Chapter 6: Into the Darkness

Lyra's POV

I slammed into the kitchen door and threw it open so hard it banged against the wall.

My bare feet hit the cold ground outside and I kept running. I didn't look back. I couldn't look back. Elder Thorne was dead because of me, and if I stopped for even a second, I'd be dead too.

"There!" Marcus's voice boomed behind me. "She's heading for the woods!"

I heard paws hitting the ground. They were changing into their wolf forms to catch me faster. My heart hammered against my ribs as I pushed myself harder than I'd ever run before.

The tree line was just ahead. If I could reach it, maybe I could hide. Maybe I could—

A howl split the night air. Then another. And another.

They weren't just chasing me. They were hunting me like game.

I crashed through the first row of trees and instantly tripped over a root. My hands scraped against the rough bark as I caught myself, but I didn't stop. I couldn't stop.

"Fan out!" Marcus shouted from somewhere behind me. "She can't have gone far!"

I zigzagged between the trees, trying to confuse my tracks. But I could hear them getting closer. Their dog senses were so much better than mine. They could probably smell my fear.

My lungs were burning. My legs felt like they were made of lead. The cut on my hand that Marcus made three days ago was bleeding again, leaving drops of blood on the leaves as I passed.

That's when I realized they didn't need to track my smell. They could follow my blood.

A huge gray wolf leaped out from behind a tree, teeth bared and ready to attack. I screamed and dove to the side just as his jaws snapped shut where my head had been.

I rolled and scrambled to my feet, but another wolf was already circling around to block my path. Then another. They were surrounding me.

"Got her!" one of them called, changing back to human form. It was Jake, one of Marcus's favorite guards. "She's trapped!"

"Don't hurt her too much," Marcus's voice came from the darkness. "We need her alive for the ritual."

That's when I saw it. Just past the circle of dogs, the trees changed. They looked... wrong. Twisted and black, with branches that moved even though there was no wind. The air coming from that direction felt cold and heavy.

The Shadowlands.

Every wolf in our pack had been taught to fear the Shadowlands since we were children. It was cursed ground where evil ghosts lived. Wolves who went in never came out. Even the bravest Alphas avoided it.

But Elder Thorne had told me to go there. He'd said it was the only place they couldn't follow me.

"Find the Phantom Alpha," I whispered, remembering his last words.

Jake was moving closer, his hands reaching for me. "Come on, slave girl. Don't make this harder than it has to be."

I looked at the group of wolves closing in on me. Then I looked at the dark, scary trees of the Shadowlands.

I'd rather face unknown monsters than the ones I knew for sure wanted to kill me.

I turned and ran straight toward the evil forest.

"No!" Marcus roared. "Stop her! She's going for the—"

I crossed the imaginary line into the Shadowlands and everything changed.

The temperature dropped so fast I could see my breath. The regular sounds of the forest – crickets, owls, rustling leaves – all went silent. Even my footsteps seemed muted, like the ground was swallowing the sound.

Behind me, I heard the wolves skid to a stop at the border.

"We can't go in there," Jake said, his voice shaking. "Marcus, you know what happens to wolves who enter the Shadowlands."

"She's just a weak slave!" Marcus snarled. "The spirits will tear her apart in minutes. We'll take what's left of her in the morning."

But they didn't follow me. Even Marcus was too scared.

I kept running deeper into the cursed forest, even though every sense I had was screaming at me to turn back. The trees here were huge and ancient, their roots so wide that ten people holding hands couldn't wrap around them. Their trees blocked out the moon, making everything pitch black.

Something glowed in the corner of my eye. I turned and saw mushrooms growing on a dead log, glowing with blue light. But when I looked straight at them, they went dark.

This place was definitely cursed.

My legs finally gave out. I fell next to a stream that ran black instead of clear. My whole body was shaking – from cold, from fear, from tiredness.

The cut on my hand was bleeding worse now. I'd lost too much blood over the past few days. First from Marcus's fake routines, then from running and getting hurt. Dark spots danced in front of my eyes.

I was going to die here. Alone in a cursed forest, just like Marcus wanted.

"Elder Thorne," I whispered to the darkness. "I'm sorry. I tried to find the Phantom Alpha, but I don't think he's real. I think you were just trying to give me hope."

The stream bubbled softly beside me. Somewhere in the distance, I heard something that might have been wind. Or might have been sounds.

My eyes were getting heavy. The blood wasn't stopping. I pressed my good hand against the wound, but warm blood kept seeping between my fingers.

"Mom," I said to the empty air. "Dad. I wish I could have met you. I wish I could have made you proud."

Just as my eyes started to close, I heard something that made my heart stop.

Footsteps.

Slow, careful footsteps coming through the trees toward me.

But not human tracks. These were too big. Too heavy. Like something huge was walking on two legs.

I tried to sit up, but I was too weak. I could only lie there and listen as whatever it was got closer.

The footsteps stopped right beside me.

A shadow fell across my face, shutting out what little light filtered through the trees. I forced my eyes open and looked up.

Standing over me was the biggest wolf I'd ever seen. But this wasn't a normal dog. His fur was silver-white and seemed to glow with its own light. His eyes were bright blue, like stars.

And he was looking right at me.

"Please," I whispered, not sure if I was talking to a spirit or a monster or something else entirely. "I'm looking for the Phantom Alpha. Elder Thorne said he could help me."

The big wolf tilted his head. Then, right before my eyes, he began to change.

His hair melted away. His body stretched and shifted. In seconds, a man stood where the wolf had been.

He was tall and strong, with silver-white hair and those same amazing blue eyes. He looked like he'd stepped out of a fairy tale.

"Little star," he said, and his voice was deep and soft. "You're safe now."

He knelt beside me and put one hand on my forehead. Warmth spread through my body, pushing back the cold and pain.

"Who are you?" I managed to ask.

The man smiled, and for the first time in days, I felt like everything might be okay.

"I'm Darius," he said. "And I've been waiting for you for a very long time."