Chapter 2 Chapitre 2

The cold night air hit her face hard as Raven ran through the woods, her feet hitting the ground with desperate precision. The pack was after her, and she could almost hear the beating of their hearts behind her, like a pack of hungry wolves. Every breath was a struggle against exhaustion, but she couldn't stop. Not now. Not when she had nowhere to go.

She wasn't home anymore. She didn't have a pack anymore. Corwin's betrayal, Emilia's coldness, all of it haunted her at every step. Raven didn't know where she was going, but the only thing that mattered was running away. Running away at all costs.

The shadows of the trees seemed to swallow her as she slipped between the massive trunks, fleeing deeper into the forest. The sounds of her pursuers' beats grew closer and closer, a breath behind her. She knew the wolves were never far away. They were stalking her. They knew she was vulnerable.

In the distance, a flash of light made her jump. She looked up at the moon, that old friend who had seen her grow up. The blood moon was approaching. A shiver of anxiety crept into her insides. It was a night heavy with omens. She felt drawn by an invisible force, as if the moon itself wanted to guide her. But she was not ready to understand what that meant. Not yet.

Her breathing grew more and more erratic, her legs burning with fatigue. But she didn't have time to weaken. Suddenly she heard a noise behind her, a violent crack. A trap. She turned her head just in time to see a taut rope shooting towards her, a bright glint of metal outlined in the darkness. A net. She threw herself aside, her muscles on fire, but the rope barely touched her. A scream pierced the air, coming from behind her. She had narrowly escaped one trap, but others awaited her. Other traps more subtle, more vicious. They would not let her escape so easily.

She stood up and kept running, but her mind was spinning. Why were they chasing her like this? Why this hatred, this ferocity? It was all because of Emilia's jealousy. But she couldn't let herself think about that. Not now. She had to move on.

Hours passed, the forest growing denser with each step, until Raven no longer knew where she was. The woods had become a labyrinth. The ground beneath her feet was getting muddier and muddier, the roots of the trees trying to cling to her, but she pushed forward with determination. The night was complete now. The silence was heavy, like an oppressive blanket.

She didn't know how long she had been running, or where she was going. Her stomach was empty, and her muscles screamed in pain. But the thought of what she was leaving behind kept her going, a strength she never thought she possessed.

Then, around a tree, she saw a clearing. A faint ray of moonlight slid through the branches, illuminating a small corner of the forest like a hidden stage. She finally stopped, collapsing against a tree trunk, her arms around her knees. Her teeth chattered in the cold, and exhaustion overwhelmed her.

She closed her eyes, listening to the whisper of the breeze blowing gently through the leaves. She needed time. But that time was running out. She had time to realize she wasn't alone. The sounds of the forest had changed. She wasn't alone.

Raised voices rose in the distance, the sound of heavy footsteps on the ground. They weren't far away. The pack was close, very close. Raven opened her eyes in panic. She had to go.

She stood abruptly, but a wave of nausea washed over her as dizziness overwhelmed her. She dropped to her knees, gasping for air. Her hands rested on her stomach, and for the first time since the night she fled, a strange sensation passed through her. As if a secret buried in her body was awakening.

She straightened up painfully, her hand still on her stomach. It wasn't pain, but a strange, inexplicable sensation. She felt as if something alive was awakening inside her. Her heart tightened. And then, without warning, the truth fell on her like a punch.

She was pregnant.

The world seemed to stop for a moment around her. She closed her eyes, shaking her head, as if hoping she could erase the thought. But she couldn't. It was real. She felt, deep inside her, a life growing. The life of a being that shouldn't exist. Not in a world like this. Not in a world where the pack had rejected her.

She had fled, but she carried within her the proof of what she had done that night. The night she had shared her soul with an Alpha she had not known. The night everything had changed, and her life would now be marked forever.

She fell to her knees, her hands shaking, her breath quick. Anxiety rose within her, as did the reality of what she had just discovered. She had to flee. Not just for her life, but for the life inside her. She was no longer alone in her flight. She now carried a secret that could change everything. She felt life stir within her, like a soft but powerful whisper, and a new fear took hold of her.

In the haze of her mind, one question lingered: How was she going to get out of this now? She had no place to go. She had no idea what to do. And yet, in her heart, one certainty filled her: she couldn't go back. The pack rejected her, and even if a miracle happened, she could never go back. Not with this secret.

As the darkness of the forest enveloped her once more, Raven knew she would have to face everything alone. Not just the escape, but the birth of this child, this mystery that would forever change her world.