The Moonlit Lies And Unwanted Wolf

a Quin

t know how long I've been walking.

gnarled and thick, twisted like the souls of the rogues said to haunt these woods. Shadows stalk me fr

hungry. So hungry it feels like my insides are eating themselves. My stomach cramps.

ees, and I think for a second

But it's on

s, but it does nothing. The cold is bone-deep. My te

m." It slips out of me like brea

t the moon and how wolves never truly walk alone. But sh

ther crack. Low gro

n a root. I crashed to the ground. Something pops in my ankle. The pain shoots

Please," I whispered, "I don't want to die." Please..

tsteps. Low, guttural chuckles. The heavy breathing of p

uel eyes. One shifts mid-step into a man. He's filthy. Covered in s

ere? "A little lost Omega?" I try to push m

doesn't even have a wolf. "She's nothing." "Nothing," the thir

s. Exiled, probably. They love du

irst one lunges, grabbing my arm. His touch burns, lik

the side, stars bursting in my vision. I taste blood in my mout

s through the tr

igure. Fast.

flying backward, slamming into

s sends him gasping to the ground. The first rogue, the on

y the throat. The moon

e. Only his eyes are visible...icy, sharp, cold. He squeezes the rogue'

oesn't get back up. The other two scrambles into the forest, yelpi

ed man turns to me. I shrink back

els slowly, hands raised. "I won't hurt y

f you stay here." I try to sit up. My ankle screams again. I collaps

you?" He doesn't answer. Instead, he pu

ps into me like a drug. I'm shiverin

walk,"

e I weigh nothing. His arms are warm, steady. My

start to close. He doesn't answer again. But before I pass out, I feel something strange. His h

ing fire. I'm wrapped in thick blankets. There's a roof abov

l aches, but I'm not bleeding anymore. I sit up too fast and wi

iful. Sharp cheekbones. Jet-black hair. A scar across

s, folding his arms. "

" "I live here. Off-grid. No pack." "A rogue?"

ecognize. A map of the Wildlands marked with red ink. "Why did you save me?" I as

" he says quietly. "Not in these woods." Not with that mark on your soul." "W

are creatures out there that feed on that kind of pain." My heart races.

then?" He looked at me. "Then we see what t

arp. The cabin door slams open. A tall figure

." "Hunting something." The masked stranger grabs

is in my throat. What if they're looking for me? Wh

but a tiny thread still lingers, burning like fire in my

ween the trees. The masked man is already gone, vanished into the dark like he was never th

injured foot. Then another Be

her man stands ther

t wrong. Wrong in a way that makes my instincts scream. "W

e rejection," he whispers. "It tastes like honey and rot." I stumbled back, my heart raci

t the end of it...burning faintly with moon magic

isses. "But now?" He lunges forward, wrappin