The pathway started reducing in size. Gonzalo and everyone else continued to defend themselves. To everyone's surprise, as Alpha Dolph got away from Jared, he rushed to his son who was just defending himself from another wolf. Conri didn't want to fight and it was annoying his father. He grabbed the wolf attacking him and threw him far away. Then growled at his son.

“You should have killed her when you had the chance, Conri. I don't care if the pups are yours”.

Immediately, he flung his son into the pathway and it took him in as he shouted after him.

“Make sure that you kill Luna and those pups, don't return until you kill them”. It swallowed Conri as well. Gradually, the pathway disappeared.

Gonzalo growled in despair and with annoyance, he faced Alpha Dolph, fighting him with all his strength.

As the magical pathway closed, Ashina found herself alone in a thick forest. She was in her human form on the ground. She looked around her but her Alpha was not there. She cried out, “No. No.. Nooo”

Instantly, she sprang up in terror, her body instantly transforming to her wolf form as a growl of rage and fear escaped her lips. Initially, she thought she was still within the familiar boundaries of her pack's territory, but as she sniffed the air, she realized with a jolt of panic that she was far from home. Her howls of anger and desperation echoed through the silent forest but received no response, only the haunting reverberations of her voice. Enraged and disoriented, she sprinted aimlessly, fueled by her wolf's fury and her sense of betrayal. Gonzalo's deception burned within her like wildfire - he had pushed her into the unknown without following, leaving her alone and vulnerable.

After running to nowhere in particular she became exhausted and weak. So she collapsed to the ground, her body trembling with weak moans. She fell unconscious.

When she finally awoke, it was almost sunset, and she found herself in human form, surrounded by the threatening silence of the woods. Tears streamed down her face as she remembered her predicament. She felt a crushing weight of sorrow and weakness. Her body ached, her mind wobbled, and her heart felt shattered into a million pieces. She stumbled to her feet, her fingers trembling as she gazed at the remaining two magical rings, a bitter reminder of her lost love and her current misery. With a heavy heart, she decided to find solace and guidance in a world that seemed to have abandoned her.

Weakly she spoke the strange language and pulled out one of the rings. Then threw it up in the air but the ring fell without activating another pathway. Weakly, she picked it up and tried again, and again and again, yet again with the second ring, but the pathway didn't open up. In frustration, she screamed with a high-pitched voice. Then she started feeling some discomfort in her protruding belly.

“No, no, no! Gonzalo, what have you done? Why did you leave me all alone in the middle of nowhere? Why, why, why…? She cried bitterly.

Seeing that she could not go back, she decided to walk around. She guessed that maybe she might see a pack or someone who might give her directions to where werewolves lived. Then the discomfort in her belly started again. She wanted to shift so she could easily heal from whatever was causing the pain. Or at least would be able to bear the pain but couldn't shift.

“Meeka, I need you to take over”

She called on her wolf but there was no response from her.

“Meeka, wake up and help me. Why are you quiet? Please, I need your strength”. She begged her wolf again, yet she didn't respond.

As the pain in her belly intensified, she felt overwhelmed and uncertain about what to do next. Every step felt like a battle, her legs trembling beneath her as she struggled to walk away from the danger lurking in the shadows. Just then, a gunshot rang out from her left side, sending a chill down her spine and shattering the silence of the forest. Fear gripped her, and she swiftly turned in the opposite direction, her eyes scanning the horizon for a glimmer of hope.

With each gunshot, her sense of urgency grew, and she pleaded with her wolf to awaken, praying to the Moon Goddess to protect her and her unborn pups from the unknown threat. The pain in her protruding belly was relentless, making every step an agony, but she dared not pause, driven by the desperation to escape and ensure the safety of her unborn pups. As dusk fell, the darkness seemed to close in faster, and her strength seemed to weaken, her breath coming in short gasps.

Yet, she pushed on, fueled by her maternal instincts and the determination to survive. After what felt like an eternity, she heard a distant sound - a vehicle horn, growing louder from her right side. Her heart skipped a beat as she wondered if this could be her salvation or if another trap was waiting to pop up.

So she turned right and continued. The pain continued, but then she felt some wetness between her legs. She paused and checked, and realized that she was bleeding. She saw blood dripping down her legs. Her anxiety grew enormous as she wept bitterly.

“Oh no, moon goddess, please not my pups, I beg of you. Don't do this to me. Please keep them alive. If you need a sacrifice, take my life instead”.

As she trudged through the darkness, her legs aching and her belly throbbing with pain. Then she started catching glimpses of light from passing vehicles, a beacon of hope that she was heading towards safety. The lights grew brighter, and she realized she was approaching a road. Her heart raced with anticipation. She stumbled forward. Her vision started blurring, but she refused to give up, driven by the determination to protect her unborn pups. But just as she reached the roadside, her legs gave way, and she felt herself falling into darkness, unable to cry out for help. She lost consciousness.

Meanwhile, Conri found himself in human form on a roadside flanked by bushes. His mind was reeling from the events that had unfolded. Fear and anger coursed through his veins as he recalled his father's actions. In anger he shifted and took off into the forest, his paws pounding the earth. He gave out a mighty howl as if to release the pent-up emotions. He ran deeper into the forest, his paws aching, his heart heavy, until he finally stopped, exhausted. But his reprieve was short-lived, as a gunshot whizzed past his ear, sending him running back towards the road in terror.

The shooter seemed to give chase, as another shot sounded, but Conri's fear fueled his speed, and he outran his pursuer. Breathless and shaken, he emerged back onto the road, only to witness a car out of control as it collided with a tree. The sound of shattering glass and crunching metal filled the air, and Conri's heart raced with a new sense of urgency. He approached the wreckage cautiously, his senses on high alert, as he spotted a figure slumped over the steering wheel.