Trapped

Tamara’s POV

They didn’t untie me until we were far from the pack borders.

Not out of kindness. Out of caution.

The forest around us grew more and more wrong the farther we went. The trees twisted closer together, their branches clawing at the sky like skeletal fingers. The air smelled stale, heavy with rot and old blood. Even without a wolf, even without knowing territories by instinct, I felt it.

This place was death waiting to happen.

One of the warriors finally cut the chain from my wrist. The metal clanged to the ground, loud in the silence.

“Run,” he muttered, eyes refusing to meet mine.

I flexed my fingers slowly. My wrist burned, skin raw where iron had rubbed for too long.

“Where am I?” I asked, though I already knew.

No answer.

The other warrior shifted uncomfortably. “If you’re smart, you’ll head east. If you’re not… well.”

He shrugged.

Then they were gone.

Just like that.

No dramatic shove. No final threat. Just abandonment in its purest form.

I stood there for a long moment, staring at the space they’d disappeared into. My legs felt numb, my body light in a way that was almost dangerous. Shock, maybe. Or acceptance is finally settling in.

So this was it.

Crestwood was done with me.

Phoenix Dawn had used me.

And now the world was done pretending I was worth keeping.

I took a step forward.

The ground crunched under my foot—bones. Old. Bleached white.

My stomach twisted.

I walked faster.

The forest swallowed me whole.

Night came quickly, far too quickly. The moon rose high, its pale light slipping through the canopy in broken shards. Shadows moved where they shouldn’t. Sounds echoed that didn’t belong to any animal I knew.

A howl cut through the air.

Not a pack howl.

Not structured.

Hungry.

My heart slammed against my ribs.

I ran.

My dress tore almost immediately, fabric snagging on thorns, ripping down the side. My shoes were useless—I kicked them off without slowing, feet slamming against dirt and stone, pain shooting up my legs.

Branches lashed my arms and face. My lungs burned. My chest ached with every breath, but I didn’t stop.

Another howl. Closer.

“Please,” I whispered to no one. “Please.”

I didn’t know who I was begging anymore. The Moon Goddess? Fate? Death?

Something crashed through the undergrowth to my left.

I screamed and veered right, skidding down a slope slick with moss. I fell hard, rolling, dirt filling my mouth. My head struck something solid and stars exploded behind my eyes.

I tried to push myself up.

Failed.

Footsteps circled me.

Slow. Deliberate.

“Smells wrong,” a voice rasped from the darkness.

“Looks weak,” another said. “Easy.”

A shape loomed above me. Yellow eyes. Crooked smile. A wolf twisted by hunger and madness, bones jutting sharply beneath stretched skin.

A rogue.

I crawled backward until my spine hit a tree.

“Please,” I said again, the word breaking apart on my tongue. “I don’t have anything. I won’t fight.”

The rogue laughed, low and wet. “They never do.”

He lunged.

I screamed and threw my hands up, pure instinct, bracing for pain—

And the world exploded in silver.

Light burst from my palms, blinding, searing. The rogue howled, thrown back like he’d been struck by lightning. He slammed into a tree with a sickening crack and didn’t move again.

The forest went silent.

I stared at my hands.

They were glowing.

Not like fire. Not harsh.

Soft. Lunar. Alive.

“What…” My voice shook. “What is this?”

The light flickered, pulsed, then surged again as another presence crept closer. More shapes. More eyes.

Fear rushed through me, sharp and cold.

“No,” I whispered. “I can’t. I don’t know how.”

The light responded anyway.

It spread outward, a thin silver barrier wrapping around me, humming low like a heartbeat. The rogues hissed, backing away, snarling in frustration.

One tried to push through.

The moment he touched it, he screamed.

They fled.

Just like that.

I collapsed to my knees, shaking violently. The glow faded as fast as it had come, leaving my hands empty and trembling.

My heart raced. My vision blurred.

“I’m not wolfless,” I whispered, the realization hitting me so hard it stole my breath. “I was never wolfless.”

Laughter bubbled up, half hysterical, half broken.

All those years.

All those looks.

All those whispers.

Deficient.

Useless.

Less.

I pressed my palm to my chest, feeling something stir deep inside me. Something ancient. Something that had been sleeping.

And something that felt… angry.

The ground swayed.

My legs gave out.

The last thing I saw before darkness claimed me was the moon above—full, bright, watching.

And somewhere far away, I felt it.

A pull.

A panic.

A presence slamming into mine like a storm.

Kieran.

Then everything went black.