Chapter 5 THE FIRST NIGHT

[ARIA'S POV]

I walked for hours before exhaustion finally caught up with me.

The adrenaline that had carried me this far was fading. My legs felt like lead. The transformation, the rejection, the running-it was all crashing down on me at once.

We need to rest, my wolf said reluctantly. She wanted to keep going, to put as much distance as possible between us and the pack. But even she recognized our limits.

I found a small cave carved into a rocky hillside, hidden behind a curtain of hanging vines. It was barely big enough for me to sit up in, but it was dry and concealed. Perfect.

I crawled inside and collapsed against the rough stone wall.

My body ached everywhere. My dress was torn and filthy, stained with wine and dirt and sweat. My feet were bleeding from walking in thin slippers meant for serving, not hiking through a forest.

But I was alive.

That was more than I'd expected three hours ago.

I pulled out the dried meat Moira had given me and forced myself to eat. It tasted like leather, but my stomach growled gratefully. I hadn't eaten since dawn, and my body needed fuel to heal.

As I chewed, reality began to sink in.

I was alone. Truly alone. No pack. No home. No one cared if I lived or died.

The thought should have terrified me. Instead, it felt almost... liberating.

For nineteen years, I'd lived by pack rules. Wake before dawn. Work until your hands bled. Keep your head down. Don't complain. Be grateful for scraps. Accept that you're worthless.

Now? Now I could make my own rules.

We're free, my wolf reminded me. That's all that matters.

I finished eating and curled up on my side, using my arm as a pillow. The cave was cold, but my body temperature seemed higher now. Another benefit of having a wolf, apparently.

I closed my eyes, expecting sleep to come quickly.

Instead, I saw silver eyes. Heard a voice saying, "You are nothing to me."

Felt phantom pain in my chest where the mate bond had torn apart.

My eyes snapped open. My breathing came fast and shallow.

Stop thinking about him, my wolf growled. He doesn't deserve our thoughts.

She was right. Daemon Blackthorne had made his choice. He'd chosen power and politics and a perfect Luna over me. Over the mate bond the Moon Goddess herself had created.

That was his loss. His mistake.

Not mine.

I forced my breathing to slow. Focused on the sounds of the forest outside-crickets chirping, an owl hooting somewhere distant, wind rustling through leaves.

Slowly, my eyes grew heavy.

I was drifting off when I heard it.

Footsteps. Heavy. Deliberate. Coming closer.

My eyes snapped open. My wolf surged to alertness.

Not alone, she warned. Someone's hunting.

I pressed myself against the back of the cave, barely breathing. Through the vines, I saw shadows moving in the moonlight. Big shadows. Wolf-sized.

"...spread out," a rough male voice said. "She can't have gone far. Not on foot."

My heart hammered against my ribs.

"The Alpha King wants her found," another voice added. "Said whoever brings her back gets a territory of their own."

They were hunting me. Daemon had sent wolves after me.

Of course he did, my wolf snarled. Now that he knows what we are, he wants us back. Like property.

"You really think she's worth all this fuss?" A third voice, younger. "So what if she's a Moon Wolf? She's still just one girl."

"Idiot. Moon Wolves are supposed to be the most powerful wolves alive. If the Alpha King controls her, he controls that power."

Controls. Not protects. Not caring for.

Controls.

Rage flared hot in my chest. Silver light began to glow around my fingers before I could stop it.

Careful, my wolf warned. Light gives us away.

I clenched my fists, forcing the power down. The glow faded.

"Check that cave," the first voice ordered.

My blood went cold.

I heard footsteps approaching. Saw a shadow block the moonlight filtering through the vines.

Fight or run? My wolf asked.

Neither. I had no training, no idea how to actually use these powers. Running would give away my position. Fighting would probably get me killed or captured.

I needed a third option.

The vines rustled. A hand reached through, parting them.

I pressed deeper into the shadows, making myself as small as possible. Barely breathing. Barely moving.

A wolf stuck its head in-brown fur, amber eyes, scarred muzzle. He sniffed the air.

Please don't smell me. Please don't smell me.

He sniffed again. Frowned. Looked right at the spot where I was hiding.

My heart stopped.

Then he pulled back. "Nothing. Cave's empty."

I nearly collapsed with relief.

"You sure?" the first voice asked.

"Positive. Just rocks and dirt. She's not here."

How? How had he not seen me? I was right there.

The power, my wolf whispered. We hid ourselves somehow. Instinct.

The footsteps moved away. The voices faded into the distance.

