Chapter 15

Zinnia’s POV

We ran until my legs burned.

The forest was thick and the ground uneven. June held my hand as tight as he could. Joseph stayed in front, pushing branches out of the way. Christiana covered the back.

We had been moving for hours since the fight. The sky was starting to turn light gray when it happened.

A sharp snap came from the trees to our right.

Christiana turned fast, but not fast enough.

A dark shape slammed into her side. Another of Baelor’s wolves. It must have been tracking us alone. They rolled across the ground in a mess of fur and teeth.

Joseph spun and shifted, ready to help. I pushed June behind a fallen log.

“Stay down,” I told him.

Christiana and the wolf fought hard. She was strong, but the other wolf was heavy and mean. It got its jaws around her front leg and bit down deep. She made a sound of pure pain and tried to shake it off.

Joseph reached them and tore the attacker away. One hard bite and the enemy wolf stopped moving.

Christiana shifted back to human form, breathing hard. Blood poured from her lower leg. The wound was deep and ugly.

I ran to her. “Lie still.”

She gritted her teeth. “It is bad.”

Joseph stood over us, watching the trees. “We cannot stay here. More will come when this one does not report back.”

I put both hands over the bleeding wound. Golden light came at once. Stronger than before. I felt the torn muscle and skin under my palms. I pushed the power into her, knitting the damage as fast as I could.

Christiana’s face tightened. “That feels like fire.”

“I know. Hold on.”

The light grew brighter. My arms shook. The seal inside me, already weak, cracked harder under the effort. Pain shot through my chest. I bit my lip to keep from crying out.

June’s small voice came from behind the log. “Mama, your light is too bright again.”

I could not answer him. All my focus stayed on the wound. Slowly the bleeding stopped. The skin closed. It left a red scar, but the worst of the damage was gone.

I pulled my hands back and almost fell over. Joseph caught my shoulder and kept me upright.

Christiana tested her leg. She winced but stood. “You saved me. Thank you.”

I nodded, still trying to catch my breath. The power was still moving under my skin, restless and too close to the surface. I could feel more of the seal giving way.

Joseph looked at my face. “You pushed too hard.”

“She would have bled out,” I said.

“I know. But every time you do this, the seal breaks faster.”

We did not have time to talk more. Joseph helped Christiana walk. I took June’s hand again and we kept moving.

The sun came up while we walked. Pale light filtered through the trees. Birds started calling. It felt strange to hear normal morning sounds after so much blood and fear.

After another long stretch we found a small stream. Joseph stopped us there.

“Ten minutes,” he said. “Drink. Rest. Then we continue.”

Christiana sat on a rock and stretched her healed leg. June drank from the stream with his hands. I sat beside him, still feeling the leftover heat in my chest.

Joseph stood a few feet away, looking at me like he was deciding something.

Finally he spoke. “There is something I need to tell you.”

I looked up. “What now?”

He rubbed the back of his neck. “I have been getting updates. Secret ones. About the Frost Pack.”

Christiana glanced at him but said nothing.

I felt my shoulders tighten. “From who?”

“People I still trust inside the region,” he said. “Baelor is moving faster than anyone expected. He has taken control of most of the pack's finances. Half the warriors are already listening to him more than Draven. There was a fight in the main hall two nights ago. Draven won, but barely. His wolf is unstable. The broken bond is tearing at him.”

I stared at the water. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Because you deserve to know,” Joseph said. “And because it affects us. The more the pack falls apart, the more desperate Baelor becomes. That is why his men are pushing so hard to take June. He wants leverage before everything collapses.”

June looked between us. “Is Papa okay?”

The question hit me harder than I expected. I put an arm around him. “I do not know, baby.”

Joseph’s voice stayed even. “Draven is alive. But he is not the same. The reports say he barely sleeps. He keeps asking about you and the boy, even while the pack burns around him.”

I felt anger and something softer mixed in my chest. I hated both feelings.

“I do not care what happens to him,” I said.

Joseph watched me. “Maybe not. But the chaos he is in is the reason Baelor’s hunters are this aggressive. The weaker Draven gets, the more Baelor needs the boy to finish his plan.”

Christiana spoke for the first time in a while. “Joseph is right. Baelor will not stop. If he cannot take June, he may try to kill him just to hurt Draven more.”

I pulled June closer. “No one is touching my son.”

Joseph nodded. “That is why we keep moving. The deeper forest is still our best chance. Once we are there, the natural barriers will help hide the power that keeps leaking out of you.”

I looked down at my hands. Small sparks of gold still flickered under the skin and then faded. “It feels like the seal is only hanging by threads now.”

Christiana’s face was serious. “It is. What you did today to heal me took a large piece of what was left. You may have only one or two more strong uses before it breaks completely.”

The words sat heavy between us.

June leaned his head on my shoulder. “Mama, can we rest longer? My legs hurt.”

I kissed his hair. “A few more minutes. Then we have to walk again.”

Joseph crouched near the stream and washed the blood from his hands. When he stood, he looked at me directly.

“I know you still do not fully trust me,” he said. “But I am not hiding the pack news from you anymore. Whatever comes next, you will hear it when I hear it.”

I held his gaze. “Good. Because I am tired of secrets.”

He gave a small nod. “No more secrets from my side.”

Christiana stood and tested her leg again. It held her weight. “We should go. The longer we stay by open water, the easier we are to track.”

We rose and started walking once more. The trees closed in around us. The ground began to rise into low hills.

My body felt tired and shaky from the healing. The power inside me sat too close to the surface, like it was waiting for one more reason to break free.

June walked beside me, quiet and brave.

Joseph led the way.

Christiana stayed close behind, still favoring her leg a little.

Somewhere behind us, Baelor’s men were still coming.

And far away, in the pack I had left, Draven was fighting to hold on to a life that was already falling apart.

I did not know which danger would reach us first.

I only knew we had to keep moving.