Kara's POV
Back at her old kingdom, Lira's mother heard the signal. "It's her. It's Lira." Her heart skipped a beat, and she turned to her husband, the king.
"Lira is alive!" she cried. "She's signaling us!"
The King, Alpha, who had long given up hope of finding his daughter, stood up, determined. "Prepare the troops. We're going after her."
"What was that?" I whispered, my body tense.
The sound echoed again.
"It's the signal. They're here," the young man said.
A deep growl cut through the dense trees, a voice laced with frustration. "Where are they?! You're with Lira, aren't you?"
The werewolf pack leader's eyes narrowed, his nose sniffing the air, instinctively sizing up the group in front of him.
I froze. "Lira?" I asked, confused.
The werewolf's intense gaze didn't waver as he nodded. "She called us. We've been tracking her scent for miles. She's the one who signaled us. We've come for her."
Come with us, he said .
Kara's stomach churned with realization. This was Lira's family, the pack she had come from, the kingdom Lira's bloodline. The warriors of her father, Chaser, the Alpha of another powerful pack.
The young man quickly stepped in, his voice calm but urgent. "These aren't Zara's wolves. They're Lira's people. They might help us."
I looked at Hilda in my arms. "Are we safe?"
The young man's face softened with understanding. "We don't have much of a choice. We have to trust them. If they're Lira's family, they'll protect us."
"We have no other option," I whispered. "Let's go."
As the pack leader led us deeper into the forest, the shadows of the night seemed to grow darker, more oppressive"Why did Lira call for help now?" I asked, almost to myself. "Why not before? What changed?"
The pack leader's eyes were alert, scanning the trees, his senses sharp. He didn't answer right away. Then, he spoke, his voice low but commanding. "You doubt us? We don't make moves without reason. We protect our own."
I stiffened, taking in the raw power in his voice. I wasn't sure if it was enough to trust, but I was too tired and too vulnerable to do anything but follow.
As we continued through the thick forest, the ground began to shake, a deep rumble that seemed to come from the earth itself. The leader's face tightened with urgency. "They're coming," he growled.
"Who?" I asked, my voice shaking with a mix of fear and anticipation.
His expression darkened. "Enemies. You're not safe yet."
The sound of howling wolves filled the distance. The sounds of war, the clash of fur and teeth, the screams of battle, they echoed around us. Another war had begun.
As we neared the camp, I could see shadows moving swiftly through the trees. Lira's family, her true bloodline. And yet, there was something unsettling about this meeting. Was this a rescue, or a new danger?
The young man gripped my arm. "This isn't over," he muttered. "We're still walking into unknown territory."
Before I could answer, a massive figure emerged from the shadows. The leader of the pack stepped forward, meeting the newcomer's eyes.
"It's not her," the pack leader said. "Lira, the daughter of the bloodline, has not been found."
The newcomer's gaze shifted from me to Hilda. His expression softened for a moment, then hardened with determination. "I've been tracking her signal for days," he growled. "And now we may not have what we came for. But we are closer. You're not alone anymore."
Just as I began to feel a sense of relief, a sudden howl pierced the air, louder, closer, and full of menace. The pack leader's face twisted in recognition. "No…" he muttered, his eyes narrowing. "It's not just an attack. Someone is hunting us."
"What do we do?" I asked, my breath quickening.
The leader looked at me, his eyes blazing with a fierce light. "We fight. We fight until there's nothing left to protect."
"We run," the young man whispered urgently to me. "It's not safe here anymore. We have to go now."
The pack's howl filled the night air.
I strapped Hilda quickly and took to my heels.
My breath came in shallow gasps as I ran, my legs burning from the effort. I glanced over my shoulder, the sounds of battle fading behind us, but not enough to let me rest. We had to keep going.
"Keep running! We can't stop!" I urged, my voice strained.
"We won't get far if we keep rushing like this," the young man replied, his voice shaking.
My eyes were still on the forest around us when I saw it. A single wolf. It was not a wolf from the battle we just escaped. It stood alone, away from us, and it stared right at me. And as I watched, it didn't just look at me, it winked.
My blood ran cold. This wasn't Lira's family. This looks like a wolf from Zara's pack. How did they know where we were? We had run so far,
"Why are you stopping, Kara?" the young man yelled from behind me.
He reached me quickly and I pointed to the place where a tall black wolf had stood, but he didn't see it.
The werewolf had vanished.
The air was thick with tension, and the forest felt quieter with every passing minute, as if nature itself was holding its breath. We desperately needed to get to the castle, but the journey was long, and every rustle of the leaves felt like a threat. The young man decided we should rest for a moment.
"Do you think Lira's family will still help us? After everything?" I asked, my voice shaky.
"They have no choice," the young man responded. "We have to hope they're still loyal, that they'll protect us from Zara's pack."
Suddenly, distant footsteps reached my ears. My heart raced. Without a word, the young man grabbed my arm, pulling me into the dense brush. We crouched, holding our breath as the wolves passed us by, unaware of our presence.
When the sound of footsteps faded, we exhaled in relief. But we couldn't stay there forever.
"We need to move," the young man urged. "Before it's too late."