~︎Alora︎~

'Keep running, Alora!' I thought aloud as I ran, my bare feet pounding against the rough earth. Every step felt like it tore my body apart, but I didn’t dare stop.

I had finally reached the woods, and I panted heavily, reaching to a stop.

“Don’t stop, Alora,” I whispered to myself. “If you stop, you die. You can't afford to die.”

I resumed running—running deep into the woods.

The shouts of the guards echoed behind me. I could hear them spreading through the forest, hunting, their footsteps and growls like wolves closing in on prey. My vision blurred; the poison of wolfsbane still burned through my veins.

“Find her!” I heard one of Maxwell’s men snarl. “The Alpha said he needs her alive!”

"That bitch! How dare she escape?! She's clearly guilty for running away!"

"Keep searching! She hasn't gone far, I'm sure!"

My heart twisted painfully in my chest. Maxwell had truly condemned me to death. And to think that he was once my mate—the one the Goddess had fated me with.

"I refuse to die… Not like this. Not for something I'm innocent of."

I stumbled, my knees scraping against the dirt. Hot tears blurred my sight, but I pushed myself up again, ignoring the pain. Every part of me screamed to give up, but I couldn’t. If I dared to, Maxwell’s men would catch up to me, and I'd be worse than dead when that happens.

I continued to run, unsure of where I was headed. I'm sure I had run for miles. I ran till I got tired, so I had to resort to walking.

I panted heavily as I rested my back on the bark of a tree. It was still very dark, and I was alone in these dark, eerie woods.

I looked back to see if I had lost Maxwell’s men already, and they were catching up to me.

I gathered up my strength and continued running.

My vision blurred as I ran further, and I fell countless times. So much for not having Anya with me now. If she were here, I'd have adjusted to my wolf sight.

My mind drifted off to my mother. Who could've killed her and framed me for her death? Did the kind guard that helped me know the killer? Was that his reason for helping me?

These questions lingered in my mind, and a tear escaped from my left eye, but I brushed it off immediately.

"This is not the time to cry, Alora. I know everything happens for a reason." I said, reassuring myself. "The Moon Goddess knows why this happened to me, and I'm sure she'd save me because I'm innocent."

I looked up to the moonlit sky, hoping and praying that the Moon Goddess would guide me out of this mess.

I hadn't eaten yet, and I was getting hungry. I was extremely weak too from the wolfsbane still.

"If I could just get something to eat and—"

I stopped in my tracks suddenly and stared. Up ahead, I saw it. The Forest of Thorns.

Legends said no one ever passed through it alive. Its twisted, thorn-ridden vines could rip through even the strongest warrior’s flesh. People whispered that the Moon Goddess herself cursed it as a border between packs.

But I had no choice. It was either the thorns or my death.

Blood already ran down my arms from the hard branches of trees, and as I stepped into the forest of thorns, I bit down on my lip to keep myself from screaming.

"Ouch!" I groaned painfully as the first thorn tore through my skin, slicing across my shoulder. Still, I pushed forward, trying to ignore the pain exploding across my body.

My dress ripped into shreds. My legs burned with every cut, and warm blood streamed down my skin.

“Goddess… please,” I choked, thorns tearing into me as if the forest itself tried to devour me. "I can't die like this. Please spare me. You alone know of my innocence."

Behind me, I heard Maxwell’s men stop short.

“She went into the thorns!” one of them shouted, horrified.

“Impossible. No one survives that,” another replied.

“Then she’s as good as dead,” the first said firmly. “We’ll report back to Alpha Maxwell. He’ll be pleased.”

Their voices faded as they turned back, certain that I was already a corpse.

But I kept moving.

My body screamed in agony, thorns biting into every inch of me.

I collapsed onto the other side, gasping for breath, my body trembling uncontrollably.

“I… made it,” I whispered weakly, though every bone in me felt shattered.

The forest was quiet here, eerily quiet, as though I had entered another world entirely.

I stood up weakly, forcing myself to move, and I looked ahead and noticed a signpost that read: "The Stonefang Pack."

"Shit!" I cursed. "How did I end up here?"

Everyone knew that this pack was led by the most powerful Alpha across all territories. If he finds out that a mere nobody like me was wandering in his territory, only the Goddess knows what my fate would be.

"I have to get out of here!" I said, whispering to myself as I tried to find a way out, but my legs gave out beneath me, and I crawled forward, dragging myself inch by inch until my body finally refused to move anymore.

“Please… don’t let me die like this,” I whispered to no one, tasting blood on my lips.

Darkness pulled at my vision, but I saw boots—large, heavy boots—stop in front of me.

My heart pounded. It was a man. A figure towering above me, his presence overwhelming even in my half-conscious state.

I forced my lips to move, the word slurring out weakly. “Please… He…lp…”

He lifted me in his arms, and I was too weak to protest.

"W…who are you?" I asked as the blood dripped from my lip more now.

Instead of answering my question, he growled the words I thought I'd never be able to hear again.

“I have finally found you… Mate.”

And then… everything went black.