Chapter 16

Zinnia’s POV

By the time the sun was high, my legs felt like stone.

June was tired and quiet. Christiana still limped a little. Joseph kept us moving until the trees thinned and an old cabin came into view.

It sat alone near a narrow dirt road. Smoke rose from the chimney.

Joseph stopped us behind a line of bushes. “This belongs to a man named Harlan. We fought together years ago. He owes me. We can rest here for a few hours.”

I looked at the cabin. Something in my stomach felt tight. “Are you sure?”

“As sure as I can be,” Joseph said. “He hates the Frost Pack. That should keep him on our side.”

Christiana did not look convinced, but she nodded. “We need the rest. The boy cannot keep this pace much longer.”

We walked up to the door. Joseph knocked twice, then once more.

The door opened. A big man with a thick beard and small eyes stood there. He smiled when he saw Joseph.

“Storme. Been a long time.”

“Harlan,” Joseph said. “We need a place for a few hours. Food. Water. No questions.”

Harlan’s eyes moved over me, then June, then Christiana. His smile stayed, but it did not reach his eyes.

“Come in,” he said. “You look like hell.”

The cabin was small and messy. Animal skins hung on the walls. A fire burned in the stove. The air smelled like smoke and old meat.

Harlan gave June a piece of dried meat and pointed to a chair. “Sit, little one.”

June stayed pressed against my side. I kept my hand on his shoulder.

Joseph spoke low. “We were attacked twice. Baelor’s men. We only need to rest until night, then we move again.”

Harlan nodded and set out water and more food. “I heard the Frost Pack is tearing itself apart. Baelor is almost in control. Draven is hanging on by his teeth.”

I watched him carefully. The way he looked at June made my skin crawl.

Christiana sat near the door, close enough to move fast if she needed to. Joseph stayed standing.

We ate in silence. June chewed slowly and kept glancing at the door.

After a while Harlan leaned back in his chair. “You know, Joseph, times are hard. Money is tight.”

Joseph’s eyes narrowed. “What are you saying?”

Harlan shrugged. “There is a price on the woman and the boy. Big one. Ciro’s people are offering good money. Baelor’s side is offering even more for the child alone.”

The air in the room changed.

Joseph’s voice went cold. “You would sell us?”

Harlan did not look ashamed. “I like you, Storme. But I like living more. And I like money most of all.”

He stood up and pulled a gun from behind his back. Not a normal gun. It was made of silver and dark metal. The kind that could stop a wolf cold.

At the same time, two more men stepped out from the back room. Both held similar weapons.

Christiana was on her feet instantly. Joseph moved in front of me and June.

Harlan smiled again. “Do not make this ugly. The boy stays quiet. The woman comes easy. Nobody has to die.”

My heart slammed against my ribs. June grabbed my shirt with both hands.

Joseph’s hands curled into fists. “You are making a mistake, Harlan.”

“No,” Harlan said. “I am making a living. Ciro’s men will be here in twenty minutes. Baelor’s people maybe sooner. I get paid either way.”

One of the men near the back pointed his weapon at Christiana. “Shift and I drop you.”

Christiana’s eyes glowed, but she stayed human.

I felt the power under my skin rise hard and fast. The seal, already broken in so many places, cracked further from the fear and anger. Gold light started to leak from my fingers.

Harlan saw it. His eyes widened a little. “What is that?”

I pushed June behind me. “Stay behind me, baby.”

Joseph spoke without looking away from Harlan. “Zinnia. Careful.”

I did not feel careful. I felt the same rage I had felt when the wolf went after my son near the sanctuary.

“You will not touch my child,” I said.

Harlan raised the gun higher. “I will if you make me.”

The light in my hands grew brighter. The air around me felt hot. One of the men stepped back.

Christiana’s voice was sharp. “Zinnia, the seal—”

I already knew. I could feel more of it giving way. But I did not stop.

I raised both hands and let the power go.

Gold light exploded outward. It slammed into Harlan and the two men like a wave. The guns flew from their hands. All three of them hit the walls hard and dropped to the floor. The cabin shook. Dust fell from the ceiling.

Harlan groaned and tried to get up. I walked toward him, light still pouring from my skin. He looked up at me with real fear.

“Stay down,” I said. My voice did not sound fully like my own.

Joseph grabbed the silver guns and threw them into the fire. Christiana checked the two other men. They were alive but not moving.

June was crying behind me. I forced the light back as hard as I could. It fought me. Pain tore through my chest as more of the seal ripped open. I dropped to one knee, breathing hard.

Joseph was at my side at once. “I have you.”

Christiana pulled June close and shielded his eyes from the leftover glow.

Harlan coughed and stared at me. “What are you?”

I looked at him and felt nothing but cold. “Someone you should not have tried to sell.”

Joseph tied Harlan and the other two with rope from the cabin. His face was hard. “You picked the wrong side.”

Harlan spit blood. “You will not get far. Everyone is looking for her now.”

Christiana checked the windows. “We have to leave. Now. If he already called them, they are on the way.”

I pushed myself up. My legs shook. The power was still too close to the surface, humming under my skin like it wanted out again.

June ran to me and wrapped his arms around my waist. “Mama, the light scared me.”

I held him tight. “I know. I am sorry. I had to protect you.”

Joseph looked at me with something like worry and respect mixed together. “You bought us time. But the cost is getting higher.”

I nodded. I could feel it. The seal was hanging by almost nothing now.

We took water, some food, and left the cabin behind. Harlan shouted after us until his voice faded in the trees.

We walked fast and quiet. June stayed close. Christiana watched our backs. Joseph led the way with a new tension in his shoulders.

After a long time Joseph spoke without turning around.

“I am sorry. I thought Harlan could be trusted.”

“You were wrong,” I said. The words came out flat.

“I know.”

Christiana added quietly, “Trust is getting us killed out here. We need to stop relying on old friends.”

No one argued.

The forest closed around us again. My body felt drained, but the power inside me felt wider, stronger, and harder to hold.

I kept one hand on June’s shoulder and kept walking.

We had escaped the trap.

But every time I used the power, I felt less like the woman who had run from the pack house… and more like something the world was not ready for.

And the people hunting us were only getting closer.