I HOPE YOU'RE WORTH THE TROUBLE
1031 Words
Vespera's Pov
"I ran that night," I continued. "Didn't plan it. Didn't even prepare. I just ran into the Forbidden Forest with nothing but the clothes on my back. I cut my hair to hide my appearance, covered myself in dirt and ash to mask my scent. I thought if I could just disappear, Julian would forget about me and move on with Lydia."
"But he didn't forget," Senna said. Not a question.
"No. He sent trackers. Elite hunters who could find a mouse in a snowstorm." I looked at the fire, remembering. "I was hiding in an abandoned cabin when Kael found me. Warned me Julian's people were close. Offered to guide me deeper into the wildlands."
"And the pregnancy?" Senna's voice was sharp. "When did that happen?"
This was the dangerous part. The lie that had to sound like the truth.
I dropped my gaze to my hands, letting shame color my voice. "I was in the forest alone for two nights before Kael found me. Vulnerable. Weak. Still learning how to use the wolf that had just awakened inside me.
I paused, making it look difficult to continue.
"A rogue caught me," I said quietly. "Male. Powerful. I tried to fight but I was so new to everything. My wolf had only just emerged and I didn't know how to use her strength. He was... rough. Fast. By the time it was over, he was gone. Disappeared into the forest like he'd never been there."
The lie sat bitter on my tongue, but it was believable. Rogues took what they wanted. Female wolves traveling alone were vulnerable. It happened often enough that nobody would question it too closely.
"You didn't scent him?" someone asked. "Couldn't track him?"
"I was barely conscious," I said, which wasn't entirely a lie. "When I came to, his scent was already fading. I stumbled away, found the cabin, and that's where Kael discovered me the next day."
"Why would Julian care if you're carrying some rogue's bastard?" the burn-scarred man asked. "Why send elite trackers?"
"Because he doesn't know," I said simply. "The pregnancy is so fresh even I didn't know until recently. Julian thinks I ran because I was humiliated by his betrayal. He wants me back because I'm still legally his Luna. His property. And because my family's dowry came with conditions—if the marriage ends within five years, he has to return half the funds."
That was pure fabrication, but it sounded plausible enough. Alphas were territorial about their possessions, even ones they didn't want.
"So he's hunting you for money and pride," Senna said slowly.
"And because he's furious I dared to leave," I added. "Julian doesn't tolerate defiance. Especially not from someone he considers beneath him."
The gathered wolves exchanged glances. Some looked sympathetic. Others remained skeptical. But none of them looked ready to kill me immediately, which felt like progress.
"How do we know any of this is true?" the one-eyed man challenged. "Could all be lies. Could be you're a spy, planted here with a sob story to make us sympathetic."
"Then why would I tell you I'm pregnant with a rogue's child?" I shot back. "If I was trying to earn sympathy, I'd claim I was innocent. Pure. Victimized. Instead I'm admitting I'm carrying a bastard pup that no pack would accept. That makes me more worthless, not less."
He grunted, having no good answer to that.
Movement at the back of the crowd caught my attention. Wolves parting to let someone through. My heart leapt into my throat.
Kael.
He was alive. Battered, bloody, moving with a pronounced limp, but alive. Fresh claw marks raked across his chest, barely healed. One eye was swollen nearly shut. But he was on his feet, breathing, here.
Relief hit me so hard I almost sobbed.
Kael pushed through to the front of the gathering, his eyes finding mine immediately. Something crossed his face—relief, recognition, worry all mixed together.
"You're alive," he said, his rough voice even rougher than usual. "When you disappeared over that cliff, when I couldn't track you or scent you anywhere, I thought—" He stopped, jaw working. "I thought Julian's people had you."
"I jumped," I said simply. "Into the river."
"I know. I saw the trackers at the cliff edge, cursing your name. Saw them search the banks for your body." He looked at Senna. "She's telling the truth about Julian. About running. I guided her through the wildlands myself until his elite hunters found us."
"You nearly died fighting them," Senna observed.
"Worth it." Kael's gaze returned to me. "She's not like other pack Lunas. She didn't look down on me when she learned I was exiled. Didn't demand I serve her or treat her like she was better. She was just... trying to survive. Like the rest of us."
The camp muttered at that, voices overlapping. Some sounded more convinced. Others remained wary.
Senna raised her hand for silence.
"The question isn't whether she's running from Julian," she said. "The question is whether keeping her here endangers us. Julian knows she's in the wildlands. If he sends more hunters, if they track her to our camp—"
"They won't," Kael interrupted. "I led them on a chase in the opposite direction before they got me. They think she went north toward the mountain passes. It'll take them weeks to realize she's not there."
Senna studied him for a long moment, then looked back at me.
"You can stay," she said finally. "For now. But you're confined to a hut under guard. You don't leave without escort. You don't speak to anyone without permission. And if I get even a whiff that you're lying about anything—anything at all—I'll kill you myself."
She stood up, that damaged leg making the movement awkward.
"Someone get her settled. And assign two guards. Rotating shifts. I want eyes on her at all times."
As the council dispersed, Senna limped past me. She paused, looking down with an expression I couldn't read.
"I hope you're worth the trouble, runaway Luna," she said quietly. "For all our sakes."
- Writer
