Chapter 7

LYRA POV

A rush of pain surges through me, but I don’t stumble. Even when it feels like my chest is about to tear open, I don’t slow down. I keep pushing through, sprinting away from Shadow Lake as though I’m running a marathon to save my life. In a way, I guess I am.

At least the adrenaline helps mask the intense pain. The anxiety of not knowing where I’m going combined with the fear of what danger may lurk nearby keep me sharp and motivated as I continue to run faster and faster. But I realize I haven’t seen the worst of it when I suddenly feel my wolf’s consciousness start to waver.

“Moon?!” I call out, already desperate.

“Sorry, Lyra…” she responds, but her voice is too faint. “The rejection… It… Weakened me.” Fear spikes as I anticipate her next words. “I will be out… for a while.”

“What do you mean ‘out?’” I wonder, my pulse quickening. “I need you, Moon! You can’t leave me now!”

“You’ll be… Okay,” she insists, though my despondency won’t let me believe it. “It’ll be… Good. While I’m hibernating… You won’t… Feel the pain.”

“No! I can take the pain, Moon! I need you with me!” I continue to urge, terrified and apprehensive.

But it’s no use.

“Be strong,” she whispers before going completely silent.

I halt abruptly as fear takes over. I try calling her a few more times, but get no answer. Though I can still feel her feeble presence inside of me, it’s distant, as if she’s in a profound sleep. It was already bad enough that I couldn’t shift to defend myself, but now that I don’t even have her voice in my mind to guide me…

Goddess, how am I supposed to survive?

Panic stretches, but I don’t stay still for another second. I can’t afford to. Despite my insecurities, I force my feet to keep moving, building more distance between me and the mate I left behind. Lucien must have sensed the rupture of our bond, and I doubted he would let me go easily. If I stall, I risk being found by him.

And I don’t even want to imagine what he’ll do if he manages to catch me.

I try to remember the territory maps defining the borders of nearby packs. I used to study them out of curiosity every time I would clean the Alpha’s office. While looking out for rogues is important, I’m more concerned about accidentally stepping into another pack’s lands. If I do, they could kill me on sight for trespassing. But even if they don’t, they would have me sent back to Shadows Lake, and straight into Lucien’s claws—a much worse fate.

As the hours speed by, adrenaline keeps pushing me to run as fast as I can, venturing deeper and deeper into the unknown. At some point, everything starts to look the same. I can’t even tell where I am anymore, or how far I’ve gone. Thankfully, I seem to manage to avoid vicious rogues and pack scouts, but that only makes me wonder how long my luck will last.

The sun is starting to set when I can’t ignore my body’s limits any longer, and I finally start slowing down. My muscles burn from exercising far longer and harder than I ever have. It doesn’t help that I’m out of fuel, not having eaten for hours. My mouth is dry, and dehydration gives me an awful headache.

At least, just as my wolf promised, I can’t feel the reverberating pain caused by the severing of the mate bond anymore. It’s not there to slow me down anymore. Yet simultaneously, it’s not there to distract me from the exhaustion, hunger, thirst and fear either.

As night creeps in, my weak body can’t keep up any longer. I stumble onto the floor as my legs completely give out, and for a moment, all I can do is lie there, catching my breath. But I know I can’t stay down. If I do, I’m easy prey to any predators lurking in the shadows.

I need to find a source of water, I think to myself, trying to stay rational. Without brute force and an animal form, my wits are my best shot at surviving. If I can make it to a river, I could have a drink, and maybe even catch some thirsty creature hoping to quench its thirst. That way, I could replenish my energy before setting off to find a shelter for the night.

But how was I even supposed to find a river?

With trembling arms, I push myself to sit upright. I take a few more minutes to even my breathing before closing my eyes and focusing as best as I can. Inhaling a deep breath, I try to catch some scent. Any scent. My wolf senses are dulled now that Moonveil is hibernating, but they’re not gone.

On my first try, I finally discern it—the smell of wet soil.

As soon as I pick up on the scent, I focus exclusively on it. I start tracking it, pushing my tired body to work just a little longer. In my pursuit, I lose track of time, but eventually, I hear the sound of water flowing. That gives me the energy to speed up, and half a mile later, I finally see it.

The river.

It’s quiet. Strangely enough, I don’t see or hear any animals around. Could most of them already be asleep as the moon hangs high in the sky? Or… Were they hiding from something?

The thought quickly slips through my mind, and in my desperate thirst, I don’t overanalyze it. Gone is my caution as I rush to the riverbank, kneeling to quench my thirst at last. The relief is so overwhelming I completely forget about my surroundings until it’s too late.

Suddenly, I feel a presence behind me, but before I can even acknowledge it, a menacing growl makes the trees shake. I jump up to my feet and turn around in a haste, only to find a gigantic black wolf, bigger than any Alpha I’d ever seen. Its amber eyes seem to burn into my soul, making my heart stop. Fear floods my veins, too much, too fast.

Then the world tilts, and darkness takes me.