Saving him

Jade

For several seconds, I just stared at her. My chest seized, and I couldn't catch my breath.

Janet hadn't just stolen my mate. She hadn't just taken the life I had prepared for since I was a little girl. She had spent years systematically poisoning Carter’s mind against me.

"He was so easy to twist," Janet sneered, her voice full of dark pride. "Every time you ate, I made sure to mention it to him. Every time you wore something nice, I laughed behind your back and pointed out how tight it was on you. I convinced him that the pack would laugh at him if he made you Luna. He cares way too much about his reputation to ever love a fat girl."

She took another step closer, her eyes gleaming with satisfaction. "And tonight, I win. I am going to sleep in your Luna chambers, Jade. I am going to wear the crown that was supposed to be yours. And I am going to give Carter the strong, beautiful heirs you were never worthy of carrying."

Something inside me snapped.

Years of pain, self-doubt, and humiliation suddenly condensed into a blinding, white-hot fury. My wolf, usually quiet and gentle, roared to life inside my chest.

Before Janet could register the shift in my expression, my claws extended from my fingers. I raised my hand and slashed it across her face.

Sharp claws ripped through skin. Three deep lines tore across her flesh, running straight from her cheek down to her jaw.

Janet let out a blood-curdling scream and fell backward onto the floor, clutching her face as blood poured over her manicured hands. "My face! You ruined my face!"

I stood over her, breathing heavily. My heart was pounding like a war drum, but I didn't feel a single drop of regret.

Her ear-splitting scream echoed through the house. Seconds later, heavy footsteps slammed up the stairs, and my parents burst into the room.

My mother shrieked when she saw Janet bleeding on the floor. She dropped to her knees, pulling Janet into her arms. "Oh Goddess! Janet! What happened?!"

"Jade did it!" Janet sobbed, blood staining her dress. "She tried to kill me!"

My father turned on me, his eyes bloodshot with rage. He didn't even ask what happened. "How could you?!" he bellowed, stepping into my space. "You clawed your sister’s face! You tried to destroy her beauty just to ruin her chance at becoming Luna!"

"She admitted it!" I yelled back, my voice shaking with anger. "She admitted that she spent years turning Carter against me! She set me up!"

"I don't care what she said!" my father spat. "You are an ungrateful monster!"

Before I could say another word, heavy boots thundered down the hallway downstairs. Carter’s furious voice echoed through the house. "Where is she?!"

Carter barged into my bedroom, flanked by four hulking pack warriors. When his eyes landed on Janet lying on the floor in a pool of blood, pure fury turned his face pale.

"Jade attacked me..." Janet wept, putting on a helpless, broken voice. "I just came to check on her, and she slashed me without warning because she was jealous!"

Carter looked at me like I was a rabid animal. "Seize her!" he ordered the warriors.

"Carter, listen to me—" I began, backing away.

"Shut your mouth!" Carter shouted, his voice laced with venom. "You attacked the future Luna of this pack! You will be thrown into the dungeons until the Council decides your punishment!"

My stomach dropped. I looked into Carter's eyes and saw no mercy. He wasn't just going to punish me. Janet’s bloody face gave him the perfect excuse to execute me, ensuring I could never threaten their new reign.

Two warriors stepped forward, reaching for my arms.

My Instinct took over.

I shoved the warrior on my left with all my strength, knocking him back into his partner. Turning on my heel, I sprinted toward my open bedroom window and threw myself out into the night air.

I shifted in mid-air.

My body expanded, bone snapping into bone, and my grey fur erupted across my skin before my paws slammed onto the hard dirt ground below. I had always kept the true size and strength of my wolf hidden to avoid drawing attention, but tonight, I held nothing back. My wolf was broad, muscular, and fast.

"Capture her!" Carter’s roar echoed from the window above. "Don't let her cross the border!"

I didn't look back. I bolted into the treeline, pushing my legs to their absolute limit. Behind me, the sound of several heavy wolves shifting and crashing through the brush signaled that the chase was on.

Tree branches whipped against my snout and tore through my fur as I raced deeper into the forest. The severed mate bond still throbbed painfully in my chest, making every breath feel like inhaling fire, but fear kept me moving.

