Escaped to fight

Escaped to fight
Aero POV

The cell door creaked open with a low groan, breaking the silence that had become my only companion. My head snapped toward the sound — expecting another guard, another interrogation — but instead a man cloaked in dark fabric slipped through the gap. His face was covered, his movements sharp and deliberate.

Before I could speak, he was already at my side, working quickly at the iron cuffs around my wrists. The metallic click of the lock releasing felt like a breath of air after drowning.

“Who are you?” I demanded, voice rough from disuse.

He hesitated only a moment before pulling down his hood.

“Zach?” I blinked, disbelief cutting through the haze. “How did you get here—inside Fangwood?”

He gave a short, grim smile. “Elder Marvic sent me. He said to follow you when you left the village. He had doubts about the Luna’s true intentions — and now, it seems, he was right.”

I stood, shaking off the stiffness from days of captivity. The weight of chains had left deep marks on my wrists, but I had no time to dwell on them. “Then we can’t waste a second. We need to get out before the guards change shifts.”

Zach nodded briskly. “Follow me. I know a way through the eastern wall .”

We slipped into the dim corridor, our footsteps soft and calculated. As we turned a corner, distant voices carried through the hall. We pressed ourselves against the cold wall, waiting for the sound to fade. My wolf stirred restlessly beneath my skin, urging me to run, to fight.

We were just two blocks from the outer passage when a low growl rolled through the corridor. I froze.

Two wolves emerged from the shadows, their yellow eyes glinting with malice. They bared their teeth — not guards in armor but enforcers in fur.

“Damn it,” Zach muttered.

Before either of us could react, they lunged. Zach met the first with a fierce snarl, his body shifting mid-leap, fur exploding across his skin as bones reshaped. I followed instantly, the transformation searing through me like lightning. My senses sharpened — I could smell their rage, hear the thud of their paws against the stone.

The first wolf came for my throat, but instinct took over. I twisted aside, slammed into him with my shoulder, and drove him hard against the wall. A sharp crack — his body fell limp.

Another came from the side, fangs flashing. I met him head-on, sinking my teeth into his neck until his growls broke into a final whimper. Blood sprayed, warm and metallic.

Zach was holding his own beside me, claws raking through the last attacker. But just as he struck the finishing blow, more shapes moved in the dark — half a dozen wolves closing in, their growls echoing like thunder.

Zach’s gaze met mine. Fight or die.

Without hesitation, we charged.

The corridor became chaos — snarls, claws, snapping jaws, the clash of teeth and bone. Every strike, every wound fed my fury. The power that surged within me felt different this time — stronger, wilder. The wolf inside me roared for dominance, and I let it take control.

One by one, the Fangwood wolves fell. My muscles burned, fur matted with blood — theirs and mine. When the last enemy dropped, silence returned, broken only by the sound of our ragged breaths.

Zach stood beside me, chest heaving, a cut bleeding across his shoulder.

“You all right?” I asked, shifting halfway back to human.

He nodded, wiping the blood from his face. “We did it. But more will come. We need to move — now.”

I took one last look at the fallen wolves
“Let’s go,” I said, determination solidifying in my chest. 

We pushed through the village gate, Zach and I still smelling of blood and wet fur. The air in Moonshine felt different — sharper, like everyone could sense the danger crouching at their heels. We didn’t pause. Zach led me straight to Elder Marvic’s hall, where a low knot of figures gathered beneath the lamps. Lira stepped forward as the door swung open and every face in the room turned toward us.

“You’re back!” she cried, relief and alarm warring in her voice. Her eyes darted from Zach to me, then fixed on my face as if searching for wounds.

“Where’s Selene?” I asked without preface. The words came out clipped, hard. My hands still trembled with adrenaline, the wolf-heat humming under my skin.

Lira went pale. For a split second no sound came from her lips. Then she swallowed and said, “She’s gone.”

The room tilted. “What? What do you mean she’s gone?” I demanded, stepping forward. I could feel the others leaning in; the hush of the hall made every breath loud.

Before Lira could answer, Elder Marvic stepped up between us. His beard was white as frost, but his eyes were bright with indignation. “One of our members saw Harold take her,” he said, voice low but steady. “He carried her through the South Gate toward the palace. They’ve locked her in the dungeons.”

Harold. The name was a blow to my gut. My fists clenched until my nails bit into my palms.

“Where is he?” I barked. Rage blistered through me — hot and single-minded. I wanted him; I wanted blood and answers.

“Calm, Aeron,” Marvic said, placing a heavy hand on my shoulder. “We’ve already sent scouts. A few of us are tracking Harold’s route to the palace. He couldn’t have gone far.”

I pictured Selene, pity and chained, bruised, breath shallow in that cold stone place. The image steadied the fury into something colder, more useful.

I swallowed hard and forced my voice into a sharp edge. “We need to get her out of there. The Blood Moon rises tomorrow night, and Eleazar plans to take her blood to awaken his wolf.”

I let the words hang, watching their faces shift from disbelief to cold understanding.

“Eleazar is Wolfborn,” Lira whispered, horror soft in her voice.

Marvic’s jaw tightened. “That explains the masked scent.”

Zach’s hand went to his knife. “Then he’ll move faster. Tonight.”

My throat felt dry but my voice was steady. “We strike before the hour of midnight."

Elder Marvic straightened and spoke firmly. “Small teams — stealth only, no alarms. Zach and Lira, take the stables. Dric and Rynn, flank the servants’ wing with me. Aeron, keep scouts posted along the outer road.”

We nodded, resolve settling into action.

“For Selene,” I said, and the hall echoed with my vow.