INICIAR SESIÓNNo one moved.We stood in the cold mud where Miller and Rowan had left us. The trees were just black wood and wet bark, but they felt like a cage. Kael didn’t give an order to march. No one asked for one. Moving blindly wasn't a plan anymore, it was just a way to get tired before we died.Rylan slumped against a cedar. He looked like hell. His face was the color of ash, and his breathing was a wet, ragged sound in the quiet. He peeled the bloody cloth back from his side, hissed through his teeth, and shoved it back down. His fingers were slick with blood.“We stop,” Rylan said. Every word cost him. “We stop right here.”Donovan didn't like that. He paced a tight circle, his boots splashing in the muck. “We stop, we’re dead. We’re giving Rowan time to reevaluate and pick us off one by one.”“Rowan isn't the problem,” Rylan said. He looked up, his eyes bloodshot. “Think. Rowan is the noise. He’s the one who shows up to shove us and break the line. He’s the distraction. But he’s not the
We were moving too fast. Breathing was loud, boots were slipping on wet roots, and no one was looking back at the bodies we’d left behind. The silence was the kind that hurt your ears. “You corrected the path. That was the right instinct.”The voice was calm. It was close.We all stopped. Kael’s hand went to his side, his body coiled.Rowan was standing ten feet ahead, leaning against a tree as if he’d been waiting for a long time. He looked clean, while we looked like hell.He didn't look at Kael or at the line of wolves behind him. He looked straight at me.“It’s a shame,” Rowan said. “All that effort just to end up in the same place.”Kael stepped in front of me. “Move, Rowan.”Rowan finally flicked his gaze to Kael. He didn't look threatened. He looked bored. “Why? So you can walk them into another clearing? How many more are you going to lose today, Alpha?”He looked past Kael’s shoulder, his voice rising just enough to carry to the back of the line. “They aren’t even hunting yo
Donovan slowed first. His boots dragged in the dirt as his body refused to take the next step.“…tell me that’s not them.”Nobody answered.Kael kept walking. Two steps, then three, until the shapes in the brush were clear. Then he stopped. Rylan came up on his right, one hand clamped over his side. He didn't look at Kael. He looked straight ahead.“Yeah,” Rylan said. “That’s them.”Three of them. The ones who had walked out.They were laid out in the open, right in the middle of our path. They hadn't been torn apart or dragged into the dark. They had been placed.Donovan let out a short, dry sound that wasn't quite a laugh. “They didn’t even make it a mile.”Lilith moved in from the side. She crouched near the first body, then thought better of it and stood back up. “No blood trail leading in,” she said. “No signs of a chase.”Rylan’s jaw tightened. “They didn’t run.”“Don’t guess,” Donovan snapped.“I’m not guessing. Look at the ground.”Donovan looked. There was no churned earth. N
Rylan shoved Donovan’s hand away and forced himself to stand. His leg shook, but he didn't go back down. “Don’t steady me,” he said. His voice was rough. “I can stand.” “You’re bleeding through your shirt,” Donovan snapped. “Stop acting like—” “I said I can stand.” He held his ground. It was barely enough, but he held it. Donovan shut up. He understood the stakes. If Rylan looked weak right now, the rest of the pack would collapse entirely. Kael watched from a few feet away. He didn't step in to help. It wasn't because he didn't care; it was because he was trying to hold whatever authority he had left. The group didn't get back into formation. They stood in uneven patches, staring at the ground or at each other. The silence was heavy. “We’re not moving like this.” The voice came from the back. It was steady and tired. A man stepped forward from the edge of the group. He wasn't challenging Kael to a fight, he just looked like he was done. “We’re exposed, we’re split, and we’re
“Don’t touch him again.” Kael didn’t move, but the warning stopped everything. Rylan was still on his knees. He had one hand clamped over his side, but blood was already slicking his fingers. Every breath he took was short and ragged. He didn’t look at Kael, he was staring at the man standing a few feet away. The stranger wasn't rushing, he was just waiting, like he had all the time in the world. Donovan moved toward Rylan. “Let me handle this.” Rylan shook his head. “No. Stay back.” Even bleeding out, he was trying to keep the structure from collapsing. It almost worked. “How long are we going to pretend this isn’t about her?” The voice came from the back of the pack. It was tired and stripped of any patience. Nobody answered him. “We’ve been running blind since she showed up,” another wolf added. Donovan turned halfway, his face tight with irritation. “Shut up. Now isn't the time.” “It’s exactly the time,” the first wolf snapped. “Look at him. Rylan is dying.” Rylan’s ha
“You keep walking like this and someone else is going to disappear. This time, I won’t pretend I didn’t see it coming.” The voice came from the back of the line. Rough, tired, and fed up. It didn't stop us, but the pace slowed. Everyone felt the stumble. Kael didn’t turn around. We were still moving, but we weren't a pack anymore. We hadn't been since we left the last body behind. The gaps between us weren't accidental, they were choices. Some people huddled near Kael. Donovan stayed at my side, quiet and tense. Lilith walked a few paces behind us, her eyes darting everywhere. The others formed their own cluster. They weren't close enough to be part of us, but they weren't far enough to leave. “You heard me,” the man from the back said, pulling closer. “This isn’t holding together.” Rylan sighed, his jaw tight. “Then keep your eyes open and your mouth shut. We aren't fixing anything by standing still.” “That’s the problem,” the man snapped. “We’re acting like this is normal.”
“You keep getting too close.”I meant for it to sound firm, controlled, something that would create distance between us rather than expose how weak that distance already was. But the moment the words left my mouth, I heard how foolish I sounded. The lack of weight, the way it didn’t land the way I
“You’re not even listening.” Lilith’s voice cut through the conversation just as Donovan finished speaking, and I realized I had not caught a single word he said. I looked up at them, all three watching me now. “I am,” I said. Faolan let out a quiet laugh and leaned back slightly. “You’re not.
“You’re quieter than usual,” Donovan said, glancing at me as he leaned back against the low wooden rail. I didn’t answer immediately. The training yard had started to empty, the last of the younger wolves drifting off in twos and threes, their laughter fading into the distance. Dust still clung to
“Say it.”Lilith didn’t raise her voice, but the way she said it cut clean through the noise of the training yard.I didn’t look at her. “Say what?” “The thing you’ve been circling since morning,” she replied, stepping into my path. “You’re not subtle, Lyra.”Faolan leaned against the fence near







