Chapter 15 Chapter 15
Chapter 15 Chapter 15
Chapter 15
Nova’s POV
We ran harder than we ever had.
Paws pounded the earth. Breath tore in and out of my lungs. Trees flashed past in a dark blur. Alaric stayed just ahead of me, his massive black wolf form cutting through the night like a shadow, ears pinned back against his skull.
The bond between us stretched tight, almost painful. His fear poured straight into me — sharp, hot, and raw. It fueled my own panic until I could barely tell where his ended and mine began.
Alia snarled inside my head.
Faster. I smell smoke. I smell blood. Something is very wrong.
I pushed my body harder. My legs screamed. My lungs burned. The settlement lights grew brighter ahead — too many torches flickering wildly. Shouts carried on the wind. They sounded chaotic. Panicked.
We burst through the last line of pines.
The north guard tower was leaning dangerously. Wood cracked and splintered. One side had collapsed. Something — or someone — had fallen.
Children were screaming.
People were running toward the wreckage.
A small body lay crumpled at the base of the tower.
Tomas. The boy who climbed everything he could reach. The one who always begged Alaric to teach him knife throws.
He wasn’t moving.
His mother was already on her knees beside him, hands cradling his face, wailing in a high, broken sound that cut straight through me.
“Tomas… Tomas, wake up. Please, baby, wake up.”
Alaric shifted back mid-stride, hitting the ground running as a man. He raced straight to the boy and dropped down next to the mother.
I shifted too, stumbling the last few steps on shaky human legs. My chest heaved as I tried to catch my breath.
The boy’s neck was bent at a terrible angle. His eyes were open but empty, staring at nothing. His small chest rose once. Twice. Barely.
His mother looked up at us, eyes red and desperate. “He fell… They were playing. He climbed too high. The wood gave way.” Her voice cracked. “Please. Someone do something.”
Alaric looked at me. His face had gone pale. His eyes were wide with helplessness. He didn’t say a word. He just gave me one small, quick nod.
I can’t just stand here while his mother is screaming, I thought. Alia… I have to try.
I knelt beside the boy. His mother grabbed my sleeve with trembling fingers. “Please,” she begged, voice hoarse.
I placed my hands carefully on either side of Tomas’s neck. My heart hammered against my ribs. I closed my eyes and reached for the warmth inside me.
It rose slowly. Heavy. This wasn’t a simple cut or a dying plant. This was a child’s life hanging by a thread. Bones shattered. Spinal cord damaged. Blood pooling where it shouldn’t. I felt every bit of it echo through my own body — the crushing pain, the fading spark of life, the tiny heartbeat struggling to keep going.
I gritted my teeth and pushed through. I asked the bones to remember their proper shape. Asked the cord to straighten. Asked the blood to flow right again. Asked the small body to fight. To breathe.
It hurt. The pain shot up my arms and into my chest like fire. Sweat broke out across my forehead. I kept going anyway.
The boy’s neck shifted under my hands with a sickening, quiet crack. Not loud. Just enough.
Tomas gasped suddenly — a sharp, desperate sound.
His chest rose higher. His eyes fluttered. Focused.
He coughed weakly.
His mother let out a sob that turned into pure relief. She pulled him into her arms and rocked him, crying his name over and over.
For a moment, silence fell over the crowd that had gathered.
Then the whispers started.
“She did it.”
“Abomination!”
“She touched him and he breathed again.”
“She’s a healer.”
“She’s dangerous.”
“She saved him.”
I sat back on my heels, hands shaking violently. My chest felt tight. The warmth drained away, leaving me cold and hollow.
The mother looked up at me through her tears. “Thank you… Thank you so much.”
I could only nod. Words wouldn’t come.
Alaric stared at me. There was no shock or fear in his eyes. Only pride mixed with deep worry.
Warriors and pack members pushed closer. Faces everywhere. Some grateful. Some confused. Some openly angry.
One voice rose above the rest, loud and accusing. “She’s Silverfang! She’s got tricks. We don’t know what else she can do!”
Another answered sharply. “She just saved Tomas. Shut your mouth.”
The crowd began to split. Murmurs grew louder, spreading like wildfire.
Alaric stood up. He stepped in front of me, his presence commanding. His voice rang out, calm but loud enough for everyone to hear.
“She saved one of our own. That’s what she did. Anyone who has a problem with that, say it to me. Right now.”
The silence that followed was heavy.
No one spoke.
Alaric looked down at me and offered his hand. I took it. He pulled me to my feet and kept my hand firmly in his. He turned back to the crowd.
“She stays. She is Nightcrest. Anyone who tries to change that will go through me.”
He led me away through the parting crowd. People moved aside. Some nodded. Some stared. Some whispered behind us.
We didn’t speak until we were back inside the cabin. He shut the door and locked it.
Alaric turned to me, his expression serious. “Oh my goddess…”
“You didn’t have to do that,” he said softly.
“I know.”
He stepped close and cupped my face with both hands. His thumbs brushed gently over my cheeks. “You saved him.”
“I almost didn’t,” I whispered. My voice trembled. “It hurt. I felt everything that was wrong with him.”
“But you did it anyway.” He leaned in and kissed me. Slow. Firm. Full of gratitude and something deeper. When he pulled back, he rested his forehead against mine. “They saw you. They know now.”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
“Some will be grateful. Some will be scared. Most will talk.”
“I know.”
He pulled me into his arms and held me tighter than ever. “We handle it. Together.”
Outside, voices rose in the distance. Not angry yet. But the whispers were spreading fast.
The war was still coming.
I closed my eyes and pressed my face against Alaric’s chest, listening to his heartbeat. For now, that steady rhythm was enough.
But I knew it wouldn’t last.