close in.

The lead wolf lunged.

And then something else moved.

It was so fast that I barely saw it a flash of black fur, a blur of motion, and suddenly the lead wolf was flying through the air, its throat torn out, blood spraying across the forest floor.

The other rogues scattered, whimpering, but they didn't get far.

The black wolf moved like death itself, swift and brutal. I watched in shock as it tore through the pack, leaving nothing but bodies in its wake. Blood soaked the forest floor. The smell of it was thick and metallic.

And then it was over.

The black wolf stood in the middle of the carnage, its massive chest heaving. It was enormous easily the size of a small horse with fur so dark it seemed to absorb the moonlight. Its eyes were a deep amber that seemed to glow in the darkness.

It turned to look at me.

I should have been afraid. I should have run. But I was so broken, so empty, that I couldn't summon the energy.

"Just do it," I whispered, my voice hoarse from crying. "Just finish me off. I don't care anymore."

The wolf tilted its head, studying me with those glowing amber eyes. And then, to my shock, it shifted.

The transformation was smooth, almost seamless. The massive black wolf seemed to melt away, revealing a man underneath.

He was... huge. Tall and broad shouldered, with muscles that seemed carved from stone. A brutal scar ran from his left eye down to his jaw, cutting through what would have otherwise been a devastatingly handsome face. His hair was dark, almost black, and his eyes

His eyes were amber.

He was completely naked, I realized distantly, but he didn't seem to care. He walked toward me, his movements fluid and predatory, and when he reached me, he dropped to his knees in the blood soaked dirt.

I stared at him, confused and terrified and utterly exhausted.

And then he spoke.

"You smell like mine," he growled, his voice rough and low. "And I don't share."

I blinked at him. "What?"

He leaned closer, his amber eyes burning into mine. "I've been searching for you. Fifteen years. Fifteen years I've been searching for my mate, and I thought the Moon Goddess had forsaken me." His hand came up, rough and calloused, and cupped my cheek. "But you were just waiting. Hiding. Saving yourself for me."

"I... what?" I couldn't process what he was saying. "I don't... I'm not your mate. I don't have a wolf. I'm nothing. I'm—"

"You're everything." His voice was intense, almost fierce. "You're my everything, little wolf. And whoever made you believe you were nothing..." His eyes darkened. "I will make them pay."

I shook my head, tears streaming down my face. "You don't understand. I was rejected. My Alpha he threw me away. He said I was defective. I have no wolf. I can't shift. I'm worthless."

The man's expression shifted from fierce to something almost tender. He brushed the tears from my cheeks with surprising gentleness.

"You are not worthless," he said, his voice firm. "You are my mate. My fated mate. And I have been waiting for you for fifteen years."

"But—"

"No." He silenced me with a look. "Whatever happened before, it doesn't matter now. You're with me now. And I will never, ever let you go."

I stared at him, my mind reeling. This couldn't be real. This had to be a dream, a fever dream brought on by blood loss and exhaustion.

But his touch was real. His scent was real pine and smoke and something wild, something that called to the emptiness inside me.

"My name is Riven," he said. "Riven Blackthorn. And you, little wolf, are mine."

And then, before I could respond, the darkness finally claimed me.