Lahat ng Kabanata ng Second chance luna: Kabanata 21 - Kabanata 30

Zinnia’s POVThe bus rolled through the night for hours.June slept with his head on my legs. I kept one hand on his back and watched the dark windows. Joseph sat across the aisle. He had not spoken much since we left the town. His face looked closed and tired.Near morning the bus stopped at a small station to change drivers. People got off to stretch their legs. Joseph stood and motioned for me to follow. We stepped outside into cool gray light. June stayed asleep on the seat where I could see him through the window.Joseph pulled a small phone from his pocket. It was the kind that only made calls and could be thrown away easily. He had not used it before in front of me.“I need to check something,” he said.He turned it on and waited. A message came through almost at once. I watched his face change as he read it. His jaw went hard. His eyes turned cold.“What is it?” I asked.He handed me the phone without a word.The message was short.Bring the woman and the boy to the northern o

Zinnia’s POVI did not sleep much after we came back to the room.June stayed close to me on the bed. Joseph sat in the chair by the door with his eyes half closed, but I knew he was still listening to every sound outside. The air between us felt thin and careful, like one wrong word could break it again.Near morning there was a soft knock on the door.Three short taps, then two.Joseph was on his feet at once. He looked through the peephole and then unlocked the door quickly.Christiana stepped inside.She looked pale and moved with a limp, but she was alive. A rough bandage covered her upper arm. Dirt and dried blood still marked her clothes. Her silver hair was messy and loose.Relief hit me hard. I sat up without waking June.“You made it,” I said.Christiana gave a tired nod. “It took longer than I wanted. Ciro’s men and Baelor’s trackers started fighting each other in the forest. I used the mess to slip away. I followed your trail as best I could.”Joseph helped her sit on the

Zinnia’s POVWe had been moving for less than two hours when the first howl rose behind us.It was long and low. A second howl answered from the left. Then a third from the right.Joseph stopped and lifted his head. “They found us.”Christiana’s face was hard. “Both groups. Ciro’s scent and Baelor’s. They must have stopped fighting each other and followed the power surge together.”June’s hand tightened in mine. “Mama…”“I know,” I said. “Stay behind me no matter what.”We started running. The trees were thick, but the hunters were faster. Branches snapped. Paws hit the ground hard. The sounds came closer with every second.Joseph pointed to a rocky slope ahead. “There. Higher ground. We make our stand.”We climbed as fast as we could. June stumbled once. Joseph picked him up and kept moving. We reached a flat space between large rocks just as the first wolves broke from the trees below.There were many of them. Too many. Some carried the cold, clean scent of Ciro’s trained hunters. O

Zinnia’s POVWe walked for three more days.Joseph moved slowly at first. The wounds I had closed still pulled at him when he went too far or too fast. Christiana and I took turns helping him. June walked until his legs gave out and then rode on someone’s back. We stayed off roads. We slept in short stretches under thick trees. We drank from streams and ate what little food we had left.On the fourth morning the trees began to thin. Fields appeared. Then fences. Then the edge of a small human town.It sat in a wide valley. Quiet streets. Wooden houses with painted porches. A few shops. No pack scents in the air. No wolves that I could feel nearby.Joseph stopped at the tree line and looked down at it. “This place should be safe for a while. Too small for Ciro’s usual business. Too far for Baelor to search quickly.”Christiana nodded. “We can rest here. Real rest.”I felt something tight in my chest loosen a little. For the first time in weeks the constant need to listen for paws behin

Zinnia’s POVThe days in the small town started to blend together.I woke early, left June with Christiana or Joseph, and walked to the café. I washed dishes until my hands turned red. Then I went to the general store and stocked shelves until the afternoon light turned soft. In the evenings I came back to the boarding house and sat with my son.June was still quiet most of the time. He stayed close to me when I was near. He watched doors and windows the way I did. At night he sometimes woke with a small sound of fear, but the nightmares about “new Mommy” had grown less frequent.I did not push him to talk about the past. I just stayed near and let the quiet days do their work.One afternoon Mr. Hale at the general store gave me a small bag of hard candy as extra pay. “For the boy,” he said. “Children should have something sweet.”I thanked him and carried the bag back to the boarding house.Joseph was sitting on the front steps with June. They were playing a simple game with a few sm