Fated Luna, Forsaken Alpha

Chapter 2

Pain.

That was the first thing Lena felt as consciousness dragged her back from the abyss. A searing, bone-deep ache pulsed through her limbs, a dull throbbing in her skull making it impossible to move without agony splintering through her body.

Cold.

The second sensation struck hard. Icy water soaked her clothes, chilling her to the bone. Her lungs burned, her chest tight with the lingering panic of nearly drowning. The river had almost taken her, and for a moment, she had been sure she wouldn't make it.

But she had. Somehow.

A violent cough wracked her body, forcing her to roll onto her side as she expelled water from her lungs. Each breath she took felt like inhaling fire, sharp and painful. When she finally blinked the darkness from her eyes, she realized she was no longer in the river.

She was on the shore—but not Bloodfang territory.

The forest was different here. The towering pines looked unfamiliar, their branches twisted and skeletal, reaching toward the overcast sky like claws. The scent of damp earth and rotting leaves filled her nostrils, masking any familiar pack scents.

She had made it across.

A shuddering breath escaped her lips as relief crashed over her. She had done it. She was free.

Then her stomach clenched—the baby.

Panic surged through her, stronger than before. Frantically, she pressed a hand against her abdomen, her fingers trembling. The ache in her body was overwhelming, but was the baby okay? She had been thrown through a raging current, battered against rocks—what if—

No. Don’t think like that.

She closed her eyes and focused, reaching out with her senses. Her body was still too weak to detect the tiny heartbeat growing within her, but she willed herself to believe. They had survived the river. They would survive this, too.

But she wouldn’t last long in the open. If Kade had sent warriors after her, they could still track her down. She had to move.

Lena forced herself to her knees, gritting her teeth as pain flared up her spine. She had no idea where she was, but she couldn’t stay here.

She needed shelter. Food. A plan.

She needed to disappear.

Kade Blackwood stood at the edge of the river, his hands clenched into fists so tight his nails threatened to pierce his skin. She was gone.

Vanished.

Ripped away by the merciless current.

His wolf howled within him, thrashing violently against the walls of his mind. Every instinct in his body screamed at him to dive into the water, to follow her, to find her—

But the river was ruthless, even for him. If he made the wrong move, he’d be swept under like she had been.

Still, he didn’t move. He couldn’t.

The ache in his chest was unbearable. He had failed.

Lena had been slipping from his grasp for months now, but he had never imagined—never in his worst nightmares—that she would run from him. That she would choose this over him.

He should have stopped her before it got this far. He should have told her what she meant to him, fought harder to silence the pack’s doubts. But he had let his duty cloud everything, let his role as Alpha come before his role as her mate.

And now she was gone.

"Alpha," a voice called behind him, low and cautious. It was Raiden, his Beta, but Kade didn’t turn around. He couldn’t. His hands were shaking, his jaw locked so tightly it ached.

"We need to search for her," Raiden continued. "She could have made it to the other side."

Hope flickered—just for a moment—but Kade crushed it. The river had taken warriors stronger than her. If Lena had made it across, she would be alone, wounded, and vulnerable.

And if anyone else found her first—rogue wolves, enemy packs—

His wolf snapped its fangs inside him, demanding action.

"Send a patrol downriver," Kade ordered, his voice hoarse. "Check both sides. Find her."

Raiden hesitated. "And if we don’t?"

Kade turned then, his golden eyes dark with fury. "Then you keep searching."

By the time the sun began to rise, Lena had managed to put miles between herself and the river. Her body ached from exhaustion, and her legs felt like lead, but she refused to stop.

She couldn’t risk Kade’s warriors finding her.

She had spent the night moving through the wilderness, avoiding open roads, keeping her scent hidden as best she could. Her clothes were still damp, her body trembling from the cold, but she pressed forward.

By midday, she stumbled upon an old, abandoned cabin nestled deep in the forest. It looked weathered and forgotten, its wooden walls cracked, but it was shelter.

Relief washed over her as she staggered inside.

The cabin was small—a single-room structure with a stone fireplace and dust-covered furniture—but it would do. She shut the door behind her and sagged against it, her breaths ragged.

For the first time in hours, she allowed herself to feel.

The weight of everything—the fear, the exhaustion, the reality of what she had done—came crashing down. She had left her mate. She had run from everything she had ever known.

But she had no choice.

Not with the baby.

Her hand drifted to her abdomen again, her fingers brushing over the slight curve. They would be okay.

She just had to survive.

And no matter what—Kade could never find out about the baby.