Elara's POV
The door burst open with a crash that made me scream.
Riven stumbled inside, bleeding from a dozen cuts. His shirt was torn to shreds. Deep claw marks ran down his chest and arms.
"Lock it!" he gasped, closing the door behind him. "Now!"
I jumped up and turned the lock with shaking hands. "What happened? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." But he wasn't fine. Blood dripped onto his wooden floor as he leaned against the wall, breathing hard.
"You're hurt," I said, moving toward him. "Let me help."
"No." He held up a hand to stop me. "Stay back. I might still have their smell on me."
"Whose scent?"
His dark eyes met mine. "The hunters who were looking for you. I led them away, but they'll be back. We need to be ready."
My heart sank. I had hoped they would give up. I had thought I could finally be safe somewhere.
"How many were there?" I asked.
"Too many." Riven pushed himself off the wall and walked to a cupboard. He pulled out bandages and pills. "But that's not what worries me."
"What do you mean?"
He sat down heavily in a chair and started cleaning his cuts. "Their leader. I recognized his smell."
Something cold twisted in my stomach. "Who was it?"
Riven looked at me with a face I couldn't read. "Someone from your past, I think. Someone who really wants you back."
Kaelen. It had to be Kaelen.
My legs gave out and I fell back onto the couch. "He came for me himself."
"You know him?"
I nodded, unable to speak. The thought of Kaelen hunting me through the forest like an animal made me sick.
"He's dangerous," Riven said quietly. "More dangerous than I expected. And he's not going to stop until he finds you."
Tears started rolling down my face. "I should leave. I'm putting you in danger just by being here."
"No." Riven's voice was strong. "You're not going anywhere. Not in your condition."
"But he'll kill you if he finds me here."
Something flickered in Riven's eyes. "He can try."
There was something in his tone that made me look at him more carefully. Riven wasn't just some kind stranger who had found me in the woods. There was power in him. Strength. And maybe secrets of his own.
"Who are you really?" I asked.
He was quiet for a long moment, focused on bandaging a cut on his arm. "Someone who knows what it's like to lose everything," he finally said.
"What did you lose?"
"My family. My pack. My home." He tied off the tape and looked at me. "Everything I cared about was taken from me five years ago."
"What happened?"
"I trusted the wrong person. Made the mistake of believing that honor and loyalty counted. I was wrong."
The pain in his voice made my chest ache. We were both broken people, running from our pasts.
"I'm sorry," I whispered.
He shrugged. "It taught me an important lesson. The only person you can really trust is yourself."
"Then why are you helping me?"
Riven was quiet for so long I thought he wasn't going to answer. Then he said, "Because you remind me of someone I failed to protect once. I won't make that mistake again."
Before I could ask what he meant, my stomach growled loudly. I pressed my hands to my belly, embarrassed.
"When did you last eat?" Riven asked.
"Yesterday morning, I think. Maybe the day before. I'm not sure."
He stood up instantly. "You need food. The baby needs food."
"I don't want to be any trouble."
"You're not trouble." He moved to the kitchen area and starting pulling things out of cabinets. "You're pregnant and hungry. That's not trouble - that's an emergency."
I watched him work, surprised by how gentle his moves were. His hands were big and rough, but he handled everything carefully. Like he was afraid of breaking something.
"Can I ask you something?" I said.
"Sure."
"Why do you live out here all alone?"
He paused, a can of soup halfway to the stove. "It's safer this way. For everyone."
"Safer how?"
"People who get close to me tend to get hurt."
There was so much sadness in his voice that I wanted to hug him. This strong, powerful man was just as lonely and scared as I was.
"Maybe," I said softly, "we both just haven't found the right people to trust yet."
He turned to look at me, and for a moment something passed between us. A link I didn't understand but felt deep in my bones.
Then he went back to making soup like nothing had happened.
"This will be ready in a few minutes," he said. "You should try to get some rest after you eat."
"What about you?"
"I'll keep watch. Make sure nobody gets close to the cabin."
I wanted to argue, to tell him he needed rest too. But the fatigue was hitting me like a wave. My eyelids felt heavy.
"Riven?"
"Yeah?"
"Thank you. For everything. I know you don't have to help me."
He brought me a bowl of hot soup and a piece of bread. "You don't need to thank me. Just focus on taking care of yourself and your baby."
The soup was the best thing I had ever eaten. Warm and rich and filling. I ate every drop.
"Better?" Riven asked.
I nodded, already feeling stronger.
"Good. There's medicine in that bag if you need it. And clean clothes in the bedroom."
"You thought of everything."
"I try to be prepared."
I curled up on the couch with a soft blanket he had given me. For the first time in days, I felt safe. Protected.
"Riven?"
"Mmm?"
"Will you stay close? Just until I fall asleep?"
He moved his chair closer to the couch. "I'm not going anywhere."
His presence was like a warm shield around me. I closed my eyes and let myself relax for the first time since I had run away.
But just as I was slipping off to sleep, I heard something that made my blood freeze.
A wolf howl in the distance. Then another. And another.
They were getting closer.
Riven was on his feet instantly, every muscle tense.
"What is it?" I whispered.
He moved to the window and peered out through the curtains. His face went pale.
"They're back," he said sadly. "And this time they brought friends."
Through the window, I could see lights moving through the trees. Lots of lights. More than before.
"How many?" I asked, my voice shaking.
Riven counted quietly. "At least fifty. Maybe more."
Fifty shooters. All looking for me.
"We need to run," I said, starting to get up.
"No." Riven turned away from the window. "Running won't work this time. They have the whole forest surrounded."
"Then what do we do?"
He looked at me with those strange dark eyes, and I saw something in them that scared me.
"We fight."
"Riven, there are too many of them. They'll kill you."
A strange smile crossed his face. "They can try. But first, there's something I need to tell you. Something about who I really am."
Before he could continue, the lights stopped moving. The forest went totally silent.
Then a voice boomed through the darkness. A voice I recognized. A voice that made my heart stop.
"ELARA!" Kaelen's roar echoed through the trees. "I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE! COME OUT NOW AND I WON'T HURT YOUR PROTECTOR!"
Riven's entire body went rigid.
"RIVEN BLACKTHORN!" Kaelen continued. "DID YOU REALLY THINK I WOULDN'T RECOGNIZE YOUR SCENT? IT'S TIME TO FINISH WHAT WE STARTED FIVE YEARS AGO!"
I stared at Riven in shock. "You know him?"
Riven's hands curled into fists. "He's the one who destroyed my family."
The pieces suddenly clicked together in my mind. The pain in Riven's eyes. His exile. His hatred.
"He's the reason you lost everything," I whispered.
"Yes." Riven turned to face me, and I saw death in his eyes. "And now he's going to pay for it."