CHAPTER 7: THE ROGUES RETURN

POV: ELARA

I don’t even get to breathe.

One second I’m turning, trying to calm Arin, trying to make sense of the trees shifting around us, and the next…

Something explodes out of the bushes.

I don’t see it. I feel it first.

Like a Burt's of energy, wild and vicious, heading straight for us and slicing down my spine.

Then I see teeth flashing straight at Arin.

My whole body reacts before my brain catches up.

My heart moves up to my throat and my stomach slams up right along with it. I shove Arin behind me so hard he tumbles into the dirt and my hands shake because I almost pushed him too hard but I don’t even have time to think about it.

The rogue wolf hits me full force.

And everything goes sideways. Literally.

We crash into the ground and dirt kicks up in my face. I smell his breath, hot and rotten. I smell blood, and I can’t even tell if it’s mine yet.

I shift mid-fall. Bones snapping, skin burninh. It’s messy and fast, not controlled at all, the kind of shift you only do when your kid is about to die.

I slam into him again, harder this time, knocking him off balance. I claw at his face, kick off the ground, push him away from where Arin fell. My heart is pounding so loud I barely hear the rogue’s snarling. My throat feels tight, like I’m choking on fear.

He is going for my baby.

He is going for my baby and I swear my vision goes red for a second.

I throw him off and sprint, trying to chase him away from Arin. I can’t lose him. I can’t. I won’t survive it. I’d kill the whole world before I let that happen. Maybe that sounds dramatic, but whatever. It’s true.

I hear Arin scrambling behind rocks. Little gasps. Little whimpers. He’s terrified. I can smell it. And it punches me right in the chest.

I focus on that. Let it burn. Let it fuel me.

I lunge again, teeth sinking into the rogue’s shoulder. He yelps and thrashes, trying to shake me off and even though my jaw aches, I don’t let go. Not until I taste blood.

But then two more shadows slide out of the trees and my stomach drops.

They have been following us.

Tracking us.

Waiting.

I try to get between them and Arin, but I’m too slow. My body feels heavy, like I’m dragging years of exhaustion behind me. Because I am. Three years without a pack. Three years without the strength that comes with one. Three years of running, hiding, never resting long enough to feel whole.

I’m tired.

And rogues can smell tired like blood.

One of them leaps, knocking me sideways and I skid across the dirt, scraping my flank on sharp rocks. Pain bursts through my ribs as I push myself up, shaking, dizzy, but I force myself forward again.

Another rogue tries circling toward the rocks where Arin is hiding. I can feel my heartbeat in my throat. I can't get there fast enough. I try anyway. My legs feel weak, trembling. My lungs burn.

One rogue grabs my arm in his jaws, twisting.

I hear it before I feel it.

That awful snapping sound.

Then the pain hits so hard I nearly black out.

My legs buckle and I crash to my knees. My vision blurs, black spots forming. The rogue lets go only to slam his paw onto my back, pinning me.

I choke out a growl. Or maybe a cry. I don’t know. Everything hurts. My wolf is screaming inside me, but my body won’t move the way I beg it to.

And the worst part?

I see another rogue creeping toward the rocks. Toward Arin. Slow. Calm. Like this is easy for him.

Like my son is prey.

I try to rise but the rogue on me pushes me down again. My claws scrape uselessly against the dirt. I can’t breathe. Panic crushes my chest.

Arin peeks just a tiny bit out of the rocks. His eyes are filled with tears. His little hands shake.

“Mom,” he whispers. Or maybe I imagine it. I can’t tell.

The rogue leaps for him.

And the world explodes in silver.

Arin’s mark flares so bright it blinds every wolf in the clearing. Even me. It’s not gentle or soft. It’s sharp like he ripped a star off the sky and threw it at them.

The rogues yelp and stumble back.

He did that. My baby did that.

That one second is enough.

I drag myself up, pain screaming through every inch of me. I don’t even think about the broken bone or the blood dripping down my side. I throw myself between Arin and the rogues, standing over him. My breathing is ragged, my legs shaking uncontrollably. I’m pretty sure if they push me again I’ll fall over.

But I stand anyway.

I bare my teeth. I growl so low it scratches my throat. If they want him, they’ll have to rip me apart first. I mean that. I don’t care if I die right here. I don’t care if they tear me to pieces. I’m not moving.

The rogues gather themselves again, angrier now. Their eyes glow with hungry rage. They spread out, ready to close in.

I brace myself.

I can’t win. But I can stall.

I can buy Arin seconds. Maybe.

Then—

Something blurs across the clearing.

Not a rogue.

Too fast. Too steady. Too strong.

A dark shape crashes into the rogue closest to me, hitting him so hard the wolf flies into a tree and doesn’t get back up.

The other rogues freeze.

My breath stops.

My whole body goes still.

Arin grips my fur tighter.

The wolf steps in front of us like he belongs there.

Huge. Muscled. Controlled.

Not mine. Not a rogue. Not anyone I know.

Someone else is here.

Someone powerful.

Someone dangerous.

And I have no idea if he’s here to save us…

or finish us