Chapter 10 Real Escape

It was a crazy plan.

So many things could go wrong.

But it was the only chance we had.

"Okay," I said. "What do I need to do?"

Martha smiled.

"Just be ready to run when the moment comes."

The Next Night

They came for me at sunset.

Six guards, all carrying silver chains and weapons.

"Time for a show, traitor," one of them sneered.

They unchained me from the wall but kept the shackles on my wrists and ankles.

Then they dragged me up from the dungeons.

The evening air felt like ice after days in the dark.

I squinted against the fading sunlight.

The Sacred Altar Square was packed. Even more crowded than during my humiliation ceremony.

Everyone wanted to see the rogue executed.

In the center of the square stood a wooden platform. New, freshly built.

An execution stage.

And chained to a post in the middle was Kael.

He was in human form, wearing only torn pants.

His muscular body was covered in bruises and cuts.

The silver chains wrapped around him so tightly I could see them burning his skin.

But his silver-blue eyes were still fierce.

Those eyes found mine across the crowd.

The mate bond flared between us.

Even weakened by silver and distance, I could feel his emotions.

Pain. Rage. And love.

He'd known me for three days.

But the bond wasn't concerned about time.

I tried to send comfort back through the bond.

Tried to tell him without words that we'd find a way out of this.

Leighton stood at the front of the platform in his ceremonial Alpha robes.

Julia stood beside him, her pregnant belly prominent under a flowing dress.

"My pack!" Leighton's voice boomed. "Tonight, we will witness justice. This rogue", he gestured at Kael, killed ten of our warriors. He broke our law. He attempted to steal our former Luna."

The crowd murmured. Some are angry. Some are uncertain.

"For these crimes, the sentence is death."

I searched the crowd desperately.

Where was the resistance? Where was Martha?

There, near the back.

I spotted Martha.

And beside her, Marcus.

And a dozen others scattered throughout the crowd.

All watching. Waiting.

And standing at the very edge of the square, half-hidden in the shadows, was a man I'd never seen before.

Tall and broad, with copper-red hair. He wore travel clothes and carried himself like a warrior.

Ronan.

The Black River escort.

Our eyes met for just a second. He nodded slightly.

He was ready.

"Any last words, rogue?" Leighton asked Kael mockingly.

Kael lifted his head. His voice rang clear and strong across the square. "Only this: The Moon Goddess sees all. She knows the truth. And she never forgives those who harm true mates."

A chill ran through the crowd. Invoking the Moon Goddess during an execution was a serious thing.

Leighton's face darkened with rage. "Then let the Goddess watch you die."

He pulled out a silver sword.

The blade gleamed in the torchlight.

He raised it high.

This was it.

The moment.

I looked at Martha.

She was already moving, pulling something from her cloak.

"NOW!" she screamed.

She threw a handful of powder onto the nearest torch.

It exploded in a burst of blinding white light and thick smoke.

Chaos erupted.

People screamed.

The entire square dissolved into confusion.

Through the smoke, I felt hands grab me.

"Run!" Marcus's voice.

"This way!"

He was pulling me toward the edge of the square.

I stumbled, the chains making it difficult to move fast.

"Wait, Kael!"

"Already handled. Look!"

Through the smoke, I saw figures rushing to the execution platform.

The resistance members attacked the guards.

And in the center of it all, Ronan had leaped onto the stage.

With one powerful swing of his sword, he cut through Kael's chains.

Kael collapsed forward, too weak to stand.

But he was free.

Ronan threw him over his shoulder like he weighed nothing and jumped off the platform.

"STOP THEM!" Leighton roared.

Guards poured in from all sides.

But the resistance fighters blocked their path, buying us seconds.

Marcus pulled me into an alley. "Erica?"

"Already out. She's with Clara, the servant girl. They're heading to the rendezvous point."

We ran through the narrow streets. Behind us, I heard shouting. Fighting. The sounds of battle.

We burst out into the forest. Ronan was already there, still carrying Kael. Clara stood nearby with Erica, wrapped in a blanket.

"Mommy!" Erica ran to me.

I dropped to my knees and pulled her close. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. They didn't hurt me." She pulled back. "But we have to go. Now. The guards are coming."

She was right. I could hear wolves howling in the distance. The hunt had begun.

"This way," Ronan said. His voice was rough, businesslike. "I have horses waiting one mile north. If we move fast, we can reach Black River territory by dawn."

"What about Kael?" I asked. He was unconscious now, the silver poisoning taking its toll.

"He's coming with us," Ronan said firmly. "He's your mate. That makes him pack."

Simple as that.

We ran.

Through the dark forest, following Ronan's lead. Erica stayed close to my side. Clara brought up the rear.

Marcus had stayed behind to help the resistance. So had Martha.

I hoped they'd survive. Hoped Leighton wouldn't punish them too severely.

The horses were where Ronan said—four powerful mounts, already saddled.

Ronan laid Kael across one horse and climbed behind him, holding him steady. I mounted another with Erica in front of me. Clara took third.

"The fourth is for your friend Marcus, if he catches up," Ronan explained. "If not, we leave it."

"Let's go!" I urged.

We rode hard through the night. Behind us, I could hear pursuit. Wolves and horses both.

But Ronan knew these forests. He led us through secret paths, across streams that would hide our scent.

As the sun began to rise, we crested a hill.

Below us lay a massive stone marker. The kind that marked pack territory borders.

Below us lay a massive stone marker. The kind that marked pack territory borders.

On one side of the marker, the symbol was a silver crescent moon—Leighton's pack.

On the other side was a roaring black river—the Black River Pack. My birth pack.

"Once we cross that line, you're under Black River protection," Ronan said. "Leighton can't touch you without starting a war."

"Then let's cross it," I said.

We rode down the hill. As we approached the marker, I looked back one last time.

In the distance, I could see wolves emerging from the forest.

Leighton's hunting party.

At least thirty of them.

Leading them was a massive black wolf. Leighton himself.

Our eyes met from a distance.

Even from here, I could feel his rage. His hatred.

You won't win, I thought to him.

Not this time.

We crossed the border marker.

Immediately, wolves appeared from the Black River side.

Two dozen warriors in formation, blocking the border.

Leading them was a huge grey wolf with amber eyes.

He shifted to human form—a man in his fifties with grey hair and a commander's bearing.

"Sophia?" he called out.