CHAPTER 210: WITHIN REACH

[ Old world... Greater Woods (not very far from the cave) ]

"Don’t you dare give up on me... not now..."

Kieran’s wolf howled as he completely took over, unable, unwilling to resist anymore. The need was urgent... the pull too close...

The next second, his body buckled. His wolf shoved past his fragile control, snapping bones and splitting sinew with a violence that left him gasping. A shift not because he wanted it...but because his wolf no longer listened to him.

The majestic beast burst forward and sprinted through the Greater Woods with reckless abandon. The treacherous terrain shredded his paws...thorns gouged deep into his flank...branches whipped across his muzzle leaving burning welts...but still he didn’t stop. The pain from the rejection still clawed at his chest, searing like molten iron branding his heart.But somehow he could actually feel her now... though that feeling was faint... was it a tether stretching because of his unborn children?

"She is slipping..." his wolf snarled in his head. "Our mate is slipping away."

Kieran staggered for a breath, the agony doubling him over, blood foaming from his jaws. A howl ripped from him that rolled across the dark woods like a broken war cry.

But even on shaking legs, even with his ribs burning and muscles tearing, he pushed forward.

"Autumn..." his mind whispered as his heart bled. "I am coming. Hold on. Please...hold on."

The ground shifted beneath him...rock giving way to marsh, marsh giving way to thickets of jagged stone. Every step carved another wound, crimson trailing behind him in wet smears. His lungs heaved like they would collapse any minute, yet he sprinted faster, driven by the thrashing tug inside his very soul...

And then there was a sudden silence.

He stopped at a looming labyrinth of blackened hedges and stones. It looked endless.

He froze at its mouth, his wolf pacing, snarling at the walls.It was enchanted no doubt. It was cutting him off.

The ache in his heart throbbed sharper now, as though her very cries vibrated through his marrow...

Kieran lowered his head, blood dripping from his muzzle. His claws scraped the dirt.

"She is definitely in there," he rasped inside himself. "My blood.My babies. My mate...my Autumn."

He didn’t know which path led forward. He didn’t know if he could survive another mile with his heart being ripped apart from the inside. But he knew one thing... that he needed to reach them...

Kieran didn’t wait. He couldn’t.

With a guttural snarl that ripped his throat raw, he hurled himself forward into the labyrinth...claws tearing into the earth as if speed alone could break whatever spell wrapped around that place.

But the deeper he pressed, the more wrong it felt.

The hedges were not just walls...they shifted. Branches seemed to curl tighter when he drew near, shadows thickened, roots twisted up to trip his paws.

He sprinted, but every turn brought him back to the same spot...the same jagged stone, the same patch of dirt slick with his own blood.

His wolf skidded to a halt, chest heaving, foam frothing at the edges of his jaws.

"Illusion." His mind rasped. " This place is an illusion."

But the scent...faint..fragile...was still there. His babies. His blood. The bond pulled at him, tugging against the maze.

Stopping wasn’t really an option.

Kieran hurled himself again at the nearest hedge, his massive body slamming into it.

Thorns sank into his flesh, tearing deep grooves down his shoulders, across his ribs. He staggered back, blood splattering the stones. Then with a furious roar he lunged again, head butting his way forward, as if sheer willpower could break through the walls.

Crack!!!

Snap!!!

It was the sound of his own skull splitting open.

His vision swam red. He fell back onto his side, gasping, paws twitching against the dirt.

Still...he rose. Again. Slammed. Fell. Again. Slammed. Fell.

Each time, weaker, bloodier, his breaths coming shorter, his heartbeat stumbling dangerously close to stopping.

" Is this it?" His wolf whispered hoarsely."Is this how we die? "

Kieran’s body trembled, unable to rise anymore, his muzzle pressed to the dirt.

His blood ran black in the moonlight, pooling beneath him. His heart spasmed, the ache from the rejection multiplying...crushing his ribs until he could no longer tell if he was breathing at all.

But then... he heard a sound.

A low grumble followed by a low whine.

Kieran’s ear twitched. Slowly, painfully, he lifted his head.

From the corner of the labyrinth, through the haze...something padded into view.

A massive hound...eyes burning faintly silver. Its presence was like smoke and shadow, yet its body was solid, real. The beast wagged its tail once, then trotted towards him.

"Cerbs?!" Kieran rasped, voice torn and wet, disbelief flooding through his pain. Autumn’s hound? She was indeed near... he was close... very close...

The creature reached him and then pressed its snout to his bloodied muzzle...its warm breath ghosting over him. Another soft whine vibrated in its chest. Then it nudged him gently, stepping back, turning its head as if to say..." follow me!"

Kieran’s heart lurched. His wolf, though trembling on the edge of collapse, forced one paw forward. Then another.

Cerbs wagged its tail again. Waiting.

For the first time since the bond snapped, Kieran’s broken body felt the faintest surge of hope.

Cerbs lingered by his side, tail swaying, eyes glinting with an unnatural intelligence. The hound lowered its massive head and licked at Kieran’s muzzle.The touch was grounding... yet it felt like a command, not to falter.

Kieran let out a ragged snarl that melted into something closer to a whimper. His wolf didn’t like being led...but for once, it didn’t fight it either. He staggered up, every muscle screaming, every wound screaming louder, and followed.

Cerbs padded ahead looking back each time Kieran stumbled, making sure he kept moving.

The hedges that had snarled and twisted now seemed to part ever so slightly in the hound’s presence. The illusion still pressed heavy, choking, but Cerbs carved a path through it all.

Step by step, paw by paw, Kieran pushed forward. His ribs burned. His skull still rang from the blows against the hedges. His heart ached with such vicious force he thought it might split in two.

But the closer he followed the hound, the sharper the pull inside him became.

"Autumn..." His vision blurred, but he could feel her. Closer. Too close.

And then...the air shifted.

A gust funneled through the hedges. It hit him like a blow, rushing past his muzzle. His legs buckled as the scent slammed into him.

Blood. Overwhelming Blood.

Her blood. Autumn’s...