The days blurred into weeks. I was still weak, my body still recovering from the wounds Kael had inflicted, but I forced myself to move, to adapt. I couldn’t afford to fall apart. Not with Theo depending on me.
Thorne, the rogue leader, made his presence known early on. He was a tall, imposing man with silver hair and piercing dark eyes that always seemed to see too much. He rarely smiled, and when he spoke, it was with the kind of authority that demanded attention.
“Selene,” he said one morning, watching me struggle through a set of push-ups with the other rogues. “You want to survive here? You’ll need to work harder than that.”
I glared at him, my arms trembling as I pushed myself up again. “I didn’t ask for your help,” I snapped.
“No,” he said coolly, crossing his arms. “But I’m giving it anyway. You’ve got fire, Luna. But fire alone won’t save you out here.”
Hearing him call me “Luna” stung every time. I wasn’t a Luna anymore. Not to Kael. Not to anyone.
The rogues were tough—physically, mentally, emotionally. They trained relentlessly, honing their skills with a kind of brutal efficiency that left no room for weakness. I tried to keep up, but it wasn’t easy. My body was still healing, and I’d never trained like this before.
Thorne made it clear he had no patience for excuses.
“You’re too soft,” he said after one particularly grueling session. “Your pack pampered you.”
I clenched my fists, anger bubbling up inside me. “I’m not soft. I survived being betrayed by my own pack. I survived being left for dead.”
Thorne studied me, his gaze sharp. “Then prove it.”
The other rogues weren’t any kinder. Most of them didn’t trust me, and I couldn’t blame them. To them, I was just another pack wolf—a Luna who didn’t belong in their world.
But Theo… Theo was a different story. After weeks turn into months…
He’d started bonding with the rogues in ways I hadn’t expected. One of the younger men, a lanky wolf, often played with him, making funny faces and coaxing little giggles out of him. An older woman, had taken to knitting tiny blankets for him in her spare time.
And then there was Thorne.
I caught him one evening, crouched beside Theo with a surprisingly soft expression on his face. Theo reached out and grabbed a strand of Thorne’s silver hair, giggling as he gave it a tug.
“You’ve got a strong grip, little one,” Thorne murmured, his voice unusually gentle.
I watched from the shadows, my chest tightening. It was bittersweet, seeing Theo like this—seeing him smile and laugh when I was still grieving for Elias.
I couldn’t help but wonder: if Elias were here, would he have bonded with these rogues too?
The thought made my heart ache, but I shoved it aside. I couldn’t afford to dwell on what I’d lost.
While we were resting after a brutal training session, a healer among the rogues came to me. She was an older woman with wild, silver hair and kind eyes, but there was a sharpness to her that made her more than just a healer.
“Selene,” she said softly, her voice low as she approached me. “I’ve been watching your ‘son’.”
My heart froze. “Theo?” I asked, my voice tight.
“Yes,” she replied. “He’s sick, isn’t he?”
I nodded, swallowing the lump in my throat. I hadn’t told anyone about the illness that had been slowly consuming him. But the truth was, I’d been afraid to admit it to myself, let alone anyone else.
The healer’s eyes softened with empathy. “There’s something that might help him,” she said, her gaze flickering to the distant horizon. “A rare herb that grows in Scarlet territory. It’s heavily guarded, but it could heal him.”
I felt a surge of hope, something I hadn’t allowed myself to feel in a long time. “What kind of herb?”
She hesitated, as if weighing her words. “It’s called moon’s touch. It’s said to have healing properties that can cure almost any illness, but it only grows in one place—deep within the heart of Scarlet territory. The pack guards it with their lives.”
My chest tightened. Scarlet territory. My territory. Where Kael’s warriors would no doubt hunt me down if they saw me.
But Theo needed it. If there was even a chance to save him… I had to try.
“Can you help me?” I asked, my voice raw with desperation.
The healer nodded. “I can. But you’ll have to get it yourself. No one can enter that land without being detected. Not unless you can move through the shadows, unnoticed.”
I clenched my fists, determination settling in my bones. This was my chance. My only chance.
“Then I’ll do it,” I said, my voice hard with resolve.
And as I stood there, looking out into the wilderness, I realized something else.
I wasn’t just fighting for Theo anymore. I was fighting for my own survival, for the vengeance I’d promised myself. For my son, Elias. The Scarlet Moon Pack had betrayed me, but they would learn that I wasn’t someone they could discard so easily.
I’d find the moon’s touch. I’d heal Theo. And then… take my son, Elias from Kael and Aria.
