Chapter 5: Into the Unknown
1391 Words
The forest was darker than I had ever known it.
No moon tonight—just a thin sliver hidden behind thick clouds, as if the Goddess herself had turned her face away from me. Every step deeper into the trees felt like crossing an invisible line I could never uncross. Behind me lay the only home I had ever known, the Eclipse Pack territory, the life I had been born into. Ahead lay nothing but shadows, cold wind, and the vast unknown.
But I kept walking.
My small backpack dug into my shoulders, heavy with the few things I dared take: two changes of clothes, a thin blanket, the small savings I had hidden away from years of odd jobs, and the worn photo of my parents I had found in the omega quarters after they died. Everything else I left behind.
Including him.
Mateo.
Even thinking his name sent a sharp ache through my chest, the damaged mate bond twisting like a knife. I pressed a trembling hand to my stomach, where the tiniest spark of life now grew—our child. His child. A secret I would guard with everything I had.
The healer’s words still echoed in my mind.
“Eight weeks along, Camila. Strong heartbeat. You must take care of yourself—the pup will need it.”
She had looked at me with pity when I refused to name the father. Everyone in the pack would know soon enough, once my scent changed and my belly rounded. An unmated omega carrying the future Alpha’s heir? It would be scandal, shame, danger. Isabella would never allow it. The elders would demand the child be taken, raised as a proper heir while I was cast out—or worse.
I couldn’t let that happen.
So I ran.
The night air was bitter, biting through my thin jacket. My breath came in visible puffs as I navigated by memory and instinct, staying off main paths where patrols might spot me. My wolf, though weak, guided me—ears pricked for danger, nose alert for rogue scents. I had never ventured this far from pack lands alone. Omegas weren’t trained for survival. We weren’t trained for anything except service.
But I was doing this anyway.
Hours passed. My legs burned, my feet ached in the worn shoes I wore, but I didn’t stop. Every time exhaustion threatened to slow me, I thought of the tiny life inside me. I whispered promises into the darkness.
“I’ll keep you safe, little one. I’ll be strong enough for both of us. We don’t need him. We don’t need anyone.”
The lie tasted bitter, but I repeated it anyway.
By the time the sky began to pale with pre-dawn gray, I had reached the neutral lands—a stretch of wilderness between pack territories where rogues and loners sometimes roamed. It was dangerous, but it was also the fastest way to the human towns beyond. If I could reach one, blend in, start over… maybe we could disappear.
I found a small stream and knelt to drink, the icy water shocking against my dry throat. My reflection stared back at me from the rippling surface—pale face, dark circles under red-rimmed eyes, hair tangled and wild. I looked like a ghost.
But I was alive. And so was my baby.
I allowed myself only a few minutes’ rest before pushing on. The sun rose fully as I crested a hill, revealing a distant highway glinting through the trees. Civilization. Safety, maybe.
Hope flickered weakly in my chest.
That’s when I heard it—a low growl behind me.
I froze.
Slowly, I turned.
Three wolves emerged from the underbrush—large, scarred, eyes glowing with feral hunger. Rogues. Their fur was matted, ribs visible beneath thin hides. They had no pack scent, only the wild, desperate smell of outcasts.
My heart slammed against my ribs. I was alone, untrained, pregnant. I couldn’t shift fast enough to outrun them, and even if I could, my wolf was too weak to fight.
The largest one—a gray brute with a missing ear—stepped forward, lips peeling back from yellowed fangs.
I backed away slowly, hands raised. “I don’t want trouble. I’m just passing through.”
A guttural snarl answered. They fanned out, circling.
Panic surged. I clutched my backpack straps, mind racing for any escape. The stream was behind me—too wide to cross quickly. Trees too thick to climb fast enough.
The gray rogue lunged.
I screamed, stumbling backward and falling hard on the rocky ground. Pain shot through my hip, but I scrambled desperately, trying to put distance between us.
The other two advanced.
This was it. This was how it ended—torn apart in neutral lands, my baby never drawing breath.
I curled protectively over my stomach, tears blurring my vision. “Please,” I whispered. “Not my baby.”
A thunderous roar split the air.
The rogues froze.
From the ridge above, a massive black wolf exploded into view—larger than any I had ever seen, fur gleaming like midnight, golden eyes blazing with fury. It landed between me and the rogues with earth-shaking force, hackles raised, teeth bared in a snarl that made the ground itself seem to tremble.
Mateo.
Even in wolf form, I knew him instantly. Rex—his wolf—was unmistakable.
The rogues whimpered, lowering their heads in submission before turning tail and fleeing into the forest.
I stayed frozen on the ground, breathing ragged, staring up at the enormous black wolf as he turned to me.
His golden eyes softened as they met mine. He shifted in a blur of dark mist, rising to human form—naked, magnificent, chest heaving with barely contained rage.
“Camila,” he said, voice hoarse.
I scrambled to my feet, backing away. “Stay away from me.”
He stopped, hands raised. “You’re hurt.”
“I’m fine.” My voice cracked. I wasn’t fine. I was terrified, exhausted, heartbroken.
His gaze swept over me—taking in the dirt, the torn jacket, the backpack. Realization dawned.
“You’re leaving.” It wasn’t a question.
I lifted my chin, fighting tears. “Yes.”
“Because of last night? Because I—”
“Because of everything,” I cut in. “The rejection. The humiliation. The way you looked at me this morning like I was a mistake you couldn’t wait to forget.”
Pain flashed across his face. “I was trying to protect you.”
“By breaking me?” I laughed bitterly. “You succeeded.”
He took a step closer. I took another back.
“I smelled your fear from miles away,” he said quietly. “I came as fast as I could.”
“I didn’t ask you to.”
“But I came anyway.” His voice was raw. “Because even if I rejected the bond… I can’t let anything happen to you.”
I wrapped my arms around myself, protecting the secret I carried. “You don’t get to decide that anymore. You made your choice. Isabella. The pack. Strength.”
“Camila—”
“No.” I shook my head. “I’m done being weak. I’m done waiting for someone to choose me. I choose myself now. And I’m leaving.”
He looked like I’d struck him.
For a long moment, we stood in silence, the wind whispering through the trees between us.
Finally, he spoke, voice barely above a whisper. “Where will you go?”
“Somewhere you’ll never find me.”
I turned and walked away, legs shaking but refusing to falter.
He didn’t follow.
I didn’t look back.
By nightfall, I reached a small human town. I found a cheap motel, paid cash for a week, and collapsed onto the lumpy bed.
Only then, in the quiet darkness, did I let myself cry again.
But they weren’t just tears of pain anymore.
They were tears of resolve.
I placed a hand on my still-flat stomach.
“We’re going to be okay, little one,” I whispered. “I promise.”
Outside, the wind howled like a wolf in mourning.
But inside, something new was growing—strength I never knew I had.
- Writer
