The Rising of the Moonbrone

Chapter 3: The Beacon for Survival

Eventually, the wolves moved on, growling in annoyance as they slipped into the concealing scrub. Ryker finally dropped me, face hard, and I’d gasped out shaky in my trembling breaths.

“We don’t have a great deal of time,” he said shortly. “They’ll circle back.”

“Appreciate the warning,” I said, still wheezing. I wanted to rip his head off for being so cold, but he had just saved my life — again. Instead I skulked behind as he charged away, dashing easily through the trees as if he had done it his whole life.

We climbed up into the hills, the ground increased its slope, and the air grew thicker. The night hung without end, the stars vanished behind swollen clouds. Or I had, but there was silence from Ryker, and my patience thinned as every second passed.

“Are you ever going to tell me what the f**k is going on?” I blurted out. “Why are you helping me?”

Ryker slowed his steps and craned his neck to glance back at me, trepidation shining in his eyes. “You would not believe it if I told you.”

“Try me.”

For a moment, he hesitated. Then he sighed, flinging his dark hair back with his fingers. “Let’s just say you weren’t the only one who got f****d over by the pack. I have my reasons for wanting you to live.”

“Not an answer” I snapped back, full-on frustrated. “What reasons?”

Ryker’s gaze darkened. “You look like you are doing just fine but you’are also very inquisitive.”

His words stung, but I would not recoil. “I have a right to know what I’m walking into.”

Ryker didn’t answer immediately. He pivoted instead, walked on, his shoulders tense. “You’ll know soon enough.”

Just before dawn, we reached a small clearing. The rocks slid apart to form a narrow cave, cloaked in the thick vines. Ryker pushed them aside and signaled for me to follow.

Inside, the cave was cool and dry, its walls covered with long streaks of thin scratches that might have been claw marks. Ryker rummaged through a supply cache in one corner a heap of blankets, some jerky and a few battered weapons.

“Eat,” he told me, tossing me a piece of meat. “If you go down, you can’t help anybody.”

I had observed it, gazing at him suspiciously. “Who else is here?”

“No one,” Ryker said tersely. “Just me. This way is off their radar for now.’

With reluctance, I bit into the meat hunger won over distrust. We were quiet, the silence thick with so many questions neither of us was willing to ask. And finally, I just, I could not hold myself back anymore.

“What is your connection to the pack?” I asked. “Why do they hate you?”

Ryker froze, his jaw tightening. For a long beat, I didn’t think he was going to respond. Then he turned and looked at me, his amber eyes brewing a storm of emotions I couldn’t interpret.

“Let’s just say that the pack does not appreciate wolves who think or act independently,” he said bitterly. “And I was naive enough to believe I could challenge them.”

I furrowed my brow, sensing there was more to the story. “What did they do to you?”

Ryker’s expression hardened. “That’s not your business.”

His observations were sharp, but I didn’t push him further. The exhaustion of the night gremlins began to finally kick in and I sat pressed against the wall of the cave, wrapped in a blanket. Even while symptoms concerned me, sleep beckoned, my body pleading for a break after the ordeal.

My eyelids fluttered closed, but a singular thought remained: Ryker could be my best chance in this battle, but he possessed secrets — and I had to find out what they were before it was too late.

I don’t know how long it was until I awoke to dim dawn light filtering through the mouth of the cave. Ryker sat close to the entrance, his profile shadowed by the dim light. He had a stiff posture, and his head was c****d as if he were hearing something I wasn’t.

“You’re awake,” he said, not looking back.

My muscles taut, I slowly sat up. “Barely. What’s the plan now?”

Ryker looked over at me, his expression unreadable. “The plan is simple. Stay alive. Which means you listen to what I say and quit asking a million questions.”

I crossed my arms and held his eyes. “I owe you to my life, but I’m not some pathetic little puppy. I can handle myself.”

A flicker of amusement crossed his face, only to vanish as soon as it had appeared. “Is that so? Because judging from what I saw last night, you’re definitely not winning any survival awards.”

My cheeks warmed but I wouldn’t give up. “You know nothing about me.”

“Maybe you will,” he said, getting up. “But I know enough to stay alive for the both of us. “And if you want to be out of this mess, you will do what I say.”

Before I could protest, he grabbed a small pouch and flung it over his shoulder. “We leave in ten minutes. If you haven’t my friend, eat something. We have a long day ahead.”

I kicked my legs while shooting daggers at his back as he exited the cave. “Bossy much?” I muttered under my breath. But as much as it pained me to admit, he was right. For the moment, survival became playing along. But whatever their motives for aiding me Ryker’s were his own, though I’d learn soon what they were I could not protest.

As the day from the drifted, we inched carefully, the forest a ban all wilderness of shades and light. Ryker would pause every now and then, his head c****d as though he could hear things that I couldn’t. At one point he had raised a hand to silence me, his body so stiff that it felt he had turned to marble, too.

“What is it?” I whispered.

At first he didn’t answer, his eyes skipping between the trees. Then he suddenly waved to me to follow him. “SHUT UP,” he hissed, threateningly. “We’re not alone.”

We got moving fast, Ryker taking us into deeper shadows. A heaviness hung in the silence, and my heart beat against my ribs. Then out of the silence came a growl, low and dangerous. This wasn’t a patrol wolf it was a larger creature. Something was definitely wrong.