Chapter 13
1115 Words
River curled up in a ball beneath the shelter of the fallen oak, both of us breathing hard. The cold earth beneath us felt surprisingly comforting after running for what felt like hours.
Neither of us spoke.
For the first time since escaping the hospital…
We had a moment to breathe.
My muscles screamed in protest, and exhaustion weighed heavily on my body.
“I don’t think I can run much farther,” I admitted quietly.
“You can,” River replied. “You just don’t know it yet.”
I let out a shaky breath and rested my head against the inside of the log.
The silence only lasted a few seconds.
River’s ears suddenly shot forward.
Every muscle in her body tensed.
Her nose lifted into the air.
“Someone’s coming.”
My heart lurched.
“Jace?”
She sniffed again.
“No…”
Another deep inhale.
“Several wolves.”
Fear clawed at my chest.
“They found us?”
River slowly stood, her emerald eyes narrowing toward the trees.
“One scent belongs to Jace.”
My stomach dropped.
“The other…” she murmured. “It’s Kolton.”
Jace’s Beta.
“We have to go,” I whispered.
“Now.”
We slipped out from beneath the fallen log as quietly as we could.
Snow crunched beneath my paws.
River guided every step like she had lived this escape a thousand times before.
“Faster,” she urged.
“I’m trying,” I gasped.
“No.”
Her voice was calm.
“You’re surviving.”
That word hit harder than anything.
Surviving.
Not dying.
Not giving up.
Surviving.
Paws thundered against the frozen ground behind us.
Too close.
Jace’s wolf.
I could feel him.
Like a shadow tearing through the forest.
He wasn’t just angry.
He was hunting.
A howl echoed through the trees.
Long.
Powerful.
Possessive.
My stomach twisted.
“Don’t answer him,” River snapped.
“I wasn’t going to,” I shot back.
Branches whipped across my face as we darted between towering pines.
Snow sprayed beneath our paws.
The forest suddenly opened into a wide clearing covered in untouched white.
Mist hovered just above the ground.
Then—
CRACK!
A branch snapped.
I skidded to a stop.
Too late.
A massive dark brown wolf stepped from between the trees, his golden eyes locking onto mine.
Kolton.
Jace’s Beta.
He stood broad and muscular, blocking the only clear path forward.
A low growl rumbled from his chest.
“Well… well…”
His voice echoed through the mind-link all wolves shared in their shifted forms.
“Look what escaped.”
Every instinct screamed at me to run.
I slowly backed away.
River’s voice dropped to a whisper.
“We fight… or we run?”
My breathing became uneven.
“I can’t fight both of them.”
Behind us…
Jace’s scent grew stronger.
He was almost here.
My chest tightened.
I looked directly into Kolton’s honey-colored eyes.
My heart sank.
This was it.
After everything…
After finally tasting freedom…
I was going back.
“Ivy.”
River’s voice cut through my panic.
“Let me take full control.”
I blinked.
“What?”
“Trust me.”
I didn’t hesitate.
“If you say so.”
I let go.
Instead of fighting for control, I leaned into our bond and let River take over completely.
A strange surge of energy rushed through us.
Confidence.
Instinct.
Purpose.
River lowered her body.
A deep growl vibrated through our chest.
Kolton crouched, preparing for the impact.
River exploded forward.
Snow flew behind us.
Straight at him.
Five feet.
Four.
Three.
Kolton lunged.
At the very last second—
River twisted sharply to the left.
Kolton’s massive paw sliced through empty air.
He stumbled just enough.
It was all River needed.
She darted around him with impossible speed and shot back into the trees.
Behind us, an angry snarl shook the forest.
“GET HER!” Jace roared.
Both wolves spun around and gave chase.
River didn’t look back.
She simply ran.
Fast.
Fearlessly.
Determined to keep us alive.
River didn’t slow down.
Not when the snow became deeper.
Not when our muscles started burning.
Not when every part of my body begged for rest.
She kept running.
Because stopping meant going back.
And River knew better than anyone…
We couldn’t go back.
Behind us, the sound of paws hitting the frozen ground grew louder.
They were still chasing us.
Jace.
Kolton.
The pack.
They weren’t giving up.
“They’re close,” I warned.
“I know.”
River’s voice remained steady.
Too steady.
“But they don’t understand what they’re chasing.”
I didn’t know what she meant.
Before I could ask, River suddenly changed direction.
She cut through a narrow path between the trees, moving faster than I thought possible.
The forest blurred around us.
Snow flew behind us with every step.
Then suddenly—
Nothing.
No paws.
No howls.
No voices.
Just silence.
River slowed slightly.
“Wait.”
I felt her confusion.
“What?”
“Something changed.”
Behind us…
The chase stopped.
Not because we were too far ahead.
Not because they lost our scent.
Something else happened.
(Kolton’s POV)
I slammed my paws into the snow, coming to an abrupt stop.
Jace nearly collided with me.
“What are you doing?” he demanded.
I ignored him.
My eyes stayed locked on the forest ahead.
The rest of the pack slowly caught up, their breathing heavy from the chase.
Something felt wrong.
The wolf we were tracking…
It wasn’t normal.
I had been around thousands of wolves in my lifetime.
I knew strength.
I knew power.
I knew fear.
But that wolf?
That wolf was something different.
Jace stepped beside me.
“Where is she?”
I didn’t answer.
Because I didn’t know.
The trail was still there.
But something about it made my instincts scream.
“Kolton.”
Jace’s voice sharpened.
“Answer me.”
I finally looked at him.
“She isn’t what we thought.”
His eyes narrowed.
“What does that mean?”
I stared into the trees.
“The wolf we are chasing…”
I paused.
“She’s not weak.”
Silence fell over the pack.
Jace’s jaw tightened.
“She’s just a wolf.”
No.
She wasn’t.
I knew it.
Every instinct inside me knew it.
The way she moved.
The way she escaped.
The way she controlled the fight instead of attacking blindly.
That wasn’t a scared animal.
That was something trained by survival.
Jace stepped forward.
“Find her.”
"We can't cross over the border to the Ironwood pack."
"That's an automatic death sentence." I growled.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD