INTO THE FORBIDDEN WOODS

Chapter 2: Into the Forbidden Woods

The clearing erupted into absolute chaos.

The pitch-black flames roared toward the night sky, casting monstrous shadows across the faces of the panicking pack members. The suffocating pressure in the air was so heavy that low-ranking wolves fell to their knees, gasping for breath.

Alpha Colton stumbled backward on the stone altar, his face pale. His amber eyes locked onto my silver ones. For a fraction of a second, I saw regret flash across his features. The mate bond was screaming at him, punishing him for discarding something so powerful.

But his regret instantly hardened into rage.

"She is a witch! A demon!" my cousin Sienna shrieked from the front row, pointing a trembling finger at me. "She’s cursing the pack!"

"Guards! Seize her!" Colton roared, his Alpha voice booming through the wind. "Lock her in the silver cells until she explains what heresy she just performed!"

Two massive pack warriors, their faces grim, lunged toward me from the shadows. Six hours ago, I would have cowered. I would have let them drag me away to be locked up, tortured, or worse.

But the creature inside me was wide awake now.

As the first warrior reached out to grab my arm, a surge of raw, icy power flooded my veins. Moving on pure instinct, I spun around. My hand shot out, gripping his wrist. With a strength that should have been impossible for my small, omega frame, I twisted.

A sickening crack echoed through the clearing. The warrior screamed, dropping to his knees with a shattered wrist.

The second warrior hesitated, his eyes widening in shock. I didn't give him the chance to recover. I slammed my heel into his chest, sending his heavy body flying backward into the sacred altar.

"Aria! Stop!" Colton commanded, stepping off the altar. He unleashed his full Alpha aura, a crushing wave of mental authority meant to force any pack wolf to submit.

My knees trembled under the weight of his command. My wolf, Lily, snarled inside my mind, resisting the pressure. He is not our Alpha anymore! she screamed. Run!

Before Colton could reach me, I turned and vaulted over the perimeter fence.

I ran.

I didn't head toward the pack houses or the safety of the village. I sprinted straight toward the eastern border—toward the Deadwood Forest. It was a dark, cursed territory where no Silver Crest wolf dared to step. The trees were dense, the shadows were alive, and it belonged to the Lycan King, a ruthless ruler who executed trespassers without trial.

Behind me, the howling of tracking wolves split the night air. Colton’s enforcers were on my trail, their heavy paws thudding against the dirt.

"Don't let her reach the border!" Colton’s voice echoed through the trees.

Every step I took felt like breathing glass. The physical toll of the broken mate bond was catching up to me. My chest burned with an agonizing, tearing sensation. Blood was still dripping from my sliced palm, leaving a trail for the hounds. My vision began to blur, the brilliant silver light in my eyes fading back to a dull gray.

Just a little further, Lily whispered, her voice growing weaker by the second. We have to cross the river.

Branches ripped at my hand-me-down dress and tore my skin, but I didn't stop. I could hear the snarling of Colton’s wolves getting closer. They were less than fifty yards behind me. I could smell their sweat and their hunger for the hunt.

Through the dense fog, I saw it—the rushing, black waters of the border river. Massive iron stakes marked the boundary of our pack. Beyond it lay the unknown.

With the last ounce of my strength, I threw my body forward. I lunged over the boundary line and crashed into the shallow, icy water of the river.

On the Silver Crest side, the tracking wolves skidded to a halt. They bared their fangs, pacing back and forth along the bank, but none of them crossed. They stared at the dark woods on my side of the river with sheer terror.

I dragged myself out of the freezing water, collapsing onto the damp moss of the forbidden forest. The adrenaline was completely gone. The pain from Colton’s rejection hit me like a tidal wave, paralyzing my muscles. I couldn't move. I couldn't even lift my head.

I lay there, staring into the pitch-black depths of the Deadwood Forest, waiting for my heart to stop beating.

Then, the forest went completely silent. The crickets stopped. The wind died.

A heavy, predatory scent filled the air—smoky cedar, winter frost, and blood. It was an aura so massive, so terrifyingly dominant, that it made Colton’s Alpha power feel like a joke.

A pair of heavy, military-style boots crunched slowly against the leaves, stopping right in front of my face.

I forced my heavy eyelids open, looking up through the darkness. A tall, towering silhouette stood over me. His shoulders were impossibly broad, a long black coat billowing around his ankles. He knelt down, his face remaining in the shadows, but his eyes glowed a dangerous, piercing crimson in the dark.

He looked at my bleeding hand, then reached out, his large, scarred fingers gripping my chin to force me to look at him.

"Well, well," a deep, velvety voice purred, sending a strange, electric shiver straight down my broken spine. "What is a little Silver Crest runaway doing dying on my doorstep?"