A warrior's growl snapped right behind my back paws. He was closing in.

Realizing I couldn't outrun them on a flat trail, I abruptly veered left, darting into a narrow, rocky ravine. The passage was tight and filled with jagged boulders. My wolf navigated the cramped space easily, but the larger, bulkier pack warriors slowed down behind me, cursing as they scraped against the sharp stones.

I sprinted up the steep incline and burst out onto the high ridge marking the outer boundary of Skyton territory.

Just beyond the line lay the Free Man’s Land.

It was a lawless wilderness, an endless stretch of thick forest and jagged mountains where no pack held power. Rogues, violent criminals, and wild, feral beasts called it home. Crossing into it was practically a death sentence.

I hesitated at the edge, my heart hammering against my ribs.

Behind me, the sound of heavy paws tore through the ravine. Carter’s warriors were seconds away.

"I'd rather take my chances with rogues than rot in Carter's dungeon," I thought.

I leaped across the boundary line.

I stopped a few paces inside the neutral territory and spun around. Three pack warriors emerged from the rocks, skidding to a halt right at the border. They bared their fangs and growled, but none of them dared to step into the Free Man’s Land at night.

"Run, trash!" one warrior spat across the line. "Let the monsters in those woods tear you apart!"

I didn't answer. I turned and kept running.

Even after the sound of their voices faded into the dark, panic drove me forward. I ran until my paws bled, until my lungs burned so badly I couldn't draw air, until my legs buckled beneath me and I collapsed into the damp earth.

Breathing heavily, I shifted back into my human form.

That was when the harsh reality of my situation hit me. In my desperate escape out the window, I had left my duffel bag behind. I had no money, no food, no shoes, and no safe place to go.

I pulled at the torn remains of my dress, wrapping the shredded fabric around my body as tightly as I could to cover myself. The temperature was plunging fast, and dark clouds rolled overhead, blotting out the stars.

Suddenly, rain began to pour, soaking my hair and chilling me to the bone.

Returning home wasn't an option. Carter would chain me up, and my parents would gladly hand over the key. My only choice was to push deeper into the unknown woods and search for shelter before hypothermia set in.

Dragging my exhausted body through the mud, I stumbled up a steep, slippery incline. The rain washed over my face, blinding me, but through the darkness, I spotted a dark gap between two massive boulders.

Vines hung heavily over the gap, hiding a deep opening behind them. A cave.

I hurried toward it, slipping past the wet vines into the dry stone shelter.

The air inside smelled strange metallic and heavy but the scent of rain and blood on my own skin was too overwhelming for my wolf to identify it clearly. I pressed one hand against the cool stone wall and moved slowly into the darkness, stepping away from the freezing wind.

Hsshh... hsshh...

I froze.

A weak, raspy sound echoed from the back of the cavern. It was uneven breathing.

My heart shot into my throat. I thought I had stumbled into the den of a wild predator. I took a slow step backward, preparing to bolt back out into the rain.

FLASH!

A blinding strike of lightning illuminated the sky outside, casting a sudden, harsh blue light deep into the cave.

My breath caught.

Slumped against the far wall was not a beast, but a man.

He was broad-shouldered, tall, and covered in blood. His dark shirt was shredded, exposing a massive, gruesome wound near the center of his chest. Several silver-tipped arrowheads and broken chunks of silver metal were embedded deep inside his torn flesh.

Spider-web veins of black decay were spreading rapidly outward from the wound across his chest and neck. Silver poisoning. It was moving fast, paralyzing his body.

He was dying.

Every survival instinct in my brain screamed at me to leave. A wounded male in the Free Man’s Land was dangerous, rogue or not. But looking at him—watching his chest heave weakly as the silver burned him alive—I couldn't just turn around and walk away. I knew what it felt like to be abandoned when you were helpless.

"Oh, Goddess," I whispered softly, taking a cautious step closer. "Let me help you."

His dark eyes snapped open.

Instantly, his lips pulled back over sharp, dangerous fangs, and a low, threatening snarl vibrated from his throat. Even near death, his aura was terrifying.

