Chapter 9

Zinnia’s POV

We dragged the dead wolves into the trees and covered them with branches. The rain helped wash away some of the blood, but the smell still hung in the air.

Joseph leaned against the truck and pressed a cloth to the new cut on his arm. Christiana stood watch near the tree line. June stayed inside the cabin like I told him.

I walked over to Joseph. “Let me see it.”

He pulled the cloth away. The cut was deep but clean. I put both hands over it. Golden light came out slow and warm. I felt the skin start to close under my palms.

Joseph watched my face the whole time. “That still feels strange.”

“I hid it for five years,” I said. “It feels strange to me too.”

When the bleeding stopped I stepped back. “You should rest it.”

“No time. We leave at first light. Those hunters found us too fast. Someone is feeding them information.”

Christiana came closer. “I checked the tracks. They came from the east, not from Frost Pack land. Different group.”

I looked between them. “Who else would want me dead?”

Joseph’s voice was quiet. “Anyone who benefits if Draven falls hard. Or anyone who wants the boy. An Alpha’s son is worth a lot to the right people.”

The words made my stomach turn. I went back inside.

June sat on the couch with his wooden wolf. His eyes were red from crying earlier.

“Mama, those bad wolves… are more coming?”

I sat beside him and pulled him close. “We are leaving soon. We will go somewhere they cannot find us.”

“Can we go to Grandma’s?” he asked. He meant my father’s pack. He still remembered the warm house from when he was smaller.

“Not yet,” I said. “It is not safe there either right now.”

Christiana stepped inside and closed the door. Rain water dripped from her hair.

“We need to talk about the next place,” she said. “The town Joseph knows is two hours north. There is a woman there who makes new papers. She owes me a favor.”

Joseph followed her in. He looked tired. “We can stay one night in the town. After that we keep moving until the trail goes cold.”

I stood up. “And then what? I give you Baelor’s secrets and you leave us alone?”

Joseph met my eyes. “I already told you. You give the information. My pack protects you for as long as you need. After that the choice is yours.”

“You make it sound simple.”

“It is not simple,” he said. “But it is honest.”

Christiana sat on the edge of the table. “There is more you should know. The block on your mate bond was not only for your protection. Your mother saw something in a vision before she died. She saw you broken if the bond stayed open too early. She asked me to close Draven’s side until you were strong enough to walk away.”

I felt tears push at my eyes again. I blinked them back. “She never told me.”

“She was afraid it would make the pain worse,” Christiana said. “She loved you more than the truth at that time.”

June climbed into my lap and put his head on my shoulder. I held him and said nothing for a long while.

Joseph spoke again, softer this time. “I know you have no reason to trust me. My family helped create the mess you are in. I cannot change that. But I can help you get out of it.”

I looked at him. “Why do you care what happens to me?”

He was quiet for a few seconds. “Because I watched my own mate die three years ago and I could not do anything. I know what it looks like when someone is drowning and no one reaches out a hand. When I saw you in that clearing last night I saw the same thing.”

The cabin felt smaller after he said that.

Christiana stood up. “We should sleep in shifts. I will take the first one outside. Joseph, you take the second. Zinnia, you need real rest with the boy.”

I wanted to argue but my body felt too heavy. I nodded.

I took June back to the small bedroom. We lay down together on the narrow bed. He fell asleep fast, one hand holding my shirt.

I stayed awake longer. Every sound outside made my heart jump. The rain. The wind. A branch cracking.

When I finally slept it was light and full of bad dreams. Draven’s cold eyes. Maelis smiling. June calling someone else Mommy.

A hand shook my shoulder gently.

Joseph’s voice. “Zinnia. It is your turn. Two hours until first light.”

I sat up careful so I would not wake June. Joseph stood in the doorway. The lantern light from the main room made his face look softer.

“Any trouble?” I asked.

“Nothing. Quiet so far.”

I walked out and took the coat Christiana had left by the door. Joseph stayed in the main room while I stepped onto the porch.

The rain had stopped. The forest smelled clean and wet. I stood with my back to the cabin wall and listened.

Minutes passed. Then Joseph came out and stood beside me without speaking.

After a while he said, “You can still change your mind about the information. I will not force it.”

“I know.”

“But if you decide to give it, I will make sure no one from my pack ever touches you or the boy.”

I stared into the dark trees. “I spent five years giving everything to a man who gave nothing back. I am tired of being useful to people.”

“Then stop being useful,” he said. “Be the one who decides.”

I turned my head and looked at him. In the low light his eyes looked almost soft.

“You talk like someone who has never been owned,” I said.

“I have been owned by grief,” he answered. “It is not the same. But it is close enough.”

We stood there without talking again. The sky started to turn gray at the edges.

Christiana came out and stretched. “Time to move. I will wake the boy.”

Inside, we packed what little we had. June woke up quiet and stayed close to my side. I helped him put on his shoes.

Joseph loaded the truck. Christiana wiped down the cabin so we left fewer traces.

When everything was ready I carried June to the vehicle. He held his wooden wolf and looked at the trees like he expected more wolves to come out.

Joseph started the engine. Christiana sat in the front. I sat in the back with June.

As the truck pulled onto the dirt road I looked back once at the cabin.

We had survived the night.

But the hunters who found us were still out there.

And somewhere behind us, the pack I had left was starting to fall apart piece by piece.

I did not know yet if that would save us or make everything worse.