I slowly turned myself around, only to find the ck witch standing right in front of me. She


    was staring directly at me with a sinister grin ying on her lips, and I was doing my best not to tremble under her gaze. But the truth was, I was absolutely terrified. I waspletely by myself, and Elias had no idea I was in danger–he believed I was safe while he focused on defending his pack. He didn’t realize that I wasn’t alone out here.


    I had no idea what to say to this woman. I was fully aware of the kind of power she possessed, and I knew without a doubt that I couldn’t possibly win in a fight against her. She’d had years–maybe decades–to grow her abilities, and all I’d done with mine so far was protect Elias back at the cave that one time. I’d managed to throw up a shield around him, but I knew that alone wasn’t going to be enough to go against a witch like her.


    She lifted her hand just a little, still wearing that same threatening smile, and I suddenly felt my throat tighten. Something invisible was wrapping around it, choking me, lifting me off the ground. I couldn’t breathe, and then, just as suddenly, she flung me backward with force. I mmed into a tree a few feet away before crashing down to the ground.


    Gasping for air, I struggled to push myself up, but she made a slight motion with her hand, silentlymanding me to stay down. I couldn’t move. My body wouldn’t respond. I justy there, looking up at her as she walked closer, examining me with a sideways nce.


    “So, what exactly makes you so important? Why would your father go to such lengths to get you back?” she asked.


    “You don’t know?” I rasped out, my voice hoarse. She tilted her head slightly, clearly intrigued. “Please. Enlighten me,” she said. But inside my head, thoughts were racing. Looking back on it, I wasn’t even shocked that my father hadn’t told her the truth. He’d only hired her to capture me–he didn’t care about the method, only the result. And of course, it made perfect sense that he’d kept my identity a secret; he wouldn’t want her trying to im me for herself.


    When I didn’t reply, she started to grow visibly frustrated. She lifted her hand again, and this time I saw a glowing red orb forming in her palm. In a panic, I instinctively raised my arms to defend myself. But the expected impact never came.


    Instead, I heard her gasp in surprise, and when I opened my eyes, I saw a glowing blue shield had formed around me. It was covering my entire body. The witch actually took <i>a </i>step back, startled. She must not have known I had any powers either. Clearly, Thorne hadn’t told her a


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    thing about me. And then, behind her, I heard a low growl. She turned quickly to find a massive ck wolf standing there.


    She nced back at me for one final moment before she twisted away and vanished into a thick swirl of smoke. I let the shield drop, and Elias ran toward me in his wolf form. He lowered himself beside me, licking at my wounds, and within moments I could feel them


    healing.


    He shifted back into human form and slipped on a pair of shorts before helping me to my feet and pulling me into a hug. His eyes scanned over me, carefully checking to make sure I


    wasn’t hurt.


    “The pack is relocating to one of our other safe spots. We’ll catch up with them as soon as we can,” Elias told me. I gave a small nod in response. I was still frozen in shock, barely able to move or speak. Elias simply held onto me, not letting go.


    We both knew we couldn’t stay here long in case the witch came back. Elias grabbed the bag I’d brought with me, and we began moving, heading into the woods and away from the burning vige behind us.


    I had no idea where this other safe location was. I didn’t know which direction we were going, or how long the journey would be.


    We continued walking through the forest all through the night, and eventually, when daylight broke, a town came into view nearby. I was feeling more and more exhausted, but Elias never


    let go


    of


    my hand. He stayed beside me the whole way, patient and calm.


    As soon as we reached the edge of town, Elias spotted a motel and went inside to book a room for us to get some proper rest.


    He brought me into the room, and after setting things down, said he was going to grab some food. But I quickly reached out and held his arm. I didn’t want to be left alone. <fnc48a> Latest content published on find?novel</fnc48a>


    “Hey, it’s alright. I won’t be gone long. You’ll be safe here. No one knows our location,” Elias assured me. I gave him a small nod, then leaned forward and gave him a quick kiss. That made him smile before he walked out the door.


    I stood there for a few seconds, scanning the room quietly, then went over to the bag and took out a change of clothes before heading to the bathroom.


