The night air grew colder. I crawled to the base of an old willow, curling up beneath its hanging branches. My small body trembled from exhaustion, but my mind refused to rest. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Theo's face the defiance in his eyes, the blood on his hands. I heard the crunch of his body hitting the stones, the silence that followed. "Why?" I whispered to no one. "Why did they do this?" The wind didn't answer. Only the river did its faint murmur, like a lullaby too soft to soothe. At some point, I must have fallen asleep.
When I woke, the sky was streaked with pink and gray. Dawn. My stomach ached with hunger, my lips cracked from thirst. I followed the creek, walking barefoot until the forest opened into rolling hills. That was when I saw it smoke rising again, but this time not from destruction. From chimneys. Cottages. And beyond them, a small pack village nestled along the riverbanks. Riverbend. My legs almost gave out from relief. I stumbled toward it, clutching my pendant, my voice hoarse as I whispered a single plea. "Please… let them help me."
---
By the time I reached the edge of the village, the sun was climbing high. Wolves in human form moved about men hauling logs, women hanging linens, children chasing each other in the grass. It should have been safe. But the moment one of them noticed me a soot-streaked girl in torn clothes, wild-eyed and trembling everything stilled. "Hey!" a man shouted, rushing over. "Girl, where did you come from?" I opened my mouth to speak, but the words tangled in my throat. My heart raced. If I told them the truth, Garran's soldiers might follow. They might kill everyone here, too. So I lied. "My… my name's Lila," I said softly the first false name that came to me. "Where's your pack?" "They're gone," I whispered. "Rogues attacked." The man's expression softened with pity. "You poor thing. Come with me. We'll take you to the Alpha." He didn't know that name Lila would one day be whispered with both fear and reverence. That the broken girl he found by the river would grow into the quiet omega who hid her power, her lineage, her rage… waiting for the day the moon turned red again.
---
That night, when they gave me a bed and warm soup, I stared at the stars through the window. Somewhere far north, the ruins of Silverfang still smoldered. Somewhere out there, my family's killers celebrated. And somewhere beyond the horizon maybe even in another territory someone's heartbeat still matched mine. A bond I didn't yet understand. A promise the goddess had carved into our blood. One day, that bond would pull me back. One day, it would lead me to him. And one day… it would destroy us both.
Lyra's POV
The Riverbend Pack was nothing like Silverfang. Where Silverfang had been grand marble halls, vast training grounds, warriors who stood like stone Riverbend felt small and alive. Houses were built of dark wood and stone, tucked between fields and willow trees. Children ran barefoot through muddy paths, their laughter echoing off the river's edge. The air smelled of fresh bread, pine, and the faint sweetness of honeysuckle. To a stranger, it would have felt peaceful. Safe. To me, it felt like standing in someone else's dream one I wasn't supposed to touch.
They gave me a room in the packhouse a small one tucked in the attic, with slanted ceilings and a window that faced the forest. The Alpha's mate, Luna Aeryn, brought me food that first morning warm bread, milk, and a blanket. "You're safe now," she said kindly. "Rest, little one." But even as I nodded, I knew safety was a lie. I slept with my pendant clutched to my chest, the same way I had in the forest. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Silverfang burning. The screams never faded they just became quieter, like an echo buried deep in my bones.
---
Weeks passed. I didn't speak much, not because I couldn't but because silence felt safer. The Riverbend wolves whispered that I was timid, traumatized. An orphan from a destroyed northern pack. No one pressed me for details; perhaps they didn't want to hear more tragedy in a world already heavy with it. The Luna tried to comfort me, but I kept my distance. Kindness was dangerous. Attachment even more so.
Still, there was one person who refused to leave me alone. A boy named Elias. He was around my age messy dark hair, bright green eyes, and the kind of energy that made the elders sigh and the guards scowl. He found me one afternoon sitting by the river, skipping stones in silence. "You don't talk much," he said, sitting beside me uninvited. "Don't need to," I murmured. "That's boring."
I glanced at him. "Then don't sit here." He grinned. "Can't. You're interesting." I rolled my eyes, but a tiny smile almost broke through. It was the first one since that night. Elias started visiting every day after that bringing me fruit, stories, sometimes trouble. He'd tell me about the warriors' training, about Alpha Rowan's new patrols, about how the moon sometimes looked like a clawprint. I never told him who I really was. I never told anyone. But sometimes, when he laughed, it almost made the weight in my chest a little lighter.
---
One night, maybe months later I had stopped counting days I woke from a nightmare. Fire. Screams. Theo's voice fading. I sat up, breath trembling. The attic was dark except for a sliver of moonlight through the window. The forest beyond swayed gently, whispering secrets only the wolves could hear. I pressed my palm to my chest, right over my heart where the strange warmth sometimes throbbed. It was still there. Faint. Steady. That second heartbeat I'd felt the night my world ended. It hadn't gone away.
I didn't understand it, but it comforted me like knowing I wasn't completely alone in the world. Whoever that heartbeat belonged to… they were still alive. And somehow, in a way I couldn't explain, I felt that they were growing stronger too.