<h4>Chapter 706: THE WAY OUT</h4>


    ONE


    Maelis didn’t answer me right away.


    She studied my face for a long moment, the way someone does when they’re deciding how much truth a body can carry without breaking.


    Then she stepped back, barefoot on the damp earth, and drew in a slow breath.


    The air changed.


    I felt it before I saw it.


    Maelis closed her eyes.


    And then she shifted.


    Bone moved without sound. Flesh folded like water finding a new shape.


    There was no violence to it, no horror. Just grace. Just inevitability.


    Where Maelis had stood moments ago now stood a wolf.


    White.


    Not pale. Not dull.


    White like fresh snowfall under moonlight. Like bone polished smooth by time. Her fur glimmered faintly, each strand catching the glow of the fireflies as though they recognized her.


    She was enormous. Powerful. And impossibly beautiful.


    My breath left me in a shaky exhale.


    "Oh," I whispered, unable to stop myself.


    The wolf lowered her head slightly, watching me with eyes the color of frost and knowing. There was no threat in her posture. No impatience. Just waiting.


    Then she dipped her body low.


    A clear invitation.


    I hesitated.


    My hand went to my belly instinctively, fear and awe tangling inside my chest.


    Maelis waited.


    I took a step forward.


    Then another.


    Her fur was warm beneath my fingers, thick and solid and very real.


    She shifted slightly to give me better footing, careful, deliberate. I swallowed hard and climbed onto her back, settling awkwardly at first until I found bnce.


    The moment I was steady, she rose smoothly.


    And then she ran.


    The world blurred.


    Branches parted ahead of us as if the forest itself bent to let her pass.


    She was fast but never reckless, her movements fluid, precise. I clung to her fur, heart pounding, but there was no fear in it. Only exhration.


    She cared about my baby.


    I could feel it in the way she moved. How she avoided sharp turns.


    How she adjusted her pace when my grip tightened. She carried me like something precious, not fragile.


    For a moment, I almost forgot everything.


    Then the pain hit.


    Sharp.


    Sudden.


    It bloomed low in my body, a familiar ache that made my breath stutter. Between my thighs. Deep in my belly.


    I gasped, instinctively curling forward.


    Not now.


    Please not now.


    The pain intensified for a few terrifying seconds, bright enough to make my vision blur.


    I bit down hard, forcing myself not to cry out, not to panic.


    It passed as suddenly as it came.


    Leaving behind a dull throb and a cold sheen of sweat on my skin.


    "I’m okay," I whispered, more to myself than to her. "I’m okay. It’s just... just a scare."


    Maelis slowed slightly but didn’t stop.


    The forest ahead thickened, trees growing wider, older.


    One in particr loomed before us, its trunk massive, roots twisting like coiled serpents across the ground.


    For a split second, I thought we were going to crash straight into it.


    Then the tree opened.


    Not split. Not broken.


    Opened.


    The bark parted seamlessly, revealing a hollow glowing with soft golden light.


    Maelis didn’t slow. She leapt forward, and the world swallowed us whole.


    The sensation was strange, like falling upward.


    Then stillness.


    Warmth.


    I opened my eyes.


    We were somewhere else entirely.


    The space was vast, carved naturally into the earth, but nothing about it felt crude. Roots formed archways overhead, glowing faintly as though lit from within. Moss covered the ground in soft, springyyers. Pools of clear water reflected the light like mirrors.


    It was beautiful.


    Alive.


    Maelis lowered herself carefully and crouched so I could climb down. My legs trembled as I dismounted, one hand pressed firmly to my belly.


    She shifted back into her human form beside me, silver hair spilling loose over her shoulders.


    "Are you alright?" she asked immediately, her eyes scanning my face. "I felt your difort."


    "I’m fine," I said quickly, forcing a smile. "Really. Just... nerves."


    She didn’t look entirely convinced, but she nodded.


    Armored figures emerged from the shadows then, wolves and humans alike, their stances tense, hands near weapons. Their eyes locked onto me instantly, suspicion sharp and ready.


    Maelis straightened.


    "Stand down," shemanded calmly.


    They hesitated only a second before obeying, lowering their weapons and stepping aside.


    She gestured for me to follow and began walking deeper into the cavern. The guards trailed behind us at a respectful distance, watchful but silent.


    My head was still spinning.


    "You said another stone," I said finally. "Back there. What did you mean?"


    Maelis nced at me, then forward again.


    "The red stone," she said.


    I frowned. "That’s the corrupted one. The one my father has."


    She blinked ate.


    I sighed. "I saw the red ring for sure this time. It was zing red and it felt dangerous."


    "We suspected he had it on him at all times." Maelis said deep in thought. "But now this is a better improvement."


    I stopped walking.


    She turned back to face me.


    "The red stone is a stone of creation," she continued. "Like the emerald. Like the others. It was never evil. Corruption doesn’t change what something is. It only twists how it’s used."


    My pulse quickened.


    "I don’t understand."


    "The red stone still holds its original purpose," she said quietly. "It can open gates. Shape paths. Bridge worlds."


    Realization crept in slowly.


    "You’re saying..." I swallowed. "You’re saying it can send me back."


    "Yes."


    My breath caught painfully in my chest.


    "To the other side," she added. "Not to the pack house of the Distant Lands. But home."


    The word hit me harder than I expected.


    Home.


    "But it’s corrupted," I said weakly. "He’s corrupted. Wouldn’t it just... twist things again?"


    "That depends on who wields it," Maelis replied. "And how."


    She stepped closer.


    "If we use the stone as it was meant to be used. If we anchor it with the emerald on your neck. We can send you back without unlocking your wolf."


    My heart thundered.


    "And he can’t stop it?"


    "He won’t know until you’re gone."


    The space felt too small suddenly. Too full.


    "And my wolf?" I asked softly.


    Maelis’s gaze softened.


    "It stays sealed," she said. "And as long as it does, he cannot finish what he started."


    I pressed both hands over my belly, grounding myself.


    "So this is it," I whispered. "This is my way out."


    "Yes."


    Fear and hope tangled together inside me, tight and aching.


    "And if I leave," I asked, my voice barely steady, "there’s no going back."


    Maelis nodded once.


    "No."


    I closed my eyes, breathing through the weight of it all.


    Then I opened them again.


    But not shifting meant my baby not surviving.


    Meant the possibility of both of us dying.


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