I waited another twenty minutes before I dared to breathe normally. When I was sure they were gone, I crawled to the cave entrance and peeked out.

Empty. The forest was still and silent again.

But they'd come back. Or send others. Daemon wasn't going to give up that easily.

I couldn't stay here.

I grabbed the leather pouch and crawled out of the cave. My whole body protested. Every muscle screamed for rest.

But rest meant being found. Being taken back. Being controlled.

North, my wolf urged. Keep moving north.

I consulted the map by moonlight. Three days to the Rogue Lands. I'd barely made it through three hours.

But I didn't have a choice.

I started walking again, every step an act of willpower. The forest grew denser. Darker. The kind of dark where anything could be hiding.

Several times, I heard sounds that made my wolf bristle-howls in the distance, branches snapping, something large moving through the underbrush.

Each time, I froze. Waited. Moved on when the coast was clear.

Dawn was just starting to lighten the sky when I finally hit a small stream. My throat was parched, my feet were bleeding worse than before, and I was pretty sure I'd never been this tired in my entire life.

I collapsed at the water's edge and drank deeply. The cold water tasted like heaven.

When I was done, I splashed my face and looked at my reflection in the still water.

A stranger looked back.

My hair was a tangled mess, full of leaves and twigs. My dress was torn beyond repair. But it was my eyes that caught me.

They still glowed. Faintly, but noticeably. Silver light emanated from pupils that seemed larger than they should be.

Moon Wolf eyes.

I touched my reflection, watching the water ripple and reform.

Who was I now? Not Aria Winters, the broken servant girl. That girl had died on the packhouse floor.

But I didn't know who this new person was yet. This powerful, hunted stranger with magic in her veins and rage in her heart.

You're whoever you choose to be, my wolf said. That's the gift. That's the freedom.

A twig snapped behind me.

I spun around, silver light flaring around my hands instinctively.

A young wolf stood at the tree line. Gray fur. Blue eyes. Smaller than the hunters from earlier.

We stared at each other.

Run or fight? My wolf asked again.

The wolf shifted. A girl appeared, maybe sixteen or seventeen. Thin, with dark hair and wary eyes. She wore rough-spun clothes that marked her as a rogue.

"You're her," the girl breathed. "The Moon Wolf everyone's talking about."

My heart raced. "I don't know what you mean."

"Don't lie. I can see your eyes." She took a step closer. "Word's already spreading. The Alpha King rejected his fated mate, and she turned out to be a Moon Wolf. Half the packs in the territory are looking for you."

I backed up toward the stream. "Are you going to turn me in?"

The girl laughed. It was a bitter sound. "Turn you into pack wolves? Not likely. They banished me two years ago for being 'too weak.' Why would I help them?"

Some of the tension left my shoulders. "Then what do you want?"

"To warn you." She glanced back toward the forest. "More hunters are coming. Not just pack wolves. Mercenaries. Bounty hunters. The reward for bringing you back is too good. Everyone wants a piece of it."

"How far am I from the Rogue Lands?"

"Two and a half days if you push hard. Less if you can run in wolf form." Her eyes studied me. "But you're new to this, aren't you? Just shifted for the first time."

I nodded.

"Then you won't make it alone. Not with everyone hunting you." She paused. "I can help. I know the forest. Know the safe paths. The places to hide."

"Why would you help me?"

The girl smiled, and there was something fierce in it. "Because the pack of wolves threw me away like garbage. Just like they did to you. I'd love to see them lose the one thing they actually want back."

I studied her. Looked for deception. Found only anger that mirrored my own.

She's like us, my wolf said. Cast out. Rejected. She understands.

"What's your name?" I asked.

"Elena." She held out her hand. "And I'm guessing you want to get to the Rogue Lands without being caught?"

I looked at her hand. At this stranger offering help when I desperately needed it.

Moira's warning echoed in my mind. "Trust carefully."

But I also remembered something else she'd said. "You don't have to be alone."

I took Elena's hand. "I'm Aria."

"I know." Elena's smile widened. "Everyone knows. You're famous now. The Moon Wolf who rejected the Alpha King back."

"I didn't reject him. I just accepted his rejection."

"Same thing to everyone else." She squeezed my hand once and let go. "Come on. I know a place where we can rest safely. Then we'll get you to the Rogue Lands."

She started walking, and after a moment's hesitation, I followed.

The sun was rising now, painting the sky pink and gold. A new day.

A new beginning.

And for the first time since the rejection, I felt something other than pain.

Hope.