Chapter Three: Lost in the Wild
1377 Words
The first thing I noticed the next morning was how quiet it was.
Not empty quiet. Safe quiet.
The kind of silence that wrapped around you like a blanket, protecting you from everything outside. The fire had died down to a soft glow, and the soft rustle of wind brushed against the wooden cabin.
For a moment, I let myself pretend everything was normal.
That I wasn’t a runaway Omega. That I wasn’t carrying the Alpha’s twins. That I hadn’t almost died in the woods just days ago.
But the moment faded quickly.
Reality always found a way to crawl back in.
I sat up slowly, wincing as a dull ache moved through my lower back. Elias had left a tray beside the bed — toast, a mug of warm tea, and a small bowl of herbs.
The note tucked beneath it read:
“Eat everything. You and the pups need strength. —E”
I couldn’t help the small smile that crept onto my lips.
He didn’t know me. But he’d saved me. Protected me. Treated me like I mattered.
No one had done that in a long time.
⸻
Elias returned not long after, brushing snow from his shoulders as he stepped inside.
“You’re up,” he said, setting a bag of firewood down near the hearth.
“I’m sorry,” I murmured. “For… all of this.”
“For being attacked?” he raised an eyebrow. “You’ve got nothing to apologize for.”
I looked down, wrapping my arms around my growing belly. “I’m a runaway. From a pack that would probably hunt me if they knew where I was. You’re risking a lot by helping me.”
Elias knelt by the fire, feeding it a few logs before glancing back.
“I don’t care about the politics,” he said. “I care about doing what’s right. And right now, you need someone in your corner.”
I didn’t know what to say to that.
For years, I had been surrounded by people who only saw my worth when it served them — when I was cleaning their floors or healing their wounds. No one ever just… stood up for me.
No one, except Damon.
At least, not until he broke me.
⸻
“Was it your mate?” Elias asked gently, as he stirred something into the pot over the fire. “The father of the babies?”
I hesitated.
The word “mate” felt heavy now. Like it didn’t belong to me anymore.
“Yes,” I said finally. “He was my mate. Is, I guess. But he chose someone else.”
Elias looked up, but didn’t push.
I swallowed hard. “He’s Alpha of Crescent Moon. He claimed me, marked me in secret, then announced his engagement to my stepsister. I found out I was pregnant two weeks later.”
Elias was silent for a moment. Then he said quietly, “You don’t deserve that.”
A lump formed in my throat. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do now. I can’t go back. If they find out I’m carrying the Alpha’s heirs…”
“They won’t,” he cut in. “Not while you’re under my roof.”
His voice was firm, unshakable.
“You’re safe here.”
⸻
For the next few days, I stayed hidden inside the cabin while Elias came and went, gathering food, herbs, and firewood. I helped where I could — preparing meals, organizing the jars, even stitching a few torn curtains with some old thread I found in the storage chest.
It felt good to move, to have something to focus on besides fear.
But my body was changing faster than I expected.
My stomach was swelling, my joints aching. The twins were growing fast — faster than normal, Elias said.
Probably because of their bloodline.
Alpha-blooded twins with a Luna mother? Of course they’d be strong.
Still, I hadn’t even shifted yet. My wolf had never awakened.
I wondered if that made me weaker — or if the Moon Goddess had something else planned for me.
⸻
One afternoon, Elias returned with tension in his shoulders.
“Rogues are circling closer,” he said, his jaw tight. “They’re not organized, but they’re hungry. Desperate.”
Fear prickled through me. “You think they’re looking for me?”
“I think they’re looking for anything vulnerable. Which means we need to move — soon.”
“Move?” I echoed. “But I… I’m not sure I can. I’ve barely gotten used to this place.”
“You won’t be alone,” he said. “But this cabin isn’t safe anymore. Not if they catch your scent.”
I sat quietly for a long moment, then nodded.
He was right. As much as I hated it, running had become a part of me. A habit. A need for survival.
So we packed.
Only the essentials — herbs, clothes, blankets, and food. Elias had a second cabin deeper in the woods, protected by spell runes and hidden paths. He said it would take half a day’s walk to reach it.
We waited until sunset to move, hoping the night would cover our trail.
⸻
The snow was thicker now. It crunched beneath our boots as we moved quickly through the underbrush, Elias leading with a sharp blade in one hand and a lantern in the other.
I followed close behind, one hand on my belly, the other clutching a small satchel.
At first, everything was fine.
But halfway through the journey, the pain started.
It wasn’t sharp — not at first — more like a pressure building in my lower back, creeping into my stomach like a tightening rope.
I paused.
“Elias…”
He turned immediately. “What is it?”
“I don’t know,” I whispered. “I think… I think something’s wrong.”
He rushed to my side. “Can you walk?”
I nodded, but it was a lie. I took two steps and collapsed to my knees.
Pain exploded through me.
This time it was sharp.
Burning.
Like my insides were tearing apart.
My vision blurred as I gasped for air. “The babies… something’s wrong…”
Elias dropped beside me, checking my pulse, my belly, my breathing.
“No bleeding,” he muttered. “But your body’s in stress. We need shelter. Now.”
He picked me up like I weighed nothing and began moving faster, weaving through trees until we reached a narrow path lined with glowing stones.
“Just a little more,” he whispered.
The last thing I remembered before blacking out was the sound of a heavy door creaking open — and Elias shouting for help.
⸻
When I woke again, I was in a different room.
This one was warmer. Softer.
A small fire crackled beside me. Herbs hung from the ceiling. The scent of mint and lavender filled the air.
And there was a soft, rhythmic sound.
Thump-thump. Thump-thump.
I blinked and looked down.
Two tiny heartbeats echoed from the monitor beside the bed.
The babies.
They were okay.
Relief crashed into me so hard I almost cried.
“You scared the hell out of me,” Elias said from the doorway.
I turned my head weakly. “Are they…?”
“They’re fine,” he said. “But you’re on edge. Your body’s under too much strain. You can’t keep running like this, Serena. It’s going to kill you.”
I nodded slowly. I knew he was right.
But what choice did I have?
If I stopped moving, they’d find me.
⸻
That night, I lay awake staring at the wooden ceiling.
My thoughts kept drifting back to Damon.
Did he care that I was gone?
Did he even notice?
Did he think I was trying to hurt him? Embarrass him?
Would he come after me?
A part of me hoped he would.
But the other part — the part that had felt his rejection like a knife in the chest — prayed he never found me.
Because if he did… I didn’t know if I’d be strong enough to walk away again.
And I had two lives to protect now.
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