The Lycan’s Witch Luna

Twelve

Lila

The dry leaves crunched under my feet as I approached the cave. Sunset was here which meant nightfall was close. I didn’t want to be caught outside like last time. It was better to be safe than sorry. I learned that from my previous night outside.

The cave reeked of dirt and urine, but I was pleased to have shelter under my head. I had nowhere left to go. But it was better than being in a pack surrounded by my enemies.

Kaiden and his men were going to turn on us once they found out who we really were, and I wasn’t ready for that. They were going to murder us the same way they had done my aunt and the rest of my people.

The little fire I started was burning out. I was lucky to have a fire. I had never lived out on my own. This was the first, and I hoped that it would be the last. Tomorrow, I was going to find another witch coven that was going to take me in.

Aunt Greta had never mentioned another coven still being alive. We were extinct but if my village had been there for so many years, then there was definitely another one somewhere. The problem was whether I was going to find it before I died.

I sat by the fire and rubbed my hands close to it. It was cold. The only thing I had on was the scrubs from the hospital back at the pack. The longer I stayed out here, the faster I was going to freeze to death.

The fire was warm and it soothed my skin. I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair. My mind went to Emma. What was she doing? I hoped that she was still alive. Emma was reckless, who knows if she had revealed her true identity to the lycans and they had devoured her. I was scared for her.

I had brought her into this mess. But if she hadn’t followed me into the woods that night, she would have died like the rest of the coven. It made me wonder if Aunt Greta knew about it.

The sound of a twig snapping from the distance jerked me back to reality. My heart was thumping hard against my chest. Something was here with me. Could it be a bear? Somehow I was more comfortable with the thought of it being a bear than a Lycan.

There was silence after that and it made me wonder if it was a squirrel that had moved past the cave. Outside, twilight reigned meaning that it was time for me to buckle up for another night.

A gust of wind whooshed past me, sending a chill down my spine. I shivered as I stared at the cave’s entrance. It was cold. I rubbed my shoulders before turning back to the fire.

“For someone with zero survival instincts, you’ve lasted longer than I had expected,” a familiar voice said.

I jerked in fright and looked up to find Kaiden sitting by the fire with his hands spread out against the flames. He had a cheeky smile on and his black hair glowed.

My heart squeezed in my chest. How did he find me? Had he followed my scent? Did I have a scent? I couldn’t tell. I wasn’t one of them. He looked so calm as he sat by the fire.

I knew that he had been lying when he told me that he would let me go willingly. He was here to kill me.

My heart pounded as Kaiden’s green eyes glinted in the firelight, his cheeky smile doing nothing to ease the terror gripping my chest. He had found me, tracked me to this filthy cave that reeked of dirt and urine. Lycans were hunters, Aunt Greta had said, relentless and deadly.

If he knew I was a witch, I was as good as dead, just like my village—burned, torn apart, gone. My hands trembled, but I forced my voice to stay steady.

“If you’re here to kill me, just get on with it.”

Kaiden laughed, a low, rumbling sound that echoed off the cave walls.

“Kill you? I’m not here for that, Lila.” His tone was light, almost amused, but his eyes held a weight I couldn’t read.

Relief flickered in me, but it was fleeting. Lycans lied. He could be toying with me, waiting for me to drop my guard. I scooted back, the cold stone biting through my scrubs.

“Then why are you here?” I demanded, my voice sharp despite the fear clawing my throat.

He leaned closer to the fire, his black hair catching the glow.

“You’re not safe out here. This forest is crawling with things that will rip you apart. Come back with me.”

“No,” I snapped, the word out before I could think.

Go back to a pack of Lycans? Where Emma might already be dead for all I knew? I’d seen what they could do—Winthoven’s ashes, the claw marks, the bodies. I wasn’t walking into their den.

Kaiden’s jaw tightened, his eyes narrowing.

“You’ll die out here, Lila. The next settlement’s too far, and you’ve got no food, no strength. You won’t make it.”

“I’ll take that chance,” I shot back, my voice trembling but firm. Better to freeze or starve than trust a Lycan who could turn on me the moment my secret slipped.

He looked pissed, his hands clenched into fists, but his voice softened, almost pleading.

“I don’t want to hurt you. I promise you’ll be safe with me.”

I stared at him, searching his face. There was something he wasn’t saying, a shadow behind his eyes that made my stomach churn. Had he found out Emma was a witch? Had he killed her already? The thought hit me like a blade, and I felt sick.

“I’d rather die out here than live with you,” I said, my words cold, final.

Kaiden shook his head, disappointment flashing across his face.

“You’re stubborn,” he muttered, rising to his feet. The fire cast long shadows behind him, his silhouette towering.

I opened my mouth to retort, but a sudden dizziness swept over me, my vision blurring at the edges. The cave spun, the flames dimming, Kaiden’s face fading into a haze. I tried to move, to fight it, but my body betrayed me, slumping against the cold stone.

The last thing I saw was his green eyes, watching me as everything turned black.