CHAPTER SIX:Exiled By Dawn
783 Words
The first stone had hurt.
The second broke something far deeper.
Lyra didn't remember when she started running.
One moment, she was standing in the center of the village she had called home for twenty-three years.
The next, she was sprinting through the muddy streets as voices rose behind her.
"Don't let her escape!"
"She's the reason the wolves came!"
"She's cursed!"
Tears blurred her vision.
She had healed their sick.
Gathered herbs for their fevers.
Helped rebuild homes after storms.
None of it mattered anymore.
Fear had erased every act of kindness.
Old Mara caught up to her just beyond the village gate.
"Don't stop!" the old healer shouted.
"They won't listen!"
Lyra slowed.
"I can't leave you!"
Old Mara grabbed both of her shoulders.
"You have to."
The old woman's eyes glistened with tears.
"I promised your mother I'd keep you alive."
Lyra's heart clenched.
"My mother..."
Old Mara reached beneath her cloak and pulled out a worn leather pouch.
She pressed it into Lyra's trembling hands.
"This belonged to her."
Inside was a silver pendant shaped like a crescent moon.
Its surface was scratched with symbols Lyra couldn't read.
"There wasn't time to explain before."
Old Mara's voice shook.
"Your mother said if the mark ever awakened, I was to give you this."
"What does it mean?"
"I don't know."
"But she believed it would lead you to the truth."
The angry mob was getting closer.
Torches flickered through the darkness.
Old Mara gently cupped Lyra's face.
"Go north."
Lyra stared at her.
"The mark is pointing you somewhere."
"Trust it."
Before Lyra could answer, Old Mara pushed her toward the forest.
"Run!"
Lyra hesitated only a heartbeat.
Then she disappeared among the trees.
She never saw the villagers surround Old Mara.
She never heard the old healer tell them the greatest lie of her life.
"The girl is gone forever."
---
Three days from the village...
Kael rode at the front of twenty elite warriors.
Their black horses thundered across the mountain trails beneath the fading moon.
Captain Ronan urged his horse closer.
"We should wait for reinforcements."
Kael kept his eyes ahead.
"Every hour we waste increases the chance of losing her."
"We don't even know who she is."
Kael tightened his grip on the reins.
"My wolf does."
Ronan had served the royal family for thirty years.
He had never seen Kael like this.
Focused.
Determined.
Yet strangely... anxious.
"My prince," Ronan said quietly, "what if she doesn't want to be found?"
Kael answered without looking at him.
"Then I will leave."
The captain blinked.
"You'd walk away from your fated mate?"
"If protecting her means letting her choose her own path..."
Kael's expression remained calm.
"...then that's what I'll do."
Ronan smiled to himself.
The kingdom had chosen the right future Alpha.
---
Meanwhile...
The Hollow King's hunters were already moving.
Six rogue wolves raced silently through the forest.
Their leader, Varek, stopped beside a broken branch.
He lowered his nose.
"The scent is fresh."
A female rogue stepped beside him.
"How close?"
Varek smiled.
"Close enough to hear her heartbeat."
---
Lyra hadn't eaten since morning.
Her legs ached.
Every step grew heavier.
She finally reached a narrow river and knelt to drink.
The icy water soothed her throat.
For a brief moment...
Everything was quiet.
Then...
Crunch.
A twig snapped behind her.
Lyra froze.
Another.
Then another.
Slowly, she turned.
A hooded figure stood across the river.
His face was hidden beneath a dark cloak.
He carried no weapon.
He made no move toward her.
Instead...
He bowed.
"My Lady."
Lyra stared at him.
"I think you've mistaken me for someone else."
The stranger slowly raised his head.
"I assure you..."
"I have not."
Before she could reply—
An arrow whistled through the air.
It buried itself in the man's chest.
Lyra gasped.
The hooded stranger looked down at the arrow... then calmly pulled it free.
No blood.
No wound.
Only black smoke escaped the hole before it sealed shut.
His voice lost all warmth.
"They found us."
A chorus of savage howls erupted from the trees.
Rogue wolves burst from the shadows, surrounding the riverbank.
Varek stepped forward, his amber eyes fixed on Lyra.
"There you are."
The hooded man sighed.
"I was hoping we'd have a few more minutes."
He reached beneath his cloak...
...and drew a sword forged from silver light itself.
"You should run," he told Lyra.
"What about you?"
For the first time, she saw him smile.
"I've been waiting a thousand years for this fight."
The first rogue lunged.
The stranger met it with a single swing.
Silver light flashed through the darkness.
The battle had begun.
- Writer
