The forest was freezing—colder than I ever expected rogue territory to be.
Or maybe, I was the one who had simply turned to ice from the inside out.
I walked without stopping, my worn-out boots sinking deep into the damp, sucking earth as the pitch-black darkness swallowed the path behind me.
The deeper I moved away from the borders, the quieter the world became.
There was no pack scent to guide me.
No familiar, friendly voices echoing through the trees.
No warm home waiting for me at the end of the road.
There were only endless, towering pines and the crushing, suffocating realization that I was now completely, utterly alone in a lawless world.
The sharp wind slipped through the thick branches above, carrying the heavy, damp promise of a midnight rain.
It brushed against my raw face like icy fingers, but I barely noticed the chill.
My mind was still trapped miles behind me, stuck in the center of the crowded amphitheater.
Stuck with him.
“You are nothing.” The words hit my chest all over again, drawing phantom blood.
I clenched my jaw hard, blinking back the burning in my eyes, and forced my legs to keep moving.
Every few minutes, I caught myself glancing stupidly over my shoulder.
Not because I wanted to go back to the kitchen where I was treated like filth, but because a pathetic, broken part of my soul still harbored a foolish hope.
A hope that Kael would suddenly burst through the trees.
That he would tell me the rejection was a horrible mistake.
That he would explain why the agony in his silver eyes had looked so agonizingly real before he ripped our bond apart.
But the forest behind me remained empty, and Kael never came.
A bitter, mocking laugh escaped my dry lips.
“Pathetic,” I muttered to myself, my voice sounding small against the rustling leaves.
I should have known better.
Alpha Kael Blackthorn didn’t chase after discarded kitchen maids.
After what felt like hours of aimless walking, I stumbled upon a narrow, rushing stream cutting through the black woods.
The water caught the pale moonlight, reflecting it like a vein of liquid silver.
Kneeling in the wet mud, I scooped up the freezing water and splashed it hard across my burning face.
For a long moment, I stared at my reflection in the trembling surface.
I barely recognized the girl looking back at me.
My eyes were swollen, my skin was deathly pale, and my expression looked entirely hollow.
Broken.
Yet, somehow, still standing.
The girl staring up from the water wasn’t the same soft maid who had left Blackfang hours ago.
Something weak inside her had died tonight, and something much harder had taken its place.
“I can’t stay weak,” I whispered, the words shaking but final.
“Not anymore.” Suddenly, a sharp, loud crack of a snapping branch echoed from the darkness behind me.
I froze instantly, every muscle in my body locking tight.
Slowly, my breath catching in my throat, I turned around.
Nothing.
There were only the twisted shadows swaying between the trees and the heavy branches dancing in the wind.
Yet, the uneasy, crawling sensation on my skin remained.
I wasn’t alone.
The hairs on the back of my neck stood straight up.
Instinct—pure, animal survival instinct—screamed at me to move.
Fast.
Grabbing my bag, I hurried away from the stream, my steps turning into a frantic pace.
The forest grew suffocatingly thick around me, the ancient trees crowding closer together as the darkness deepened into a solid wall.
Even the air felt heavier here.
There was no trace of pack markers anymore.
No signs of safety or civilization.
Only a deafening, terrifying silence.
Then, a low, guttural howl ripped through the trees.
Close.
Impossibly close.
My entire body went completely numb.
I stopped dead in my tracks, my fingers curling tight into the straps of my travel bag.
The sound vibrated through the damp earth beneath my feet before fading into a dangerous echo.
Rogues.
The horrific bedtime stories I had been told as an orphan child rushed back into my mind.
Wolves without a pack.
Wolves who lived without laws or morals.
Feral predators who survived by taking whatever they wanted—including lives.
Another sound crunched through the brush nearby.
Heavy, deliberate footsteps over dry leaves.
Someone was moving directly toward me, making no effort to hide their approach.
My heartbeat thundered so loudly in my ears I was certain they could hear it.
Slipping behind the massive trunk of an old oak, I pressed my back against the rough bark and held my breath.
The heavy footsteps grew closer.
Closer.
Until a massive shadow stepped out into the small patch of moonlight.
He was tall—broad-shouldered and built like a brick wall, radiating a quiet, dangerous power that made the air feel thin.
The faint moonlight spilled through the canopy, illuminating a sharp, scarred jawline and dark hair falling carelessly over his forehead.
But it was his eyes that made my breath freeze.
They glowed with a faint, amber light in the pitch black.
They weren’t calculated like Kael’s; they were wild, predatory, and perfectly comfortable in the dead of night.
The man tilted his head slightly, his gaze locking directly onto the tree I was hiding behind.
He knew exactly where I was.
“Well,” a rough, gravelly voice vibrated through the clearing.
“You definitely don’t look like a rogue.” My stomach coiled into a tight knot.
I stepped backward, out of the shadow of the tree.
The stranger’s amber eyes tracked my movement instantly, and one corner of his mouth tilted upward.
It wasn’t a friendly smile; it was the cautious, lethal look a predator gives before deciding if something is an enemy—or prey.
“Lost, little wolf?” he asked, his tone deceptively calm, like a sharp blade hidden beneath a soft cloth.
I didn’t answer.
In this part of the world, trusting a stranger was a guaranteed way to end up dead.
His eyes narrowed as he took a slow, deliberate inhale of the wind.
Instantly, the amusement vanished from his scarred face, replaced by a cold hardness.
“Blackfang,” he grunted, his posture shifting into something alert.
“You’re carrying a fresh Blackfang scent.
And the stench of a broken bond.” I took another defensive step back, panic flaring.
Before I could even think of a reply, a distant, blood-curdling howl echoed through the night.
This one was different—feral, crazed, and much, much closer.
The stranger swore under his breath, his eyes darting toward the deeper treeline.
“Bad timing,” he muttered.
My fingers curled into tight fists.
Fear clawed violently at my chest, but I refused to cower.
I forced myself to look directly into his dangerous amber eyes.
“I’m not going back there,” I said, my voice trembling but unyielding.
Something flickered across his rugged features—a brief flash of surprise, maybe even a shred of respect.
But before he could utter a word, the sound of heavy, frantic paws and crashing brush exploded from all around us.
Not just one wolf.
Several.
Fast, heavy, and closing the distance within seconds.
The stranger looked past me into the dark fog, and for the first time, genuine concern darkened his eyes.
He reached for the silver hilt of the dagger at his waist.
“Too late.” My stomach dropped into a bottomless pit.
“What?” He didn’t answer.
Slowly, I turned my head to follow his gaze, and the blood in my veins completely turned to ice.
Dozens of glowing, crazed yellow eyes were staring back at us from the thick brush, blinking out of the darkness.
Watching.
Waiting.
Salivating.
Every single escape route we had was completely gone.
And as the growls began to vibrate through the cold night air, I realized something truly terrifying.
Kael’s rejection wasn’t the worst thing fate had in store for me.
Not even close.