    I showered, scrubbed my hair clean, and got dressed in fresh clothes before sitting down on the bed and turning on the TV. I flipped through channel after channel, growing more <i>anxious </i>


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    by the minute. I hated being there by myself. I kept wondering if the ck witch woulde after me again. I didn’t even know if she could already track me down.


    I kept ncing out the window, over and over, until Elias finally returned with some food for the two of us. Heid everything out on the small table, and then pulled out two burner phones, handing one to me.


    “What’s this for?” I asked him.


    “We both need a way tomunicate, in case we ever get separated. It’s just a precaution,”


    he said.


    “I’ve never owned a phone before,” I admitted. So Elias started setting up his phone first, then did the same with mine. He saved his number in it, and also added Luke’s number, just in


    case I needed to contact either of them at any time.


    Luke already had his own burner phone, but Elias hadn’t gotten one until now. That had been his mistake during ourst disappearance in the woods. He wasn’t nning to repeat it. Though I reminded him that we wouldn’t have had any signal out in the forest anyway.


    He was surprised that I knew what cell phones were even though I had never owned one before. I reminded him that I was isted, not ignorant. Heughed at that.


    r


    austed. After we ate, Elias went to take a shower while Iid down on the bed, feeling When he came out, he climbed into bed beside me and wrapped his arms around me. He pulled me as close as he could, and I didn’t resist. It didn’t take long before I fell asleep. I didn’t know how long we had been asleep, but when I woke up, I looked out the window and could tell it waste in the afternoon. Iy there for a while just staring outside before I finally rolled over and looked at Elias, who was still asleep.


    He stirred slightly before opening his eyes and seeing me watching him. He gave me a smile.


    “I could get used to this,” he said. I smiled back, but my mind was spinning. I kept thinking about how many times Elias had saved me. How I knew he wouldn’t abandon me, and how he’d left his pack to keep me safe, since arge group would have been too easy to spot. “You’re the Alpha of an entire pack. Why did you leave them toe after me?” I asked.


    “Because you’re my mate. That’s what we do. My warriors can take care of each other. You need me right now. They know what they’re doing and where they’re going,” he replied.


    <i>“</i>Alright,” I said.


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    “Don’t feel bad that I left my pack for you. Any of them would have done the same if it was


    their mate,” he added.


    “I know I don’t understand everything. I’m clueless when ites to mate bonds and all <b>that</b><b>,</b><b>” </b>


    I said.


    “But you’ve just turned 16. You can feel it now, right?” he asked.


    “Yeah. I know we’re meant for each other,” I replied.


    “Exactly. And that bond will only get stronger,” he said.


    “Elias, I really want to learn how to fight. There are things I need to do, and I can’t do them by myself,” I said.


    “And what is it that you need to do?” he asked, his eyes curious. I felt nervous about telling him, worried he’d say no. But I hoped he wouldn’t, because this meant a lot to me.


    “I need to go back to my old pack. I have to find out what happened to my mother,” I said.


    “You want to return there?” he asked, clearly surprised.


    “Well, I don’t want them to know I’m there,” I rified. He gave a nod, understanding what I


    meant.


    “You want to sneak back into your old pack to find out what happened to your mother,” he


    said.


    “Yeah. I know she didn’t die giving birth to me. My father killed her. I have to find out why and how, without anyone knowing I was there,” I said.


    “Alright. First things first. You do need to be a warrior. If you’re a Vanguard, you’re a warrior. I was just waiting until you were ready. But I’m not going to train you with the others. I’ll train you myself,” he said.


    “I don’t want to be treated differently by the other warriors,” I said.


    “You already are. You’re their Luna. They already see you as their princess. Maybe even as their Queen. That part’s still unclear,” he said.


    “Okay. When can we start training again?” I asked.


    “As soon as we get to the next location. We’ll begin right away,” he said.


    “Thank you,” I told him. He leaned over and kissed me. I didn’t pull away, and he <i>soon </i>rolled


    < CHAPTER 28


    on top of me as he continued kissing me, his hand gliding down my waist.


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