bChapter /bb135 /b

    ra’s POV

    I could feel the ground tremble beneath my feet at first, just a slight quiver, the loose rocks shifting with it. But bthen/bb, /bbI /bheard it. The heavy thud of paws hitting the earth, rhythmic and fast, like a drumbeat that rattled my chest. And bthen /bbcame /bthe howls–those deep, guttural wolf howls, echoing through the trees, followed by distant shouts of soldiers.

    Lance was closing in on us.

    We burst from the edge of the woods, breath ragged in our chests, eyes fixed on the horizon. And there they were- soldiers, arge group, some shifted into their wolves, others driving through the forest in their jeeps.

    At the front, I saw him. Lance, riding high on his wolf, the leader of this ragtag pack.

    “Thorne!” Lance’s voice cut through the air, booming. “You can’t outrun us. Give up already!”

    I barely heard him over the pounding of my own pulse in my ears.

    “Let’s go!” Thorne’s grip tightened around my hand, pulling me forward. “We lure them in, ra. Get ready.”

    We sprinted, the wind ripping past our faces, the smell of pine and earth filling the air. We were headed south, deeper into the forest, away from the barren wastnd behind us.

    The sun had barely begun to rise, casting long, stretched shadows over the forest floor. My legs screamed in protest with each step. The underbrush was dense, the terrain uneven, but it slowed them down too. If we kept a good distance, we might just be able to make it.

    The sound of boots crashing through the forest floor echoed behind us, blending with the soldiers‘ shouts. They were close. Too close.

    But we had to keep moving, not too fast to lose them, but fast enough that they wouldn’t catch us before we reached the border.

    I kept pushing myself. My body was already protesting–every muscle ached, every breath burned in my lungs. Five hours of runningst night with hardly any sleep, and now, without the help of my wolf, my human limits were creeping up on ollime. /li/ol

    I could hear Thorne’s steady breathing beside me. His tall figure was cutting through the trees effortlessly, even though t could tell the pace was taking a toll on him too. But it was his presence that gave me strength. As long as he was beside me, I could push through anything.

    I nced at him, panting. His eyes flicked to me, and he slowed his pace, running alongside me now. He bsqueeze /b

    hand, his grip warm despite the cold morning air.

    “Don’t wait for me,” I gasped, my voice barely a whisper. “Just keep going!”

    But he didn’t let go. “We’re almost there, ra. Stay with me.”

    We pushed onb, /bclimbing a steep incline that I hadn’t noticed until the ground started to brise /bbbeneath /bbour /bbfeet/bb. /bbMy /bbchest was /b

    bTU /bb13 /bbThuy /b

    on fire, but I didn’t stop.

    “We’re almost there,” Thorne said again, his voice like a tether pulling me forward. “We just need to get over bthat /bbhill/b, bthen /b

    we’re home free.”

    My heart raced, but not from the exertion. Beyond the hill, I could see the treeline thinning. The border. Our bpeople/b.

    Cael’s voice rang out ahead, breaking through the chaos of my thoughts. “Beyond the hill! That’s where they bare/bb!/bb” /b

    And then–crack.

    The sharp sound of a bullet slicing through the air. I barely had time to react before the second shot came.

    I heard it before I felt it. The sharp sting as a bullet missed me by mere inches.

    “Shit!” Thorne’s hand mmed against my head, forcing me down as he ducked, his own body shielding me.

    I stumbled but regained my footing, my heart leaping into my throat. I twisted, the sound of Cael’s scream making my stomach drop.

    “Cael!” I yelled, panic surging through me.

    “I’m fine!” Cael’s voice was strained, but he was still moving. He staggered over to us, clutching his bleeding arm.

    “They shot me–Lance, that bastard!” he hissed, his teeth gritted in pain.

    And just like that, he tossed me a pistol–a 9mm.

    I caught it instinctively, the weight of the cold metal grounding me. I didn’t hesitate. I aimed through the scope, finding Lance in the distance. His face was twisted in anger, but I didn’t care.

    I fired.

    The shot rang out, echoing through the trees, and I watched as the bullet struck Lance’s left shoulder. He tumbled from his wolf’s back, falling to the ground with a grunt.

    “Got him down!” Thorne shouted, his voice sharp. “Let’s go!”

    We didn’t waste another second. Together, we surged forward, pushing through the woods, the hill now in sight.

    And there, standing at the top, waiting for us, was our army. Blood Moon Pack soldiers–familiar faces I hadn’t seen in so

    long.

    “Vessa!” I screamed as I rushed toward my closest friend.

    She came at me like a storm, her arms wrapping around me in a tight, desperate hug.

    “ra!” Her voice cracked, a sob breaking through her words. “God, I thought I’d never see you againb!/bb” /b

    I looked around, feeling a tightness in my chest. My pack was here–my soldiers. And Jory, standing tall bamong /bbthem/b, bhis /bface just as I remembered.

    b2/3 /b

    “Gamma ra!” one soldier shouted. “We’re all here for you!”

    “We missed you, Gamma!” another chimed in.

    I smiled, feeling tears pricking my eyes. This was where I belonged. “Thank you,” I said, my voice strong. “Now blet’s /btake down the bastard.”

    Together, we turned, facing the rogue soldiers gathering at the edge of the woods, their eyes full of hate and

    that cruel, twisted grin of his. determination. At the front stood Lance, bleeding, but grinning

    “What a touching reunion…” he mocked, his voice dripping with malice. “But the more the merrier! You’ll all bregret /bbthis/b. Nobody leaves here alive.”

    I took a step forward, my voice cold as ice. “I could say the same to you, Lancei.” /iMy voice was a low growl. “Today’s bthe /bbday /byou die.”

    I let my head tilt back, calling to my wolf. The response was instant, the shift overtaking me, taking my human bform /bbaway /band recing it with the silver–white wolf I had always been.

    Lance’s eyes widened in disbelief. “iNo/i! You can’t shift! It’s impossible…”

    But Thorne didn’t let him get another word in. He shifted, his body growingrger and darker until he stood as a massive ck wolf beside me, his teeth bared in a snarl.

    “You’re on ournd now, idiot,” Thorne spat, his ivoice /ia growl.

    Lance staggered back, his eyes wide with fear. “RETREAT!” he shouted, but it was toote.

    Before he could move, someone from his own pack darted out, a de gleaming in the sunlight. Kimberly, her face devoid of any emotion, plunged the knife into Lance’s chest with a sickening crunch.

    “You’re not going anywhere, asshole,” she ihissed/i, twisting the de deeper.

    Lance’s scream was icut /ioff, and with it, any ihope /ithe rogues had of escaping.

    Today was over. And iso /iwas Lance.