THE MOON-BINDERS

Chapter Three: The Escape

Arielle POV:

A hand closed firmly around my wrist.

I barely had time to gasp before I was yanked backward into the trees, the shadows swallowing me whole. Leaves tore at my skin as I stumbled, dragged deeper into the forest.

“Arielle,” Nyax hissed, low and furious. “Move.”

I followed blindly realizing it was my brother, my legs still shaking, and my lungs burning, Mireille’s lifeless body still seared behind my eyes. The clearing disappeared behind us, but the stench of blood clung stubbornly to the air.

Nyax didn’t stop until the sounds of the pack faded, until even the moonlight thinned between the branches of the forest. Only then did he turn on me.

“You shouldn’t have been there,” he whispered harshly.

“I couldn’t leave her,” I choked. “I couldn’t.”

“Then if you couldn’t,” he snapped, “you should have kept your fear hidden. I could hear your heartbeat from half a yard away in the courtyard. Do you know how many others could too?”

I broke. “I’m sorry, Nyax,” I sobbed. “But Mireille was more than a friend. She was like a sister. You know that.”

His grip tightened for a moment, then loosened. His shoulders sagged slightly.

“I know,” he said quietly. “That’s why you have to leave now.”

A howl rose in the distance.

Nyax stiffened.

“They’ve scented you,” he said. “The stench of your fear and guilt gave you away. They're coming for you.”

I wiped my face with trembling hands. “They killed her, Nyax.”

“I know.” His voice broke on the word. He cleared his throat quickly. “And they’ll kill you too if you stay.”

Then he took my hands, holding them firmly, grounding me. "You have to stay strong, Arielle.”

His eyes searched mine, fierce and terrified all at once.

“You survive,” he said. “That’s how we honor her. That’s how we protect what’s left.”

Another howl cut through the trees, answered by a second.

My pulse thundered.

Nyax reached into his jacket and pressed something cold and solid into my palm.

A bone talisman, carved with old runes. Warden runes.

“This, belongs to mother. It magic will mask you for a while,” he said. “Just long enough to get out of here.”

I stared at it. “What about you?”

His mouth twitched into something like a smile. “I’ll give them something else to chase.”

“No.” Panic surged. “Nyax, don’t—”

He cupped my face, forcing my eyes to his. "Twin to twin, Arielle," he said.

I couldn't bring my self to complete that sentence.

"Complete it," he hissed. "Twin to twin."

I let the tears roll down freely. "And blood to blood we'll fight," I whispered.

He smiled pulling me into an embrace. "Good."

Another howl tore through the night. They're closer now.

“Listen to me,” he said urgently. “Once you cross the boundary to the eastern ravine, pack law ends there. They won't follow you. When you do, do not look back. And most importantly, do not come back here.”

The wind stirred faintly again, restless.

A branch snapped nearby.

Nyax shoved me behind him, eyes flashing silver. “Go. Now.”

I hesitated, every wolf instinct in me screamed to stay, to fight, to die where Mireille had fallen.

Nyax leaned close, his voice barely a breath. “You survive. That’s how this ends. Go!"

Another howl, dangerously close now.

I turned and ran.

Roots tore at my feet, branches whipped my face, but I didn’t slow. I couldn't dare. I tore through the night desperately toward the east, toward the barren grey lands.

And behind me, Nyax let out a sharp, defiant howl, a challenge to a fight. And I heard the snarls of the Gamma follow.

I crossed the ravine just as the moon slipped higher, its light breaking through the tree canopy like a watchful eye.

On the other side, the forest felt different. Eeriely different.

The magic of the talisman had faded minutes before I had crossed the border. And wolves howls had followed me.

I stumbled to a stop, lungs screaming, hands clutching the talisman at my chest as I sank to my knees, pressing my forehead to the earth, my body finally giving in to the shaking.

The howls behind me cut off abruptly. And just as Nyax had said, they would not cross. I could smell their terror as I watched the glowing eyes disappeared back into the night.

This place, felt devoid of life.

Cold dread pooled in my stomach.

"What is this place?"