Chapter 2 — Between Death and the Wild
1290 Words
“Wake up.”
The voice was distant. Harsh. Male.
“Hey” A hand slapped my cheek lightly. “Don’t die here, stranger.”
I groaned. “Who…who are you?”
No answer.
I blinked against the blur. Cold rain hit my face. I was lying on wet soil. My side throbbed like fire.
“Stay still,” the voice said again. “You’re bleeding.”
“No kidding,” I rasped. “Thanks for the update.”
“Smart mouth for someone half-dead.”
“Bad manners for someone interrupting my dying moment.”
A low chuckle. “You’re funny. Stupid, but funny.”
I tried to sit up, and pain tore through my ribs. “Ah!” I hissed. “Okay, fine. Maybe I’ll just die dramatically instead.”
“Not today,” he said flatly. “Here.” Something cold pressed against my lips, a water flask. “Drink.”
I hesitated. “How do I know it’s not poisoned?”
“Because I wouldn’t waste poison on a bleeding stray.”
I took a sip. The water burned down my throat. I coughed. “Thanks, I guess.”
“Don’t thank me yet,” he muttered. “You’re trespassing.”
My head jerked up. “Trespassing?”
“On Ironfang land.” His tone shifted colder now. “And wolves who cross our borders without permission usually don’t walk back.”
My pulse spiked. “Ironfang?” I whispered. “I didn’t mean to… I didn’t even know”
“Save your breath.” He stood, his shadow tall against the stormlight. “If you can walk, do it. If not, I’ll drag you.”
“You’re awfully gentle,” I muttered, forcing my body up. “Do you talk to all dying girls like this?”
“Only the ones bleeding on my border.”
I stumbled, and he caught me by the arm, his grip firm but not cruel. His scent hit me, pine, smoke, and something electric.
“You’re shaking,” he noted.
“No,” I lied. “I’m vibrating. It’s a survival technique.”
“Right,” he said dryly. “You’re delirious.”
“I’m fine,” I protested weakly, though my knees buckled again.
He sighed. “You’re not fine.” Then, softer, almost reluctant “Hold on.”
Before I could argue, he scooped me up. Just lifted me like I weighed nothing.
“Put me down!” I yelped, pushing at his chest.
“You’d rather crawl?”
“Maybe I’d rather not be kidnapped by a random stranger.”
“Kidnapped?” he scoffed. “You’re dying, not desirable.”
“Ouch,” I muttered. “You really know how to charm a girl.”
“Save your sarcasm,” he said. “You’re losing blood fast.”
“Then stop talking and run faster,” I gritted out.
He did. His pace quickened. Trees blurred past. Rain hit his armor.
After what felt like forever, the scent of smoke reached me, wood, not fire. A camp. Voices. Wolves.
“She’s bleeding bad,” someone said as we entered a dimly lit cabin.
“Who is she?” another voice asked.
“Found her at the border,” the man carrying me said. “She’s alive, but barely.”
“She reeks of Silvermoon,” someone whispered.
My heart stopped.
The man paused. “No. There’s no crest, no scent mark. She’s wolfless.”
“Wolfless?” a woman repeated, disbelief in her tone. “Then how is she alive?”
“Good question.” He lowered me onto a cot, his face shadowed. “Keep her alive until the Alpha sees her.”
I opened my mouth. “Wait…who’s your Alpha?”
He didn’t answer. He just turned to leave.
“Hey” I croaked, reaching weakly toward him. “At least tell me your name.”
He paused by the door. “You won’t remember it by morning.”
He left.
When I woke again, everything hurt less, but my pride still stung.
A healer hovered over me, tightening fresh bandages. “You’re lucky,” she said. “Alpha Atlas doesn’t usually let strangers live.”
“Atlas?” I repeated. “That’s your Alpha?”
The woman nodded. “He’ll want to see you soon.”
“Oh, joy,” I muttered. “Can’t wait to meet the man who decides if I breathe or not.”
“Watch your mouth,” she warned. “He’s not one for jokes.”
“Neither am I lately,” I murmured.
Hours later, I heard footsteps. Heavy ones. Commanding.
He entered the room like he owned not just the place but the air in it.
Alpha Atlas.
Dark hair, golden eyes, presence like a storm. His aura hit me first, power that made my wolf stir, faintly, somewhere deep inside, but still silent.
He didn’t speak right away. Just looked at me.
I broke the silence first. “You could take a picture. It’ll last longer.”
His brow arched. “You have a mouth on you.”
“People keep saying that.”
“You were found half-dead at my border,” he said. “Explain.”
“I tripped and fell onto a dagger repeatedly,” I said, deadpan.
“Try again.”
“I was attacked,” I said simply.
“By who?”
“I didn’t see.”
“Liar.”
“I’m telling the truth!”
He leaned forward. “Your wound was clean. Professional. You’ve seen battle. Who trained you?”
I forced a smile. “You’re very observant.”
“Answer me.”
I met his eyes, steady. “I don’t remember.”
“Convenient.”
“Believe what you want,” I muttered, turning my face away.
He stepped closer, and his scent, cedar, cold steel hit me again. “You’re wolfless,” he said. “And yet you heal like one of us.”
My breath caught. “Wolfless?”
“There’s no trace of your wolf,” he said quietly. “No scent, no connection.”
The words stabbed deeper than any blade.
He studied me a moment longer, then said to the healer, “Keep her alive. I want answers.”
“Wait” I called out as he turned to leave. “You didn’t tell me what happens if you don’t get them.”
He looked over his shoulder. “Then you die.”
“Wow,” I muttered, watching him go. “Real sweetheart, that one.”
Night fell. I lay there, staring at the stone ceiling, listening to the crackle of fire outside. My body ached, but my mind spun faster.
Wolfless.
They couldn’t know. No one could.
If Ironfang found out who I truly was… the lost heir of Silvermoon, the daughter of the Luna their allies slaughtered, I’d be dead before sunrise.
“Selene,” I whispered in my head, desperate. “Please, say something.”
Nothing.
Just silence.
“I’ll survive,” I told the emptiness. “Even if I have to lie through my teeth.”
My door creaked open slightly. The healer peeked in. “You should rest.”
“I’ll rest when I know I’m safe.”
“You’re in Ironfang territory,” she said.
“Exactly.”
That night, I lay awake long after the fire died, staring into the dark. My body might have been weak but my will wasn’t.
Silvermoon was gone. My parents were gone.
But I wasn’t.
And as long as I breathed, I’d find the truth. I’d find Asher.
And I’d make him regret the night he looked me in the eye… and set my world on fire.
- Writer
