Chapter 2
The eastern border of Shadowfang territory was a three-hour walk in human form, longer in my condition.
By the time I reached the tree line marking the boundary, my legs were shaking and the rejection pain had settled into a constant, throbbing ache behind my ribs. Every step felt like dragging myself through wet concrete.
I leaned against a pine tree to catch my breath.
That was when I heard footsteps behind me.
My blood ran cold. I spun around, expecting Dorian's enforcers — or worse, Vivienne's spies.
Instead, it was Neil, Dorian's Beta.
He stood ten feet away, hands in his pockets, looking at me with an expression I couldn't quite read. Guilt? Pity? Both?
"You're really leaving," he said. Not a question.
"Unless you're here to drag me back."
"I'm not."
I stared at him. "Then why are you here?"
Neil ran a hand through his hair, looking more uncomfortable than I'd ever seen him. "Because someone should at least say goodbye. And because..." He reached into his jacket and pulled out a small pouch. "Your last three months of healer wages. Dorian was going to withhold them since you're 'voluntarily' leaving."
I took the pouch. It was painfully light — barely enough for two weeks of food.
"He thinks I'll come crawling back," I said flatly.
Neil didn't deny it. "He said, and I quote — 'She'll be back within a week. She has nowhere else to go.'"
Something cold settled in my stomach. Not sadness. Not anymore. Just a grim, quiet certainty.
"Tell him I said congratulations on his mating," I said, turning back toward the border. "And Neil — don't look for me."
"Elara." His voice stopped me. "The blood curse last year... the one that should have killed Dorian..."
I froze.
"I saw you that night. Coming out of Barbara's hut. You could barely stand."
My hand tightened on the tree bark. "You're mistaken."
"I'm not. And one day, he's going to find out. And when he does—"
"It won't matter," I cut him off. "Because I won't be here."
I crossed the border before he could say another word.
The moment I stepped out of Shadowfang territory, the last thread of pack connection snapped like a worn rope. The sudden emptiness in my mind — where the pack bond used to hum — was deafening.
I was truly alone now.
Except I wasn't. Not really.
I pressed my palm against my stomach again and kept walking north.
The journey to Thornridge took me four days. Four days of sleeping in hollowed-out trees, eating dried berries, and fighting off the waves of nausea that came with early pregnancy and a severed mate bond simultaneously.
On the third night, I collapsed.
The snow was falling heavily, and I couldn't feel my fingers anymore. My wolf — already weakened from the rejection and the old blood curse still festering in my veins — had gone completely silent.
"Please," I whispered to no one. "Just a little further."
That was when I heard the howl.
Long, low, commanding — and coming from directly ahead of me.
Within seconds, a massive silver wolf materialized from the snowstorm, followed by two smaller wolves flanking him. The silver wolf shifted mid-stride, and suddenly a tall man was striding toward me, shrugging off his coat.
He crouched down and his grey eyes locked onto mine, sharp with concern.
"You're the healer Kira called about?"
I could barely nod.
He wrapped his coat around me and lifted me off the frozen ground like I weighed nothing. His voice was steady, calm, but urgent.
"You're safe now. You're in Thornridge."
Then everything went black.
By the time I reached the tree line marking the boundary, my legs were shaking and the rejection pain had settled into a constant, throbbing ache behind my ribs. Every step felt like dragging myself through wet concrete.
I leaned against a pine tree to catch my breath.
That was when I heard footsteps behind me.
My blood ran cold. I spun around, expecting Dorian's enforcers — or worse, Vivienne's spies.
Instead, it was Neil, Dorian's Beta.
He stood ten feet away, hands in his pockets, looking at me with an expression I couldn't quite read. Guilt? Pity? Both?
"You're really leaving," he said. Not a question.
"Unless you're here to drag me back."
"I'm not."
I stared at him. "Then why are you here?"
Neil ran a hand through his hair, looking more uncomfortable than I'd ever seen him. "Because someone should at least say goodbye. And because..." He reached into his jacket and pulled out a small pouch. "Your last three months of healer wages. Dorian was going to withhold them since you're 'voluntarily' leaving."
I took the pouch. It was painfully light — barely enough for two weeks of food.
"He thinks I'll come crawling back," I said flatly.
Neil didn't deny it. "He said, and I quote — 'She'll be back within a week. She has nowhere else to go.'"
Something cold settled in my stomach. Not sadness. Not anymore. Just a grim, quiet certainty.
"Tell him I said congratulations on his mating," I said, turning back toward the border. "And Neil — don't look for me."
"Elara." His voice stopped me. "The blood curse last year... the one that should have killed Dorian..."
I froze.
"I saw you that night. Coming out of Barbara's hut. You could barely stand."
My hand tightened on the tree bark. "You're mistaken."
"I'm not. And one day, he's going to find out. And when he does—"
"It won't matter," I cut him off. "Because I won't be here."
I crossed the border before he could say another word.
The moment I stepped out of Shadowfang territory, the last thread of pack connection snapped like a worn rope. The sudden emptiness in my mind — where the pack bond used to hum — was deafening.
I was truly alone now.
Except I wasn't. Not really.
I pressed my palm against my stomach again and kept walking north.
The journey to Thornridge took me four days. Four days of sleeping in hollowed-out trees, eating dried berries, and fighting off the waves of nausea that came with early pregnancy and a severed mate bond simultaneously.
On the third night, I collapsed.
The snow was falling heavily, and I couldn't feel my fingers anymore. My wolf — already weakened from the rejection and the old blood curse still festering in my veins — had gone completely silent.
"Please," I whispered to no one. "Just a little further."
That was when I heard the howl.
Long, low, commanding — and coming from directly ahead of me.
Within seconds, a massive silver wolf materialized from the snowstorm, followed by two smaller wolves flanking him. The silver wolf shifted mid-stride, and suddenly a tall man was striding toward me, shrugging off his coat.
He crouched down and his grey eyes locked onto mine, sharp with concern.
"You're the healer Kira called about?"
I could barely nod.
He wrapped his coat around me and lifted me off the frozen ground like I weighed nothing. His voice was steady, calm, but urgent.
"You're safe now. You're in Thornridge."
Then everything went black.