Chapter 8: Running Again

Some awakenings comes with clarity, others comes with consequences

Selene

Morning light crept through the window, painting Kieran's sleeping form in pale gold, my skin still hummed from last night's joining, but my chest ached with a new weight, the mark on my shoulder pulsed faintly, not with power, but with warning.

I slipped from bed, careful not to wake him. The floor was cold beneath my bare feet as I wrapped myself in his robe, his scent clung to the fabric, making my throat tighten. 

Then through the window, dawn painted the forest in shades of gray and pink, beautiful and peaceful, but a lie . 

Last night's visions haunted me like flashes of fire, of screams echoing through these very halls. The bond between us burned bright now, but it would burn him too if I stayed. 

Kieran

I woke to empty sheets still warm from her body, the bond pulsed between us, thick with her fear, I walked out and I found her in the garden, dawn mist curling around her bare ankles. 

"You're leaving," The words tasted like ash. 

She didn't turn, "I have to." 

"Why?" Finally, she faced me, I streaked her cheeks, but her voice was steady, "Because what I am will destroy you, "The mark on her shoulder darkened as she spoke. 

Selene

Nightfall came too soon, I waited until the fortress slept before slipping through the servant's passage, I step away from him tore at the bond between us, but I didn't look back, the forest swallowed me whole. 

Kieran bolted upright, the bond snapping triggered with her panic. 

Far beyond the trees, a silver-eyed crow took flight, watching, waiting, following her steps.

Kieran

Her scent was already fading time I reached the edge of the woods, this means that she was gone, non of the guards had seen her, even the hounds didn't catch her trail fast enough, it was just like she vanished into the darkness, as if the like the wind carried her away from me and I didn't even get the chance to stop her. 

I stood there for a long time, shirt half-buttoned, my boots soaked from dew, the forest, once so familiar, now felt foreign to me like it had swallowed her whole and refused to give her back. 

Behind me, footsteps marched on the path, of course it is Lucian. "Don't bother," he said, his voice flat, "She made her choice." 

But I didn't turn to face him, "She ran because she was scared," I murmured. 

"She ran because she's dangerous." 

"She's not…" 

"She is!" he snapped, stepping closer. "She bears a mark none of us can decipher, she wakes with power none of us can control, and now that she's tasted your bond, she's even more unstable, you know what this means, Kieran." 

I did, but I didn't want to say it aloud. 

Lucian wasn't done, "The Elders want her gone, they were ready to vote for her banishment before your stunt last night, now that she's run, they think the 'evil' in her finally gave up pretending." 

"She's not evil," I said again, quietly this time. "She's afraid." Lucian hissed,"You think that excuses what's coming?" 

I finally turned, eyes locked on his, "What do you mean?" 

His look was cold, "You think her leaving solved anything? It didn't, It only confirmed their fear, that the Luna you bedded is the spark of a coming war." 

later that day, I sat alone in my quarters, the fire dying in the hearth, and the mark on my chest dull beneath my skin, it hadn't burned since she left, it was still and empty just Like me. 

The council had met that morning without me, but didn't go, Rurik came to check on me once, I didn't answer the door, and I didn't want to hear one more person say she was better gone, or that I was lucky she ran,and that fate spared me from disaster. 

Because they didn't feel what I felt, they didn't see the way her eyes changed when she laughed, they didn't see the way her power trembled just beneath her skin, waiting to be understood, not feared, they didn't see the good in her. 

But I did, and now she was gone, I couldn't chase her, not because I don't want to, but if I did... I might not return. 

Elder Therin had sent a sealed message to my desk: "Let her go, let the curse run its course, if she returns, she does so as an enemy, do not disgrace your pack further by hunting a traitor." 

They had already made up their minds, to them, the Luna I claimed was a threat, but to me, she was the only thing that felt right. 

As the fire crackled low, I stared at the empty space on my bed, the sheets still carrying her scent, a whisper brushed through the roof,

low and strange, almost like her voice, echoing in my ears. 

Kieran... i sat up straight, silence. 

Then, a second whisper, not hers this time, a man's voice, low, hollow "She carries the flame, and you will be the one to burn." 

The candle by my bedside flickered, and went out. 

Selene

The road was empty, cold wind bit at my cheeks as I trudged barefoot along the edge, arms wrapped around myself, I didn't know how far I would run, only that the trees were behind me now, and the moon was fading into dawn, every step felt heavier, this made my head to ache, and my body trembled and yet still… I kept going. 

A pair of headlights appeared in the distance, I turned my face away, hoping the vehicle would pass without stopping, but the engine roared closer, too fast, and too close, I turned, toolate, blinding lights, tire screeching, a sickening thud, my body hit the hood, then the ground. 

Everything went black. 

Beeping, bright lights, whispers. 

I blinked slowly, my eyes heavy and my head spinning, everything felt fuzzy, like I was underwater, my body should have hurt, but it didn't, my skin felt strange, warm... whole, where was I? 

I turned my head slowly and saw white walls, pale curtains, and several women dressed in blue uniforms standing around me, there are nurses as. 

A hospital. 

"Oh my goddess," one of them whispered. "She's awake." 

Another stepped closer with wide eyes. "She should be in critical condition, her ribs were crushed, but now..." 

I sat up slowly, confused, my legs didn't ache. My chest didn't hurt, I looked down and saw... no bandages, not blood, not even a scratch. 

They all stared at me like I was something unnatural, like I was a monster. 

One nurse backed away, pressing the emergency button on the wall, "This isn't normal, she was nearly dead just an hour ago, no human heals like this." 

I panicked, they couldn't know what I was, not what I was becoming. 

I ripped the IV from my arm and threw the blanket aside "I have to go." 

"Wait…please, don't move!" one nurse cried out, but I was already on my feet, my body felt too strong, too fast, I dashed past them, knocking over a tray, the metal clanging loud behind me, alarm started going off, but I didn't stop, I ran down the corridor, passed stunned doctors and confused patients. 

I ran outside to the door, into the cold air of freedom again. 

Lucian

From across the parking lot, I saw her run. 

I didn't move, I didn't speak, I was faster than before, stronger, dangerous, she had changed, I leaned against the hood of the dark car, arms crossed tightly, my heart still raced, not from worry, but from the memory of her eyes when she opened them and saw me, because, she did see me, she knew, she knew it was me behind the wheel, oh yes she knew who hit her, and yet I was the one who carried her broken body to safety, the irony was sickening, and she wasn't supposed to survive that..." I muttered to myself. But now I knew for sure, she was no ordinary Luna.