Chapter 12. Bonds that Break and Hold

The wind stirred the trees as Samantha stood alone in the clearing, the earth still warm beneath her feet from where the guards had left her. Her wrists ached from the shackles, though they were now gone—burnt from her skin in the ritual of exile. Smoke still clung to her clothes. The silence was deafening, thick with the loneliness that now wrapped itself around her like a second skin.

She was alone.

At least, she thought she was.

Until the sound of crunching leaves echoed from behind.

She spun around, heart lurching, only to freeze at the sight.

“Alex?” her voice came out as a whisper.

Her best friend stood there, holding a bundle of food wrapped in cloth, a canteen slung over her shoulder. Her eyes were already glassy with tears, and behind her stood Ronan—tall, protective, face grim—and Derek, who looked like he hadn’t slept in days.

“You didn’t think we’d let you leave like that… did you?” Alex’s voice trembled as she approached, her arms already wrapping around Samantha.

Samantha stood stiffly for a second—surprised, stunned—and then melted into the embrace.

Tears, hot and bitter, spilled down her cheeks as she gripped Alex back with everything in her.

“I thought you’d never come,” she breathed.

Alex pulled away and gave her a shaky smile. “We came as soon as we knew where they were taking you. I stole this from the kitchen.” She handed her the bundle. “It’s not much—bread, some dried meat, water. Enough for a few days.”

“And clothes,” Ronan added, stepping forward and handing her a folded cloak. “They didn’t even give you time to change.”

Samantha accepted it silently, fingers trembling as she tucked it under her arm. She looked up at him, her lips parting, but she had no words. Not yet.

“I—I wanted to come with you,” Alex said suddenly, voice catching. “To go wherever you’re going. I can help. I’m fast, and I know how to climb trees, and—”

“No,” Samantha said, firm but gentle.

Alex’s eyes widened. “What?”

“This is my path, Alex. I don’t know what I’m walking into, but I know it’s dangerous. And I can’t take anyone down with me.” She reached out, brushing a strand of hair behind Alex’s ear. “You have a place in the pack still. People who need you.”

Alex’s face crumpled. “But I need you.”

“I know,” Samantha whispered, pressing their foreheads together. “I need you too.”

Their hug this time was longer, desperate, a goodbye neither of them wanted to say. When they pulled apart, tears soaked both their cheeks.

“Promise me you’ll come back,” Alex said.

Samantha didn’t answer.

She just smiled softly and nodded.

Then Ronan stepped forward.

His expression was unreadable for a moment, but his voice—when he spoke—was rich with emotion.

“I should’ve fought harder,” he said. “When they accused you. When they locked you up. I should’ve torn the gates down.”

“You did what you could,” Samantha replied. “You were always there.”

Ronan gave a half-laugh, bitter and broken. “I remember when you first came to the pack. A little girl, barely talking, looking at everyone with those huge eyes.” He exhaled deeply. “You were like a shadow at first. Quiet. Always watching.”

Samantha nodded. “Because I didn’t belong.”

“You belonged to me,” Ronan said firmly. “You were the sister I never had. You still are.”

That broke something in her. Her breath hitched, and she leaned into him as he pulled her into a tight embrace.

“You’ll always be my little sister,” he whispered in her ear. “And I swear on the moon itself—I will find you again. I will bring you home.”

She pulled back slowly, eyes shining. “You promise?”

“Always.”

She smiled. “Then I’ll wait for you.”

He gave her one final, brotherly kiss on the forehead, before stepping back, his jaw clenched against the tears threatening to fall.

And then there was Derek.

For a moment, he just stood there, watching her, hands deep in his pockets like he didn’t trust them not to reach out.

“You’re really going,” he said, voice low.

“I have to.”

He nodded slowly, his gaze never leaving hers.

“I didn’t want this,” he whispered. “None of this. I begged my father. I tried everything.”

“I know,” she said. “I saw you. I heard you.”

He looked down, then back up again, the war behind his eyes laid bare.

“When you were locked in that chamber… I kept thinking about how unfair it was. That someone like you—kind, fierce, loyal—was being thrown away like you were nothing.”

His throat bobbed.

“You’re not nothing, Samantha.”

“I know,” she said softly.

They stood like that for a long moment. Not quite friends. Not yet lovers. But something delicate stretched between them. Something unspoken.

“I’m sorry,” he said finally.

“Don’t be,” she replied. “You didn’t do this.”

“I still feel like I failed you.”

Samantha stepped forward and touched his hand.

“You didn’t.”

His hand turned, fingers brushing hers, but he didn’t hold on.

“Then let me say this before you go,” he murmured. “I don’t know what the future holds. But if you survive this—if you find what you’re looking for—come back to me.”

Samantha’s breath caught in her throat.

He leaned in, just close enough for her to feel his breath on her skin, but not enough to cross the line.

“I’ll be waiting,” he said.

She didn’t speak.

She just nodded, a small smile breaking across her tired face.

“I’ll come back,” she whispered. “One way or another.”

They all stood there for a moment, four souls on the edge of something far greater than any of them understood.

Finally, the three of them turned.

Alex looked back first, her face streaked with tears.

Ronan kept his back stiff, shoulders square, as if walking away was costing him everything.

Derek didn’t look back at all—but Samantha could feel the weight of his stare even after he disappeared into the trees.

She exhaled, her breath shaky.

And then, just as she turned to face the path ahead, the words slipped from her lips like a whisper carried by wind.

“Wait.”

They paused and turned back to her.

“Do any of you…” she hesitated, “know the way to the Shadowfang Ruins?”

Silence.

For a moment, not even the trees moved.

Then Alex’s eyes went wide in horror.

She surged forward, clapping her hand over Samantha’s mouth.

“Are you insane?” she hissed. “The Shadowfangs? That place is cursed! No one goes there!”

Samantha slowly pulled Alex’s hand down, her gaze steady.

But she said nothing else.

The secret was out.

And the path forward had just become much darker.