Chapter 25 The Forest Was Not Enough
Tasha POV
I had gone into the forest because it was the only place left where I could release the pressure inside me without destroying lives along with it. The city was too close, packed with humans who had no idea what moved beneath their streets, and the pack towns were even worse because every house there held people who trusted me once and would never see the strike coming if I lost control.
The forest gave me distance and silence, and most importantly, it gave me space to make mistakes without consequences that could not be taken back.
I stood between tall trees with my boots planted firmly in damp soil, my arms trembling as energy crawled beneath my skin and demanded to be released. When I lifted my hands and forced the magic outward, the bolt tore through the air with a sharp crack before slamming into a thick tree trunk several meters away. Bark split and scattered, and the impact sent birds exploding from the canopy above me.
The sound echoed for a long time, and when it finally faded, my chest felt slightly less tight, although the relief never lasted long anymore.
I wiped my palms against my jeans, breathing slowly and evenly the way Neel had taught me, because when my breathing stayed steady, the demon inside me stayed quieter. The thought of him came naturally, the image of his face and the calm way he spoke to me settling something deep in my chest that nothing else could reach.
I needed to go back soon. I had already been gone too long, and I knew he would notice even if he did not say anything when I returned.
That was when my wolf shifted uneasily inside me, not in panic but in warning, and the forest around me suddenly felt wrong in a way I could not immediately explain.
I stayed still, my senses stretching outward, and the truth settled heavily in my chest as familiar scents reached me through the cool air.
Wolves.
Emerald Pack.
My jaw tightened as I slowly turned my head, already knowing I would not like what I saw.
I did not run at first, because running would only confirm what they already believed about me. Instead, I walked deeper into the forest, careful with each step, aware that they were close enough now that pretending otherwise was pointless.
“Tasha.”
The sound of my name made me stop completely, because there were very few people left whose voices could still reach me that way.
I turned around, and my father stood a short distance away, positioned carefully between trees as if he did not want to crowd me. His hands were visible at his sides, his shoulders tense, and his eyes held an expression I had learned to recognize long ago, one that balanced fear and regret in equal measure.
“Please don’t do this,” he said, his voice quiet but strained as he took a small step toward me.
“Don’t do what,” I asked, even though I already knew what he meant.
“Don’t run, don’t fight, and don’t hurt anyone,” he replied, pausing again as if measuring every movement. “We only want to talk.”
The demon inside me stirred immediately, its presence pressing against my thoughts with irritation and impatience, and I felt the familiar pull urging me to strike before they could.
They came to bind us. They will cage us again.
I clenched my teeth and took a step back instead of forward, forcing my hands to stay at my sides even as they shook slightly.
“You tracked me,” I said, my voice tight as I glanced past him and caught movement between the trees. “You didn’t come alone.”
“They insisted on coming,” my father said quickly, his gaze flicking in the same direction. “I told them I would speak to you first, and I meant that.”
A bitter laugh escaped me before I could stop it, and I shook my head slowly. “You always say that, and it never changes anything.”
Pain crossed his face at my words, and for a moment he looked like the man who used to sit beside my bed when I was younger, promising me that things would get better if I just held on a little longer.
“Tasha, listen to me,” he said, his voice lowering as if he believed that would make a difference.
“I am listening,” I replied sharply, pressing my fingers against my temple as the pressure inside my head intensified. “That is exactly why this is happening.”
The demon’s voice grew louder, feeding on my frustration and anger, reminding me of every time they had turned away from me instead of standing beside me.
He let them fear us. He let them abandon us.
“Stop,” I whispered under my breath, my breathing growing uneven as I struggled to hold myself together.
My father noticed immediately, his posture stiffening as concern replaced everything else on his face. “What is happening to you right now,” he asked, his tone careful and controlled.
“I am trying not to lose control,” I said honestly, because lying had never helped between us. “And I am failing.”
