Chapter 14

Zinnia’s POV

The quiet did not last long.

I had only closed my eyes for a short time when Christiana’s voice cut through the dark.

“They are close.”

I sat up fast. June was still against me. Joseph was already on his feet, moving to the edge of the stone circle.

Christiana stood very still, listening. “Four, maybe five. Moving quiet. Baelor’s scent is mixed with them.”

My blood turned cold. “How did they find us so soon?”

“The power surge,” Joseph said. His voice was low and hard. “It lit you up like a signal. Even this place could not hide all of it.”

I woke June gently. His eyes opened, still heavy with sleep. “Mama?”

“We have to go,” I whispered. “Stay close to me. Do not let go.”

He nodded and grabbed my shirt with both hands.

We moved out of the circle as quiet as we could. The trees were thick, but the moon gave enough light to see shapes. Joseph took the front. Christiana stayed at the back. I kept June between us.

We had only walked a short distance when a howl rose behind us. Then another answered from the left.

Joseph stopped. “They have us between them.”

Christiana’s eyes glowed silver. “Fight or run?”

“We cannot outrun them with the boy,” Joseph said. “We fight and then break through.”

My heart pounded. I pushed June behind a wide tree. “Stay here. Do not come out until I call you.”

His eyes filled with tears, but he nodded.

I turned back just as the first wolves broke through the brush.

There were five of them. Large. Dark fur. Their eyes locked on us with clear orders. These were not wild rogues. They moved like trained pack hunters.

Joseph shifted in one smooth motion. His dark gray wolf met the first attacker with a heavy crash. Christiana shifted too, silver fur flashing as she slammed into the second one.

Two more came straight at me.

I did not wait. I shifted.

Selene came forward hard and fast. Silver-white fur covered me. The power under my skin rose with her. I met the first wolf with my full weight and drove him sideways into a tree. The second one snapped at my leg. I twisted and raked my claws across his shoulder.

Pain burned along my side as his teeth scraped me, but I did not stop.

Behind me I heard June cry out. One of the wolves had broken past and was heading for the tree where I had hidden him.

Fear turned into something hotter.

The gold light exploded out of me without warning.

It slammed into the wolf that was going for June. The animal yelped and flew back through the air, hitting the ground hard and not getting up. The light kept pouring from my fur, bright enough to hurt the eyes.

The remaining wolves hesitated.

Joseph used the moment. He took down one with a hard bite to the throat. Christiana drove another into the dirt and held him there.

The last wolf looked at me, then at the glowing light still coming off my body, and turned to run.

Joseph started to chase, but Christiana blocked him with her body. She shifted back to human form, breathing hard.

“Let him go,” she said. “He will report what he saw. We need to move before more come.”

I forced the shift back. My clothes were torn and bloody. The cut on my side stung, but the gold light was already trying to heal it. I ran to June and pulled him into my arms.

He was shaking. “Mama, the light… it was so bright.”

“I know,” I said. My voice sounded rough. “I am here. You are safe.”

Joseph shifted back. Blood ran from a cut above his eye. “That power just painted a target on us the size of this whole forest. Every wolf for miles will have felt that.”

Christiana nodded. Her face was serious. “We cannot stay near the sanctuary. The stones helped last night, but after what she just released, this place is no longer safe.”

I held June tighter. “Where do we go?”

Joseph wiped blood from his face. “North. Hard and fast. We stay off every path. If we reach the deeper forest in two days, we might lose them again.”

Christiana looked at my side. “You are hurt.”

“It is already closing,” I said. The gold light under my skin was still working. I could feel the cut sealing, but the effort made my legs feel weak.

Joseph stepped closer. “Can you walk?”

“Yes.”

We did not waste time. Christiana took a quick look at the downed wolves. One was dead. Two were alive but not moving. She left them.

We started moving through the trees at a steady pace. June stayed in my arms at first, then walked when I needed my hands free. Joseph led. Christiana watched our backs.

After almost an hour Joseph raised a hand and we stopped.

“What is it?” I asked.

He pointed to the ground. Fresh tracks. More than five. “They had a second group waiting. We only fought the first wave.”

Christiana’s mouth tightened. “Baelor is not playing games. He wants the boy badly.”

I felt anger rise again. The power under my skin answered it with a warm pulse. I forced it down.

“I will not let him have my son,” I said.

Joseph looked at me. “We know. But next time you use that much power, it will draw even more. You need to hold it unless there is no other choice.”

“I used it because one of them went for June,” I said. My voice came out sharper than I meant. “I will not apologize for that.”

“I am not asking you to,” he answered. “I am asking you to stay alive long enough to keep protecting him.”

We stared at each other for a second. Then Christiana spoke.

“Enough. Move. Arguments later.”

We kept going. The trees grew thicker. The ground turned softer and harder to track. My side still ached, but the wound had closed. June stayed quiet, only speaking when he needed water.

After a long stretch of walking, Joseph found a small overhang of rock that gave us cover. We stopped for a few minutes to rest.

I sat with June against me. His small body was warm. I could feel his heart beating fast.

Christiana checked the trees, then sat across from us. “The full moon is closer. Your seal is weaker every hour. What happened back there will only speed it up.”

I nodded. I could already feel it. The door inside me was open wider than before. The power sat just under my skin, waiting.

Joseph crouched nearby. “We walk until sunrise, then find a place to hide through the day. Night travel is safer for now.”

I looked at both of them. “Thank you. For fighting with me.”

Christiana gave a small tired smile. “We are not done yet.”

Joseph only nodded once.

We stood and started walking again. The forest was dark and full of sounds. Every snap of a branch made my muscles tighten.

Behind us, Baelor’s men were still hunting.

Ahead of us, the deeper forest waited.

And inside me, the last pieces of the seal were coming apart.

I held June’s hand and kept moving.

There was no other choice.