Chapter 4 The wild has no mercy

The forest obliterated me.

The trees towered above like some silent judge, their long branches clawing at my skin in judgment, punishing me for sins I could not understand. Each step twisted the knife deeper. My wounds were raw. The wind stung my wounds, and every step hurt, like the aching in my ribs. My side was soaked with blood , warm when it first oozed out, now cold and crusted over.

None of it mattered compared to the emptiness inside me. The rejection had eviscerated me.

Not just Thorne's voice, not just his rejection. It was the way no one even thought to look back. The way the quiet was louder than Selene's howl ever could be. Even my father.

My breath hitched. I wasn't crying. I wouldn't cry. Leaves crunched under my boots as I stumbled through the underbrush , uncertain if I was heading to something or just away from everything. The moon was a sliver above me, like a half-hearted promise. My wolf was fluffing beneath my skin but not free yet, not born yet , but I could feel her anger cooking, the sharp pulse of something wild trying to rise. But she didn't stir. Just like the pack. Just like my father.

A crack behind me burst through my thoughts. I froze. Another rustle.

I turned slowly like an animal, breath caught in my throat, eyes scanning the darkness. My instincts prickled. Rogues? A scout? Someone sent by Thorne to finish what he started?

I braced myself-body low to the ground, muscles coiled tighter. Nothing. Probably a deer. Or the wind. Or maybe I was losing my grip on reality.

My knees buckled under me. I leaned against a tree , unable to control the trembling from exhaustion and adrenaline. Blood was dripping from my side and down my hip.

I needed to stop. I needed to rest. But where? I had nothing. No supplies. No pack. No home. No one.

I sank to the dirt and leaves , pulling my knees close to my chest. The cold was seeping in and I could feel it in my bones.

But the ache I was feeling? That was the real pain.

Thorne was everything. My future, my mate. And in a heartbeat, he'd severed the bond I thought was unbreakable. Replaced me with someone shinier. Stronger. Or so he thought. But I had fought Selene. And I had won.

The ache in my chest erupted once again, blasting me, but it wasn't sadness. It was fury. My hands clenched into fists.

He could call me rogue. He could cast me out. But he couldn't erase me. I would survive. Not because I wanted to. But because I had to. Because if this world had no place for me... I would carve one out myself.

A low, distant howl echoed across the trees. My breath caught as it came again. Closer. My heart quickened as I stood and tried to force my arms and legs to comply . I didn't know who or what was out there, but I couldn't just stay still and wait to be found. I was being hunted .

I forced myself to move forward , one step at a time-each step heavier than the last. The loss of blood was dulling the edges of my vision; the cold was numbing my skin.

The forest grew darker. The moon disappeared behind a cloud. And then I saw it , flickering orange in the distance.

Fire.

Someone else was out here. I didn't think. I stumbled toward it like a moth drawn to warmth , to hope. My legs gave out just as I reached the edge of the clearing . I collapsed. Boots crunched nearby.

Then a voice-low, rough, and unkind.

"Well, well. What have we here?"

I forced my eyes to stay open.

The firelight flickered across a face marked by time and cruelty. He was tall, broad , with frizzy hair, a wild beard, and a jagged scar stretching across his jaw. His clothes were torn , dirty, stained and a reek came from him that could only be described as foul. A rogue.

He crouched beside me, his eyes gleaming yellow-not gold as in warmth-but a sickly, feral color.

"Pretty lil thing like you shouldn't be out here alone," he said, sneering, as he struck my chin roughly.. "What are you? A runaway? Or did someone toss you out like garbage?"

I tried to pull away. My limbs trembled from blood loss, exhaustion. My voice barely made it out.

"Let... go."

He laughed-low and hungry. " Oh, I'll let go when I'm done. "

My heart slammed against my ribs .

" I can smell it on you, " he murmured, leaning closer. "Pack scent... but fading. You're not claimed. No ties. No protection." His lips curled. "That makes you mine."

I shoved at him , panic flaring. "Don't-"

He grabbed me by the collar and slammed me back down. "Don't what?" he growled. "Don't treat you like the stray you are?"

I gasped as the wind rushed from my lungs .

" I've been starving ," he said, voice like broken glass. "And you smell like a feast."

Terror rooted me in place. I couldn't fight. I couldn't shift. I couldn't scream. He leaned in , teeth glinting. And just as his fingers started tugging at the hem of my shirt-A crack echoed through the trees.

The rogue paused. His head snapped toward the sound.Another step. Heavy. Powerful. Confident.

A presence approached from the dark.

The rogue growled low, teeth bared. "Who the hell-?"

And then-The air changed.

The rogue stiffened, his nose twitching. Something had caught his attention in the woods .

I tried to push myself up again , but my limbs betrayed me. Useless. Weak. I bit down hard to keep from making a sound as pain lanced through my side.

The rogue's gaze flicked back to me. Hunger still burned in his eyes , but now it mixed with caution.

He wasn't alone out here. That made two of us.

" Guess I'll have to be quick ," he muttered darkly, turning back to me with a snarl.

I reached for anything maybe a rock, a branch but there was nothing. My hand slapped cold dirt. My fingers clawed at roots.

"You should've stayed in your pack," he rasped, kneeling over me again. "Even the worst of them offer more mercy than the wild."

His breath was hot, rotted. My stomach turned.

Then, a scream ripped through the forest-not mine.

The rogue froze. His head jerked toward the sound . Another scream followed. And another.

He stood slowly, confusion painted on his face.

"What the-?"

A gust of wind blew through the trees, carrying a strange scent , smoke... and blood. The rogue took a step back, muttering to himself. "No... that wasn't supposed to happen yet."

"Yet?"

He looked to the trees, then back at me , his face no longer smug. Panic was boldly written on it.

Whatever had him rattled, it wasn't me. It was something worse.

He lunged toward me suddenly-not to finish what he started, but to grab my wrist.

"You're coming with me."

I struggled weakly. "Let go!"

But he yanked me to my feet , my body screaming in protest. I could barely stand, let alone fight him off.

"You're going to tell me what they're planning," he hissed in my ear. "Your precious Alpha's been busy stirring the wrong nests."

"What-?"

He didn't explain. He dragged me toward the tree line. And that's when I saw it.

A light blooming in the sky-far off, but growing. Something was burning.

Smoke twisted its way up above the trees. A second scream came from the opposite side of the forest-but closer now-echoed into the night.

The rogue stiffened again, and cursed quietly to himself. "Too late."

I turned to ask him what he meant-but before I could utter even one syllable, he jerked me against him, his claws tightening.

"Tell me who else knows!" he growled. "Tell me - now!"

"I don't know what you're talking about!"

But he didn't believe me.

His claws dug deeper, into my flesh.

"You better start talking before they find us first-"

The crack of a branch snapped nearby. Too close. The rogue froze.

I wasn't the only prey in the woods tonight.