CHAPTER 15
1083 Words
THE PRICE OF FREEDOM
The first thing I learned about freedom was that it was cold.
The second was that it was lonely.
The third was that nobody warned you how much survival hurt.
I woke before dawn with my back against a tree and a knife clutched in my hand.
For several seconds, I didn't know where I was.
Then I remembered.
The forest.
The hunters.
Darian.
Riven.
The Moon Council.
Cassian.
My hand went instinctively to my chest.
The pain from the rejection had changed.
It was no longer a constant wound.
Now it was a scar that occasionally remembered how it had been made.
I looked around.
Darian was gone.
Riven was gone too.
For one terrifying moment, I thought they'd abandoned me.
Then I noticed the footprints.
Darian's boots.
They led toward the stream.
I followed them.
I found him kneeling beside the water, washing blood from his hands.
He looked up.
"You're awake."
"Where's Riven?"
"Scouting."
"Without telling me?"
"He doesn't tell anyone anything."
That sounded fair.
I crouched beside the stream.
The water was clear enough for me to see my reflection.
I barely recognized myself.
My hair was tangled.
There were scratches across my cheek.
My dress was torn.
The woman who had entered the Moon Hall wearing borrowed silk seemed like someone from another lifetime.
Darian studied me.
"You can't keep wearing that."
I looked down.
"What's wrong with it?"
"You're freezing."
"I'm fine."
"You say that too often."
I looked at him.
"And you give orders too often."
His mouth twitched.
Almost a smile.
Almost.
He reached into his bag and pulled out a dark cloak.
"Put this on."
I stared at it.
"You carry spare clothes?"
"I travel."
"Convenient."
He held it out.
I took it.
The fabric was warm.
And it smelled faintly like cedar.
I wrapped it around myself.
"Thank you."
He nodded.
Neither of us spoke.
Then I noticed the blood on his hand.
"You're injured."
"It's nothing."
I grabbed his wrist.
He stiffened.
The contact sent a strange pulse through my body.
His eyes met mine.
For one second, neither of us moved.
Then I saw it.
A faint silver line.
It appeared between our hands.
Darian immediately pulled away.
My heart hammered.
"What was that?"
"Nothing."
"Darian."
"Nothing."
I stood.
"Don't lie to me."
His expression hardened.
"You don't know what you're seeing."
"Then tell me."
He looked toward the forest.
"The Moon chose you."
"Yes."
"That doesn't mean every supernatural reaction around you is a mate bond."
I swallowed.
"But something happened."
"Yes."
"What?"
He finally looked at me.
"Your blood is reacting to mine."
I frowned.
"Why?"
"I don't know."
He was lying.
I could feel it.
Before I could press him, a howl echoed through the forest.
Darian immediately stood.
His hand went to his weapon.
"Stay behind me."
I sighed.
"Of course."
He glanced at me.
"Lyra."
"I know."
We moved through the trees.
The howl came again.
Closer.
Then a voice emerged from the darkness.
"Lyra."
I froze.
I knew that voice.
Cassian.
My heart betrayed me before my mind could stop it.
Darian moved in front of me.
Cassian stepped into the clearing.
His black coat was soaked from the rain.
His eyes found mine.
And for the first time since rejecting me—
he looked afraid.
Not of me.
For me.
"Come back," he said.
I stared at him.
"Why?"
He took a step forward.
"Because they're going to kill you."
I laughed bitterly.
"They already tried."
His face tightened.
"I know."
"Then why did you let them?"
He had no answer.
And somehow, that answer hurt more than anything.
Cassian looked at Darian.
"Move."
Darian didn't.
"That's an order."
"No."
Cassian's eyes narrowed.
"What did you say?"
Darian's voice remained calm.
"I said no."
The Alpha's wolf growled.
Darian's eyes flashed silver.
For a moment, the forest seemed to hold its breath.
Then I stepped between them.
"I'm not going back."
Cassian looked at me.
"Lyra."
"No."
I tightened the cloak around myself.
"You rejected me."
His jaw tightened.
"I know."
"You sent me away."
"I know."
"You don't get to decide where I go now."
His expression cracked.
Just slightly.
Then I walked past him.
I didn't look back.
But I heard his voice behind me.
"I regret it."
I stopped.
Only for a heartbeat.
Then I kept walking.
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