I stopped immediately, raising both hands in the air. "I'm unarmed! I'm not going to hurt you. Look at me—I'm running for my life, too."

The man gritted his teeth, his dark brows pulling down as he struggled to keep his eyes focused on me. "Get... away..." he grunted, his voice laced with pain.

"You have silver fragments in your chest," I said firmly, kneeling beside him despite the fear rattling my bones. "If I don't get them out right now, the poison will reach your heart before morning."

Without waiting for his permission, I reached out. My fingers trembled as I carefully gripped the edge of the smallest silver fragment lodged near his rib.

"Hold still," I whispered.

I pulled it out in one swift motion.

The man hissed through his teeth, his entire body going rigid as dark blood spurted from the open flesh. He growled, a sound so deep it vibrated in my teeth, but he didn't attack me.

Working quickly, I tore a long strip from the bottom of my soaked dress and pressed it firmly against his chest to stop the bleeding.

Up close, I couldn't help but notice the thick, jagged scars crisscrossing his shoulders and arms—marks left by years of brutal battles. Near his left collarbone, a distinct, strange brand was seared into his skin. It wasn't a mark I recognized from any local packs.

"Why..." the man rasped, his dark eyes searching my face with intense suspicion. "Why are you helping a stranger?"

I didn't look up from his wound as I applied pressure. "Because I know what it feels like to be left for dead when you have nowhere else to go."

His expression softened just a fraction, though his guard remained up.

I kept working, tearing more cloth to clean the black poison weeping from the wound, trying hard to ignore how close I was standing to such a dangerous male.

His skin was burning hot beneath my hands, radiating a intense fever. "Who did this to you?" I asked quietly.

He closed his eyes, refusing to answer.

Instead, he opened them again and slowly looked me up and down, taking in my bare feet, my torn and bloody dress, and my shivering frame. "Why is a lone she-wolf wandering through the Free Man’s Land... with no clothes, no supplies, and no protection?"

"That’s none of your business," I deflected gently, tying off the bandage. "And if you keep talking, your wound is going to open up again."

I finished wrapping the cloth around his chest and tried to pull back to give him space.

CLANCH.

Before I could move away, his hand shot out and gripped my wrist.

Even weakened by silver poison and fever, his strength was terrifying. My wrist felt like it was caught in an iron vise.

His eyes suddenly flashed a brilliant, glowing amber, and an overwhelming wave of pure, crushed Alpha authority exploded from his chest, filling every inch of the cave. The pressure was so intense, so suffocating, that my wolf instantly bowed her head inside me, submitting without a fight.

My heart plummeted. He wasn't a rogue. He wasn't just a pack warrior, either. No ordinary Alpha possessed authority this heavy.

The man stared at me, his chest heaving. As my wrist remained in his grip, he suddenly flared his nostrils, inhaling my scent deep into his lungs.

His grip tightened, and a look of complete shock flashed across his fierce face.

"What..." he choked out, staring at me like he had just seen a ghost.

Before I could ask what was wrong, a deafening howl shattered the night air outside the cave. It was followed by the thunderous sound of heavy paws pounding against the wet earth, heading straight toward our hideout.

The man’s eyes went sharp. He immediately released my wrist. "Hide," he commanded, his voice raspy but stern. "The wolves coming will kill first and ask questions later if they think you harmed me."

"Who are they?" I whispered in panic.

He tried to push himself upright to shield me, but the silver poison was too strong. His legs gave out, and he collapsed forward, his heavy, muscular frame pinning me back against the cold stone floor.

Before I could push him off, the vines at the cave entrance were ripped aside.

A tall, man stepped into the cavern, surrounded by armed, elite warriors clad in royal armor. Lightning flashed behind him, revealing his face.

I gasped.

He looked almost exactly like the wounded man lying on top of me.

The newcomer’s eyes swept over the cave, landing directly on my blood-covered hands and his injured brother pinned beneath me. Pure, apocalyptic rage exploded across his features.

The stranger’s claws extended as he stepped into the cave.

“Take your hands off my brother,” he growled. “You are touching an Alpha King!”