Chapter 32 Fugitive

Chapter 32 Fugitive
Sienna's POV

I couldn't shift back.

My body stayed wolf, massive and silver.

I tried to think the change, tried to will my human form back.

Nothing happened.

Panic clawed at my throat.

Kael approached slowly with his hands raised.

"Sienna," he said. "Can you understand me?"

I nodded.

"Good. Can you shift back?"

I shook my head.

His face went tight. "Okay. We'll figure it out."

Dr. Helena joined him with her scanner running.

"Her transformation locked," she said. "The power spike was too intense."

"How do we unlock it?" Kael asked.

"I don't know."

Daemon appeared. "The Assembly is ten minutes out. We need to move."

"She can't run like this," Kael said. "She's too visible."

"Then we leave her."

I snarled.

"We're not leaving her," Kael snapped.

"She'll get us all killed."

"She's the mother of my child."

Daemon backed off. "If she slows us down, we all die."

Claire stepped forward. "What if she's our advantage? Look at her. She's massive and powerful."

"You want to fight an army?" Kael shook his head. "That's suicide."

"No," Kael said firmly. "Sienna is not a weapon."

"Right now she's a wolf."

"She also just killed three people and can't control her power."

The words stung.

I lowered my head.

Kael touched my fur. "We run. All of us. Together."

Daemon's phone buzzed. He swore.

"My scouts. The Assembly split into three groups. They're surrounding us."

"How long?"

"Five minutes."

Orion appeared. "I can open a portal. Get us somewhere safe."

"Where?" Daemon demanded.

"Between dimensions. The Assembly can't track it."

Orion started tracing symbols and purple light flickered.

"Everyone through," he said.

Claire and the pack went first, then Dr. Helena.

Daemon hesitated. "My territory. I'm abandoning everything."

"You're saving your life," Kael said.

He went through.

Kael turned to follow, then stopped.

"Lily," he said. "Where's Lily?"

My heart stopped.

I'd forgotten about my daughter.

"She's with the pack," Claire called. "She's safe."

Kael relaxed. "Okay."

A small figure ran from the trees.

Lily wasn't with the pack. She'd been hiding.

"Lily, come on!" Kael held out his hand.

She ran past him, straight to me.

I lowered my massive head.

She touched my nose. "You're still Mommy. Just bigger."

I wanted to cry.

"I know you're scared," she said. "But it's okay. I'm not afraid of you."

"We have to go," Kael said gently.

"I know." Lily didn't move. "But Mommy needs to know something first."

She looked up at me. "You're going to run because that's what you think keeps me safe. But I don't want you to run without me."

I shook my head.

"Yes," she insisted. "Because we're connected. When you hurt, I hurt. When you run, I run."

Dr. Helena had said that about our life forces.

"If you leave me behind, it'll hurt both of us," Lily said. "So I'm coming with you."

No. I couldn't drag my five-year-old into this.

"Mommy." Her voice was firm. "I'm coming with you. That's final."

Kael touched her shoulder. "Lily, this is too dangerous."

"More dangerous than staying here when the Assembly comes?"

He didn't have an answer.

"I'm coming," Lily said again. She grabbed my fur. "I'm coming with you, Mommy."

The words settled into my chest.

She was right. Leaving her meant hurting us both.

But taking her meant dragging her into danger.

Both choices were terrible.

But only one kept us together.

I nodded.

Lily smiled. "Good."

She walked toward the portal.

Kael looked at me. "You sure about this?"

I nodded again.

"Okay." He took Lily's hand. "Together then."

They stepped through.

I started to follow.

The ground exploded between me and the portal.

Assembly hunters burst from underground. At least twenty with weapons raised.

They'd been waiting to trap me alone.

"Target acquired!" one shouted. "The wolf is separated!"

The portal flickered.

Orion's face appeared. "Sienna, jump! Now!"

I couldn't. The hunters were in the way.

I could fight through them, but that meant killing again.

Or I could surrender and keep everyone else safe.

"Sienna!" Kael's voice. "Move!"

The hunters raised their weapons.

I had seconds to decide.

Then I heard it from the portal.

Lily screaming in pain.

Our connection meant she felt my panic.

Dr. Helena had warned about this. When one of us suffered, both suffered.

If I died here, Lily died too.

The choice was made.

I charged at the hunters.

They fired.

Pain exploded through my shoulder and leg.

I didn't stop.

Hit the first hunter like a truck.

Grabbed another in my jaws and threw him aside.

Not killing, just clearing a path.

More weapons fired.

My vision blurred.

But I could see the portal.

Ten feet. Five feet.

A hunter grabbed my tail and pulled hard.

I spun and snapped at him.

He pulled harder.

No.

Power surged.

The hunter disintegrated.

I'd killed again.

But I didn't have time for guilt.

I jumped through the portal.

Landed hard on the other side.

The portal snapped shut.

I collapsed, bleeding and exhausted.

But alive.

Lily stopped screaming.

Kael was beside me. "You're hit. Multiple wounds."

I knew.

"Dr. Helena!" he shouted.

She appeared with her scanner. "Oh no. These aren't regular bullets. They're poisoned."

"What kind of poison?"

"The kind that kills moon witches."

My vision darkened.

I was dying again.

This time, I'd die as a wolf, unable to say goodbye.

Lily pushed through and saw me bleeding.

Her face crumpled. "Mommy?"

I tried to shift back, tried to speak.

Nothing worked.

My wolf eyes closed.

And the poison spread.