SELENE
The rain wouldn't stop. It fell in sheets, pouring through the forest, and everywhere was soaked, and my skin was wet.
I lay there in the mud for a while, too tired to move, too numb to feel the ache that crawled through every inch of my body. The shift had torn me apart. Half-wolf, half-human, bleeding, trembling. I couldn't even feel my body.
Then...
"Ma…"
The soft voice of my baby boy broke me from my thoughts.
I blinked, lifting my head. Jasper sat beside me, clutching a handful of leaves like they were treasure he had found. His little face was filled with dirt, his curls stuck to his forehead, and his grey eyes watched me with worry that no child his age should know.
"Jasper…" My throat burned when I said his name. "Come here, baby."
He crawled closer, his small hand brushing against my arm. His touch calmed me. I swallowed the groan rising in my chest and forced myself up onto my elbows. Pain shot through my body in protest but I don't care.
There was blood everywhere... mine and the rogues'. I had fought them off hours ago, maybe longer. I didn't even keep track of time as I fought them off to protect my little Jasper and me.
"Don't cry," Jasper whispered, rubbing my face with his muddy fingers. "Mama's strong."
I almost laughed. Almost. But my voice came out cracking. "That's right. Mama's strong."
A holy light flashed across the sky, and for a second, the forest came alive. Tall trees bending under the wind, mist coiling through the roots, the faint shimmer of moonlight filtering down. I could still smell the blood that had been scattered on the ground as a result of the fight.
But beneath it all, faint and fading with the rain, was something else.
That scent.
I froze.
It was barely there now... wild cedar and storm air, threaded with heat that curled low in my stomach. My heartbeat raced. Every instinct in me flared, answering something I didn't want to feel.
"No," I whispered, pressing my palm to the ground. "Not him. Not now."
My wolf stirred, slow and certain, her voice soft as she spoke...
Mate.
I shook my head violently, my breath almost choking me. "You're wrong. He left us. He left me."
The word mate brought back memories I didn't know I still had. It carried memories I had tried to bury... the way his voice dropped when he said my name, the heat of his skin, the promise that never saw the light of day. And then his face, cold and distant, when he said the Goddess had made a mistake.
A mistake.
That's what we were.
I looked down at Jasper, who had fallen quiet, eyes wide as he watched the rain fall from the trees. His lashes shook, his tiny hand holding the torn fabric of my sleeve.
I would not let that man...no, that Alpha... be his undoing.
"Come," I whispered. "We have to move before the rogues come back."
I pushed myself to my feet, swaying as pain shot up my leg. My ankle was swollen, but I couldn't stop. The rain would mask our scent if we were quick.
Jasper's small fingers wrapped around mine as we moved through the trees. Every step was painful, every breath a reminder that I was still alive when I shouldn't be. My wolf growled softly, urging me forward, toward safety, toward somewhere the bond couldn't reach.
But I could still feel him. Somewhere, miles away, his presence stayed with me stubbornly. My body ached with it. The mark that never formed still pulsed beneath my skin, incomplete and painful.
I hated it.
I hated that part of me still yearned for the one who had looked at me like I was nothing.
"Mama," Jasper murmured as thunder rumbled in front of us. "Where are we going?"
"Somewhere dry," I said, brushing wet hair from his face. "Somewhere they can't find us."
He nodded, his face trusting me, and it shattered me a little more. He didn't deserve this life of running and hiding, of sleeping under broken trees and waking to the sound of wolves howling in the distance.
The wind blew across our faces. I stiffened, scanning the shadows. The rogues wouldn't stop hunting... the scent of Alpha blood in Jasper was enough to drive them mad.
I crouched, scooping him into my arms despite the pain that ripped through my side. Feeling his warm body against my chest was enough to make my heartbeat steady again.
Branches snapped somewhere behind us.
My wolf rose inside me, teeth out and fur standing up as fury clouded Mt vision. The air thickened with her power, even though she was weak. Not yet, she whispered. You're not healed. Keep running.
So we ran.
Through mud and rain and darkness, until the forest blurred behind us. I found it hard to breathe, my vision blurring. But every time I stumbled, Jasper's tiny hand gripped me tighter, reminding me what I was fighting for.
When we finally found shelter... a hollow beneath a fallen tree, damp but safe, I set him down and collapsed beside him. My wounds felt more painful. Blood soaked through my shirt, and I could perceive the metallic smell of my blood.
Jasper curled into me, his breath warm against my chest. "Mama, the moon's crying," he murmured.
I looked up. The clouds had split just enough for the pale curve of the moon to peek through, shrouded in mist. It shimmered faintly red, like it mourned something lost.
"Maybe it is," I said softly. "Maybe it's crying for fools who still love what they shouldn't."
My wolf stirred again, her voice gentler this time.
He feels you.
I pressed a hand to my heart. "Then let him feel my pain."
The rain began to ease, turning into just a drizzle. Jasper's breathing steadied, his lashes fluttering as sleep pulled him under.
I leaned back against the tree, exhaustion sinking into my bones. The scent of Michael was gone now, washed away by the rain, but the echo of it stayed, stubborn and alive, like it didn't want to free me from the bondage it put me in.
I closed my eyes, whispering a promise to the dark.
"I don't need him. I'll protect you, Jasper. No matter what."
And somewhere deep inside, beneath the ache and the exhaustion, my wolf whispered again...
We'll see.