CH 2: Blood in the Forest
1414 คำ
Nishi
The forest beyond the pack border felt colder than it should have been, not just the natural cold of a winter night but something deeper, something that slipped beneath her skin and settled into her bones as if the world itself had turned distant the moment she stepped out of her pack’s territory.
Nishi walked alone beneath the heavy night sky, her bare feet pressing into the frozen ground, the thin layer of frost cracking softly under her weight while the cold climbed slowly through her skin, sharp and merciless, yet she didn’t stop.
At the same time, the winter wind howled through the tall, bare trees like restless spirits, brushing against her face and slipping through her clothes, as if it were watching her, as if even the forest had witnessed her humiliation and decided she deserved nothing but silence.
Her body trembled.
Not only from the cold. From the rejection.
Every breath she took burned in her chest, the icy air cutting through her lungs like sharp blades; each inhale was painful, and each exhale was weak. Her breath turned into a faint white mist that disappeared into the night, as if it refused to stay with her.
The mate bond should have disappeared, it should have gone silent, it should have shattered completely the moment he rejected her, but instead, it still pulsed inside her, faint, broken, and painfully alive, like a wound that refused to close no matter how much she wished for it to end.
Nishi pressed her trembling palm against the center of her chest while leaning weakly against the rough bark of a tree, her fingers stiff from the cold, her body finally giving in as her strength slipped away little by little.
Her long dark hair fell messily around her shoulders, strands sticking to her tear-streaked cheeks, some slightly damp and cold against her skin, her midnight-black waves now looking tangled and lifeless as they fell to her waist like a shadow that had lost its meaning.
Her large black eyes were swollen from crying, their usual calmness gone, replaced by exhaustion and quiet devastation, while her lips had turned pale from the cold, trembling slightly as if even speaking had become difficult.
Her skin looked pale and scratched, small cuts visible along her arms where branches had caught her, but she hadn’t even noticed when it happened, as if her body had kept moving forward while her mind remained trapped in that moment.
Her clothes were thin for winter, a faded cream blouse with loose sleeves, dark trousers now stiff with dirt, and an old coat that barely protected her from the biting wind, and nothing about her appearance looked like a Luna, nothing about her reflected power, dignity, or authority.
At least… that was what the pack believed.
A bitter laugh slipped from her lips, soft and hollow, turning into faint mist before disappearing into the freezing air.
“Rejected… thrown away… because of a lie,” she murmured, her voice weak, barely steady.
Her aunt’s terrified expression replayed in her mind, the way Meera had clutched her stomach as if protecting something fragile, the tremble in her voice, the accusation that had come without proof, without truth.
And Joshua believes in her.
Without even looking at Nishi as if she had never deserved to be heard.
Nishi’s fingers curled slowly into fists, though they felt numb from the cold.
“I would never hurt a child… how can he trust her so blindly,” Her voice cracked softly, breaking in the empty forest.
Suddenly, she heard a low sound.
Nishi froze instantly, her body going still as her heart began to beat faster, louder, her breath catching in her throat while she slowly lifted her head, her eyes scanning the darkness between the trees, her instincts sharpening despite her exhaustion.
Her wolf stirred weakly inside her chest. Another sound followed, low and rough, accompanied by a growl that did not belong to any pack wolf she knew, and her stomach dropped instantly as realization hit her.
It was a rogue. Not one, but many.
The scent reached her next, thick, rotten, and violent, cutting through the cold air, carrying the presence of wolves who had abandoned everything and lived only for blood and survival.
Fear crawled slowly up her spine. One shadow stepped forward.
Six rogues surrounded her, their yellow eyes glowing in the darkness, faint steam rising from their bodies in the freezing air, their forms large and scarred from countless battles.
One of them shifted into human form, his movements slow, relaxed, as if he already knew she stood no chance.
“Well… look what wandered into the woods tonight,” he chuckled, his breath visible in the cold.
Another rogue shifted beside him and inhaled deeply.
“She smells like a pack… but weak,” he said.
“And hurt too,” a third one laughed.
Nishi’s pulse hammered in her ears as she instinctively stepped back, but her foot slipped slightly on the frost and she stumbled just enough.
The rogues noticed her weakness immediately.
“It's easy prey,” one of them growled.
Her wolf stirred again. But something else rose with it. Heat rushed to her body.
Burning against the cold.
Nishi clenched her fists tightly.
“I’m not prey,” she snapped, her voice shaking but firm.
The rogues laughed loudly, their voices echoing through the frozen forest as one of them stepped closer, claws extending slightly.
“You’re alone, little wolf.” One of them comments.
“Packless… Maybe rejected… like us.” The other one mocked.
The last word struck deep.
Her breathing quickened as her vision blurred slightly, Joshua’s voice echoing again in her mind, cold and final.
Something inside her chest snapped.
Her wolf surged violently inside her, no longer weak, no longer silent, as if something buried for years had finally awakened.
A burning heat spread through her veins, clashing against the cold in her body, sending sharp pain through every nerve.
Nishi gasped and dropped to one knee, her fingers digging into the frozen ground.
“What… is happening… to me…” she groaned.
The rogues hesitated. They could feel it. Her scent was changing. Becoming something ancient. Something powerful.
Nishi lifted her head slowly.
Her black eyes now glowed faintly silver.
'You are not prey.' Inside her mind, a voice spoke.
Nishi froze, her breath unsteady.
“Who…?” She whispered.
'I’m your wolf. My name is Moon.' A wolf's voice rang in his mind.
The presence inside her rose fully, vast and deep, nothing like the weak wolf she had always felt.
'It’s not a gentle time to meet… but I’m glad to meet you.' Moon continues calmly.
Warmth spread through her body, pushing back the cold.
'You are the Moon Goddess’s chosen. Now rise… like the moon.' Moon’s voice faded.
But the power didn’t. It surged through her veins, sharp and alive.
Her senses sharpened instantly.
She could hear the wind. The rogues’ breathing, their fear. The rogues stepped back slightly.
“What the hell is she…” One rogue said fear reflects tone.
“She’s not normal.” Another one said.
“Kill her!” The third one said in a hurry.
One of them lunged forward.
Nishi moved without thinking, her body reacting on instinct as she grabbed a frozen branch and drove it straight into the rogue’s throat.
Blood sprayed, steaming in the cold air. The others roared.
Two are shifted fully and charged.
Nishi tried to fight, kicking one away and clawing another, but she was still exhausted, still injured, still human.
A massive wolf slammed into her from the side, throwing her hard against a tree as pain exploded through her ribs and her vision darkened.
Another rogue bit deep into her shoulder.
“Ah—!” she screamed.
Blood soaked through her clothes, warm against her freezing skin.
'Fight. Don’t give up.' Her wolf snarled inside her mind.
But her body was failing. She collapsed onto the frozen ground, the cold seeping into her instantly as claws tore through her arm, the rogues circling her slowly.
Waiting for her to make a move. Eyes are watching her.
“End her,” one of them said.
A wolf lunged toward her throat.
Nishi didn’t move. Her eyes slowly closed. Her breath came out in a weak white cloud.
“So this is how I die…” She whispers painfully.
****
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