Aylin's heart pounded in her chest as the wolves' presence intensified. Valen's grip was tight around her wrist, his fingers cold and unyielding. His voice, low and menacing, buzzed in her ears like an insect she couldn't swat away.
"Shall we give them a show?" His words dripped with mockery, his blue eyes burning with anticipation, as though she were nothing more than a pawn in his twisted game.
Her pulse thrummed in her throat. Aylin had always known Valen was dangerous, but this... this felt like something more. The air between them thickened, heavy with his presence, and for the first time, Aylin felt the full force of his intentions, crushing, suffocating. He was playing with her. Testing her limits.
He wanted her to beg,
To beg for his help.
But she wasn't helpless.
The pendant. She had only three more uses. Three. She couldn't afford to waste one. Aylin thought that she could outrun them, that maybe they would give her at least the night as a start. But they didn't. Silas wanted her gone, regardless of what happened to her now.
Silas knew what fate was awaiting for her.
The realization struck her even harder than Valen's cruelty. Worse than anything. Her wolf whimpered in desperation, hoping that her mate would come for her. That she would be saved.
She glanced at Valen, his gaze still fixed on her, as if savoring the moment. His sinister grin widened as though he could read her thoughts, and a cruel laugh slipped from his lips.
"I can give you what you have lost," he said softly, his breath warm against her ear. "You know I can, Aylin. I can kill Silas, and I can take what is mine."
His voice was a velvet threat, curling into her very bones. He could have her right then, but there seemed to be an undercurrent of power, of desperate defiance, between them. She could feel the wolves circling closer, waiting for the inevitable clash, but they did not matter right now. They wanted a piece of her; she shuddered at the thought of other women, innocent of not being caste like this, and the cruel fate that befell them. She prayed that they would get to safety and that they had a plan similar to hers.
Valen took a step closer to the other wolves, still gripping her wrist; she yanked it, and to her surprise, he released it.
She brought her hands to her chest, trembling with hatred, fear, and, above all, determination to make them pay for everything they had done.
"Not yet," Aylin finally spoke, her voice trembling with a mixture of fear and defiance.
Valen paused, his gaze sharpening, sensing the change. His amusement faltered for a moment, replaced with a darker hunger. He leaned in closer, the shift in his energy palpable.
"Not yet?" he repeated, his voice almost tender with disbelief. "You think you still have a choice after everything?"
Aylin didn't answer. She couldn't. The words caught in her throat, lodged between desperation and the deep-seated need for survival. But she didn't need to speak anymore. She knew what she had to do.
With a quick, almost desperate motion, she tightened her grip on the pendant, summoning the last remnants of its magic. The air around them appeared to hum, a low vibration that became louder with each passing second. Aylin's breath hitched as the magic swelled.
Valen's eyes narrowed just as the world around her shifted.
In an instant, she was gone.
The last thing she heard was his enraged scream, echoing through the forest as she fled to the safety of the hiding place she had prepared.
But the pendant had cost her. She felt it—a hollow emptiness where the power had once been, and she knew—deep down—that the next use would be the final.
—
The cool air of the cave welcomed Aylin like an old friend, and the familiar scent of damp stone and earth calmed her frayed nerves. She staggered deeper into the cavern, her breath ragged as the weight of her escape settled in. For a moment, she let herself collapse against the rock wall, her body trembling and her mind racing. She had made it. She had escaped him, for now.
The wolves would not follow her here, not with the enchantment still in the air. But Valen was bound to find her eventually. He would not be satisfied until she was broken, bent to his will, or dead. But for now, she was free.
The fire. She needed warmth. Her body was cold, drenched in sweat, and the ragged remnants of her clothes clung to her skin, the torn fabric a constant reminder of the battle she had just fought. She couldn't stop shaking.
She planned her escape years ago, and she discovered the cave during one of her forays into the forest; Lilliana never followed her into the wild because she despised it. She hated getting dirty and unkept. Aylin chuckled as she remembered the girl scolding her for returning covered in mud, with small wounds and cuts and her hair deshiveled.
Ayling used all of her strength to pull herself off the wall; the cave had previously been used as a hunting rest stop; in the years she had visited it, no one had touched anything she had left, and no one seemed aware of it.
Her hands got scratches from the sharp stone of the wall, but there were just a few feet until she would reach a small, cozy chamber. Aylin felt as if his feet would give up on her; hot tears threatened to fall again on her cheeks, and she rubbed her face in the hopes of forgetting his touch. His gaze.
She underestimated them.
Aylin believed that they were simply cold to her, and that the only issue she had was her age and ability to provide Silas with an heir. She didn't expect this level of hatred.
She reached for the door's old brass handle.
The door opened.
Too easy…
Someone was there.