Several wolves stepped fully into view then, spreading out in a loose formation that made my stomach drop. There were more than I had expected, and the way they watched me made it clear they had already decided how this would end.
“I came out here so this would not happen,” I said, raising my voice slightly as frustration boiled over. “I did not want anyone in the city or the pack towns to get hurt, so I brought it here instead.”
“And people are still dead,” my father replied quietly, the weight of those words settling between us like a wall.
The sound that left my throat was closer to a sob than a laugh, and my vision blurred as anger and grief collided. “You think I wanted any of this,” I demanded, my voice shaking despite my effort to steady it. “You think I chose to become this.”
The demon surged, feeding on the crack in my control, and I felt heat rush through my veins as it urged me to stop holding back.
“I am leaving,” I said finally, backing away again as I scanned the forest for an opening. “Move out of my way.”
“Tasha, please,” my father said, stepping forward without thinking, his voice breaking. “If you go back to the city like this, it will end badly for everyone.”
“There is someone there,” I said, my tone sharp and protective as Neel’s face filled my mind. “And I will not let you or anyone else near him.”
Confusion flickered across my father’s face, but before he could ask anything, I turned and ran.
I did not head toward the city or the pack lands, because I knew better than that. I ran deeper into the forest, forcing my legs to move faster as the sound of pursuit exploded behind me. Branches snapped and leaves scattered as wolves shifted and chased, their movements coordinated and relentless.
“Do not chase her,” my father shouted from somewhere behind me. “Give her space.”
They did not listen, and the sound of their pursuit only grew louder as my breathing became ragged and my muscles burned from the strain.
Let me take over, the demon urged, its voice smooth and confident as power surged through me. I will end this.
“No,” I hissed under my breath, fighting to keep my thoughts clear as panic and anger threatened to overwhelm me.
A wolf leapt into my path, forcing me to react without thinking, and the magic burst from my hands with violent force, sending him crashing into a tree hard enough that he did not immediately get up. The others hesitated just long enough for fear to flash across their faces, but it vanished the moment one of them shouted an order.
Bindings struck my leg, sending pain tearing through me as I stumbled and barely caught myself before hitting the ground. When I straightened, fury flooded my chest, and the demon surged forward eagerly, no longer content to remain restrained.
Enough, it snarled.
The power exploded outward in a wave that threw several wolves back and shattered the ground beneath my feet, and for a brief moment, I felt unstoppable.
Then my father’s voice cut through the chaos.
“Tasha, look at me.”
I turned despite myself, my focus snapping to him as he stood there unarmed, his expression open and raw in a way that made my chest ache.
“This is not who you are,” he said, his voice shaking but steady enough to reach me.
“You do not get to decide that anymore,” I replied, tears burning my eyes as the words tore free.
“You are right,” he said softly. “But I am still your father.”
The word hit me harder than any spell ever could, and in that moment of hesitation, everything unraveled.
Chains of glowing emerald light wrapped around my arms and torso, burning cold as they locked into place. I fought them with everything I had left, screaming as I slammed my power against the restraints again and again, but exhaustion crept in quickly, weakening my strikes and blurring my vision.
My father rushed forward and cupped my face gently in his hands, his touch trembling as he forced me to meet his eyes. “I am sorry,” he whispered. “I should have protected you better.”
Betrayal tore through me, sharp and final, and the demon surged fully forward, drowning everything else in rage.
As they lifted me and carried me away from the forest toward containment, panic cut through the fury when a single thought broke through the chaos.
Neel.
What if someone went after him. What if Snowpack reached him first. What if he was standing alone when this reached the city.
“I have to get out of this,” I whispered hoarsely, struggling against the chains. “I have to go back to him.”
My father’s voice followed me, cracking under the weight of his words as they took me farther away. “I will not let anyone hurt him. I swear it.”
I did not believe him, not anymore.
As the forest faded behind us and the restraints tightened, the demon pressed close and promised me the only thing I could still cling to.
We will escape. And when we do, we will go back to him, no matter what it costs.