Chapter 12 Part 2
1037 Words
Ivy’s POV)
River lifted her head, her ears twitching as the wind shifted around us.
“They’re close,” she warned.
My newfound senses exploded to life.
I could smell damp earth, fresh pine, and the faint scent of deer somewhere off to our left.
Then another scent reached me.
One I’d prayed I’d never smell again.
Jace.
It was stronger than the others.
He wasn’t just searching.
He was leading the hunt.
“Run,” River said calmly.
We took off.
The forest became a blur around us.
Logs that would’ve stopped me before were nothing more than hurdles River leaped over with effortless grace.
We weaved between towering pines, ducked beneath fallen branches, and splashed through a shallow creek.
The icy water barely registered.
Everything felt…
Natural.
Like I’d been born to do this.
Wind rushed through our fur.
For the first time in eight years…
No one was telling me where to go.
No one was shouting my name.
No one held a leash around my neck.
I was free.
River’s joy washed over me through our bond.
“Faster.”
I didn’t know if it was me or her anymore.
Our movements blended together until it felt like we shared the same heartbeat.
The same thoughts.
The same purpose.
Freedom.
A howl ripped through the forest behind us.
Closer.
Much closer.
River’s ears flattened.
“He’s gaining.”
Fear twisted inside my chest.
“What do we do?”
“Trust me.”
River suddenly veered left.
We darted down a steep embankment before disappearing into a narrow ravine.
A creek rushed between the rocks below.
“The water.”
Understanding clicked instantly.
We splashed into the icy current and followed it downstream.
The rushing water washed away our scent.
For several minutes, neither of us slowed.
Finally, River brought us to a stop beneath the roots of an enormous fallen oak.
The opening beneath it was barely large enough for us to squeeze inside.
We curled against the cool earth, both of us breathing heavily.
Outside…
Silence.
I listened carefully.
Nothing.
No footsteps.
No voices.
No howls.
Only the sound of water flowing over smooth stones.
“We…”
I swallowed hard.
“We lost them.”
River let out a soft, satisfied huff.
“For now.”
I rested my head against my paws.
The adrenaline slowly faded, replaced by exhaustion unlike anything I’d ever experienced.
Everything hurt.
Every muscle.
Every bone.
Even breathing felt difficult.
“That’s normal,” River said gently.
“Your first shift takes everything you’ve got.”
“I don’t think I can move.”
“Then don’t.”
For a long moment, neither of us spoke.
I simply listened to the steady rhythm of River’s breathing beside my own.
It was comforting.
Peaceful.
Something I’d never experienced before.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
River’s warmth brushed against my mind.
“You never have to thank me.”
“I do.”
Tears filled my emerald eyes.
“You saved me.”
“No.”
Her voice softened.
“We saved each other.”
I closed my eyes.
For the first time in eight years…
Sleep didn’t frighten me.
Because I knew I wasn’t alone anymore.
(Jace’s POV)
“Report!” I barked.
The warriors surrounding me immediately stopped searching.
One by one, they lowered their heads.
“We lost her scent, Alpha,” one admitted.
Another stepped forward.
“The trail ends near the creek.”
I clenched my fists.
“No.”
That wasn’t possible.
Eight years.
I’d spent eight years making sure Ivy never escaped.
She was weak.
Broken.
Terrified.
She shouldn’t have made it half a mile.
Yet somehow…
She’d vanished.
My wolf stirred uneasily.
“She changed.”
“I know she changed.”
“No…”
He paused.
“She became something more.”
A growl rumbled deep in my chest.
A younger warrior jogged toward me, breathing hard.
“Alpha!”
“What?”
“I saw her.”
Every muscle in my body tensed.
“Where?”
“I only caught a glimpse before she disappeared.”
“What did you see?” I demanded.
His eyes widened as if he still couldn’t believe it.
“A wolf.”
I stared at him.
He swallowed.
“She shifted.”
Silence consumed the forest.
Even the wind seemed to stop.
Impossible.
Ivy was only nineteen.
No wolf awakened before twenty.
No one.
Another warrior nodded.
“I saw her too.”
“What did she look like?” I asked quietly.
He frowned as if searching for the right words.
“I’ve… never seen anything like it.”
My pulse quickened.
“Explain.”
“She wasn’t black.”
He shook his head.
“She wasn’t gray either.”
“There was silver…”
He hesitated.
“…like moonlight across her fur.”
My heart slammed against my ribs.
Silver.
The old stories.
The legends.
I’d spent years convincing myself they were exaggerated.
That the Silver Moon bloodline was simply stronger than most.
Not different.
Not… blessed.
I was wrong.
Very wrong.
A slow smile spread across my face.
“So the legends were true.”
My warriors exchanged uneasy glances.
None of them understood.
Not yet.
But I did.
Ivy Black hadn’t just awakened early.
She had done something no werewolf in recorded history should’ve been able to do.
She was extraordinary.
And extraordinary things…
Belonged to those strong enough to claim them.
I turned toward the endless stretch of forest where she’d disappeared.
“You can run today, Ivy Black,” I said quietly.
The breeze carried my words into the trees.
“But every trail has an end.”
My smile widened.
“I waited eight years for your power to awaken.”
“I’ll wait a little longer if I have to.”
I looked into the darkness ahead, already planning my next move.
“When I find you again…”
“I’ll make sure the world never takes you from me.”
Somewhere deep in the forest, another distant howl answered.
This time…
It almost sounded like a challenge.
And for the first time in years…
I smiled.
The hunt had finally begun.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD