CROSSING THE BORDER

Jagged branches whipped across Elowen’s face, leaving hot trails of stinging cuts across her cheeks. She did not stop. She did not dare blink away the sweat blurring her vision. Her leg muscles screamed in fierce agony, burning with every step, but she forced her battered human body to push harder. The treacherous woods of the Ebonlith Clan territory offered no mercy, snagging her clothes and tripping her feet, yet she tore blindly through the underbrush. Her heart hammered against her ribs, echoing the frantic thud of her footsteps.

She was being hunted. The pursuers tracking her were her own blood. Her father, Beta Varkas, led the charge, flanked by her cruel stepbrother Skaris, and the vicious alpha’s son, Krovos. Behind them, a dozen elite Ebonlith warriors moved through the shadows. Mathematically, a human girl outrunning a pack of seasoned wolves was a slim possibility at best.

*Elowen! Come back here!*

The voice exploded inside her skull, deafening and furious. Beta Varkas weaponized the pack mind link, driving his booming voice straight into her brain. Elowen clamped her hands over her ears as she sprinted, though it did nothing to block out the telepathic intrusion.

*You are dead if I get my hands on you!*

She lacked the strength to sever the mental connection. Varkas was too powerful. She could only endure the ringing pain in her head and focus on the frantic rhythm of her breathing. Being just two days shy of her eighteenth birthday, Elowen had not yet received her wolf spirit. Without the ability to shift and run on four legs, her endurance was pitiful. It was pure, suffocating terror keeping her upright. The unspeakable horrors Krovos had subjected her to flashed through her mind, acting as a whip that drove her past every known physical limit. Getting caught meant a fate worse than dying in these woods.

A sharp tug yanked her backward. Her canvas backpack had snagged on a thick branch. The worn fabric tore, spilling a few meager belongings into the mud. Elowen did not waste a single second trying to retrieve them. She slipped her arms out of the straps, abandoning the bag to the grasping branches. She only needed her life.

Her lungs seared with every ragged inhalation. Just as her knees threatened to buckle, the dense tree line broke. Moonlight illuminated the rushing water ahead.

It was a shallow river that acted as the territorial divide between the Ebonlith Clan and the Sanguine Lupis Clan. Elowen threw herself down the muddy embankment and splashed frantically into the freezing current. The water sloshed around her calves, the slippery rocks beneath the surface threatening to twist her ankles with every desperate stride. She scrambled up the opposite bank, her wet shoes slipping on the slick grass until she dragged herself over the edge.

She collapsed into the cold dirt of Sanguine Lupis territory. Her chest heaved as she gasped greedily for air, her fingers digging into the soil. For one brief second, Elowen believed she had achieved freedom.

A furious howl shattered the silence.

Elowen forced her heavy head up. Across the dark, rushing water, two massive wolves burst from the tree line and skidded to a halt at the edge of the river. The moonlight caught the steam rising from their bodies as they rapidly shifted back into their human forms. Skaris and Krovos stood naked and furious on the Ebonlith bank. Their eyes burned with raw, untethered killing intent that made Elowen’s blood run cold. They glared straight at her. Yet, they did not step into the water. The strict laws of territorial sovereignty acted as an invisible wall.

"Get back here, Elowen!" Skaris roared angrily, his voice tearing through the quiet night.

Elowen knew she could not stay on this riverbank. The Sanguine Lupis border patrols would detect her trespassing scent within minutes. She needed to force her aching body upward and flee southward toward the Desolate Reach, a lawless expanse of unclaimed land where she could finally disappear.

She pushed her hands into the dirt, ignoring the protests of her exhausted muscles, and managed to haul herself up to her knees.

Before she could stand, a massive weight slammed into her back.

The impact drove the breath from her lungs in a sickening rush. Elowen crashed face-first into the dirt. Panic exploded in her chest. Krovos had brazenly crossed the border.

He ruthlessly flipped her onto her back and pinned her down. His heavy knee dropped directly onto her sternum, crushing her chest with a deliberate, agonizing pressure that made black spots dance across her vision.

"Do you think you can run away from me, morsel wolf? You are not going anywhere." Krovos mocked her with a slow, menacing grin, leaning his weight forward to watch her struggle for air.

Elowen coughed, her lungs screaming against the pressure as she forced the words past her lips. "You crossed the border."

"Yeah, so did you." Krovos smirked triumphantly, his eyes gleaming with malicious delight.

From the opposite side of the shallow river, Varkas shouted wildly, ordering Krovos to return before the Sanguine Lupis warriors arrived. Krovos ignored him.

"Let’s go back. You are being very naughty tonight." Krovos reached down and viciously grabbed a fistful of her long, wavy brown hair.

Elowen shrieked in pain as he hauled her to her feet by her roots. Her scalp felt like it was on fire. He offered her no time to find her footing, dragging her back toward the water. Her boots dragged through the dirt as she scrambled to keep up. This was it. She was being dragged straight back to her impending death.

Just before Krovos’s foot could break the surface of the river, the surrounding brush rustled. A dozen imposing figures materialized from the shadows, stepping silently out of the trees. The Sanguine Lupis warriors surrounded them, cutting off the path to the water.

From the center of the armed men, a tall man stepped forward. He shifted fluidly into his human form, his gaze sweeping over the scene. It was Gamma Garrick.

"Krovos Ebonlith. I do not recall giving you permission to cross into our territory." Gamma Garrick deliberately drawled the name, his voice a low threat.

Despite being surrounded by men ready for violence, Krovos did not flinch. He smiled smoothly, unbothered. He tightened his vicious grip on Elowen’s hair, forcing her neck backward.

"I apologize for the intrusion, Gamma. One of our pack members decided to be a bit bold tonight. We caught her before she could bother your pack." Krovos lied with an effortless, charming tone.

Elowen’s heart hammered a frantic rhythm of pure terror. She stared at the Gamma through the disheveled curtain of her own hair.

"No, please! Please, don't send me back!" Elowen pleaded desperately, reaching a trembling hand toward the imposing man.

Gamma Garrick looked at her, taking in her sheer terror. And then, he paid her no mind.

He stared straight through her disheveled hair, turning his focus back to Krovos. He was contemplating the political tension. War between the Ebonlith and Sanguine Lupis clans over a runaway human girl was not a profitable outcome.

"I can understand the situation, but rules are rules. There will be consequences for this border violation." Garrick stated plainly.

"I understand. Let me take this cur back to my pack, and I will invite you for a coffee later to discuss the matter." Krovos nodded smoothly. To emphasize his control, he gave Elowen’s head a harsh, punishing shake that sent a jolt of agony down her spine.

The riverbank fell into a suffocating silence. Elowen stopped breathing. Her survival hung on the next words out of the Gamma's mouth.

After a tense moment of contemplation, Gamma Garrick finally gave a short, dismissive nod.

"Take her and leave. I will discuss this matter with my alpha." Garrick commanded, waving a hand toward the water.

The fragile hope inside Elowen shattered into pieces. The desperate franticness that had fueled her run evaporated, replaced by a heavy, suffocating despair. She went limp, the fight draining from her bruised bones. She had breached the border. She had done everything right. And she was still going to die.

Krovos tightened his fist in her hair.

"Thank you."