Lydia's POV
My lungs are on fire.
I can't breathe. Can't think. Can't stop running.
Mama, Ember whimpers against my back. Her small body burns like hot coals. The fever is getting worse. Much worse.
I push harder through the dark forest. Tree branches whip my face. My left leg screams with pain—the wolf trap tore through muscle hours ago. Blood soaks through my jeans, leaving a trail the hunters can follow.
Behind us, I hear them getting closer.
I see blood! a man's voice shouts. She's slowing down!
A gunshot cracks through the night. The bullet hits a tree inches from my head. Bark explodes everywhere.
Silver bullets. They're using silver.
I hold Ember tighter and force my broken body to move faster. We've been running for two days straight. Two days without food. Without water. Without rest.
Just running. Always running.
Mama, it hurts, Ember cries weakly. Her tears soak through the back of my shirt.
I know, baby. I know. Just hold on a little longer.
But I don't know how much longer I can run.
My wolf whines inside me. Weak. Starving. Begging to give up.
No. I can't give up. Not while Ember still breathes.
Another gunshot. This one hits the ground right beside my foot.
They're playing with us. Like cats playing with mice before they kill them.
Stop running, rogue! a different hunter yells. He sounds excited. Happy. Give us the girl and we'll make it quick!
Liars. I've seen what hunters do to wolf children. Especially rogue children with no pack to protect them.
They'll torture her. Experiment on her. Use her blood for their sick research.
Over my dead body.
My foot catches on a tree root. I stumble but don't fall. The pain in my injured leg is so bad I see white spots.
But I don't stop. Can't stop.
Mama... Ember's voice is so quiet now. Too quiet. I'm sleepy.
No. Not sleepy. That's the fever talking. If she falls asleep, she might not wake up.
Stay awake, Ember. Please stay awake for Mama.
She doesn't answer.
Terror rips through my chest.
The trees start getting thinner ahead. Moonlight breaks through the branches.
No. Please no.
I burst out of the forest and my heart drops into my stomach.
A cliff. A massive cliff with a straight drop into total darkness below.
I spin around. The hunters break through the trees behind me. Three men. All carrying silver rifles. All smiling.
End of the line, rogue, the leader says. He's tall with missing teeth and cruel eyes. Nowhere left to run.
I back up toward the cliff edge. Small rocks tumble off and disappear into the darkness. I can't even hear them hit bottom.
Hand over the kid, the leader says, walking closer. We just want her blood. You can go free.
More lies.
Never, I growl.
Then we'll take her from your dead body.
All three hunters raise their guns. Aim at my chest.
I carefully lower Ember to the ground behind me. She curls into a tiny ball, shaking with fever. Her eyes are closed. She's barely conscious.
My baby. My whole world.
I won't let them touch her.
Stay down, Ember, I whisper. No matter what happens, don't move.
I step in front of her. Put my body between my daughter and the monsters with guns.
The hunters laugh.
You gonna fight us, sweetheart? the leader asks. Look at you. You can barely stand.
He's right. My wounded leg shakes. I'm dizzy from blood loss. Weak from starvation. My wolf is half-dead inside me.
But I smile anyway. Show my teeth.
You have no idea what a mother can do.
The leader shrugs. Your funeral.
I call my wolf forward. She doesn't want to come. She's too weak. Too scared.
But she comes anyway. Because Ember needs us.
Pain rips through my entire body as I shift. Bones breaking and reforming. Skin tearing and reshaping. It's supposed to take seconds. But when you're starving and injured, it takes longer.
It hurts so much I scream.
My wolf form is pathetic. I'm thin—ribs showing through dirty brown fur. My left back leg barely holds any weight. Blood drips from the trap wound.
The hunters laugh even harder.
That's it? the leader mocks. That's what we've been chasing for two days? This half-dead mutt?
He aims his gun directly at my head.
This'll be easier than I thought.
I crouch low. Every muscle screaming. Ready to attack.
I'm going to die. I know this. Three hunters with silver bullets against one starving wolf.
The math is simple.
But I'll take at least one of them with me. Make them pay for threatening my daughter.
At least Ember will know her mama fought. Never gave up. Never surrendered.
I bare my fangs and growl. Deep and threatening even though my wolf is weak.
The leader's finger moves to the trigger.
This is it.
I gather every last bit of strength in my broken body. Prepare to jump.
Any last words, mutt? the leader asks.
I growl louder.
He smiles. Didn't think so.
The cliff edge is right behind me. If I time this wrong, I'll fall and take Ember with me.
But if I don't try, we're both dead anyway.
The hunter's finger tightens on the trigger.
I coil my muscles. Ready to leap at his throat.
Three. Two. One
I jump.