Chapter 96
Soren
Branches whip at my face, each lash searing into me that time is slipping through my fingers as howls rip through the night. Panic swells within me, an unrelenting emotion that propels my legs forward faster than I’ve ever dared to run. The soles of my boots are hot, and I can feel the thick soles burning my feet and the uneven forest floor. My breath comes in ragged gasps, white plumes in the chilled air that dissipate as quickly as my hope when I don’t find him straight away. I know he would have had to go through the forest; my men would have spotted him if he tried to go through the front gates.
The moon is high in the night sky and bathes the world in a ghostly silver hue. Its light slips through the dense canopy in shards, illuminating patches of gnarled roots and thorny underbrush that threaten to trip me and cost me precious time. Shadows flit and twist around me, playing tricks on my eyes–eyes that strain for any sign of him but only see my men searching in just as much panic as me.
My chest heaves with each heartbeat. I can almost feel the moon’s mocking gaze, its cool light casting long, grotesque shadows that seem to reach for me, as if the darkness itself is alive, hungering for the dread that clings to me like a second skin.
Sweat beads on my brow, despite the crisp air that stings my lungs. It’s not just the physical exertion; it’s the horror of the unknown, the terrifying possibility of what might happen if I don’t reach him in time. The stakes have never felt so dire,
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and every fiber of my being screams for me to push harder, to find my son.
My mind whirls with scenarios I dare not fully imagine, each more petrifying than the last.
“Max!” The desperation in my shout shreds the heavy silence. I push through the underbrush, heart slamming against ribs with enough force to crack bone. Leaves slap and tear at my skin, unforgiving as the reason propelling me forward. My son, my heir, my little boy lost to the night that should have cradled him safely within the castle’s stone walls.
There’s a cruel irony to the timing–a father’s nightmare unfolding on the one night when the veil is tissue–thin- when beasts of night prowl through the night. They say the moon goddess turns her gaze upon us tonight, her realm bleeding into ours, anointing the earth with magic and madness. And out there, somewhere in this twisted maze of forest, Max’s innocence calls to them, he is the dominant species, Lycans are. Werewolves would see him, even as tiny as he is, as a challenge, his aura more potent than their challenging hierarchy. Against a Lycan, they stand no chance, but against a Lycan child, they aren’t equipped to deal with the monster werewolves become on a full moon.
The river, grows closer, louder, insistent. It’s a sound that both guides and warns, its roar a tumultuous symphony battling the thudding pulse in my ears.
“Max!” I scream yet again. Ahead, the sound of the river grows louder.
“Max!” The urgency in my call cleaves through the tumultuous roar of the river as I crash through the underbrush, I catch a
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glimpse of movement ahead.
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He’s there; Max stands precariously close to where the water churns with relentless power, the mist drenching him. His small form is etched sharply against the haze. His cries, sharp and fraught with terror, cut through the noise of rushing
water.
Branches snap underfoot as I surge forward, the mist clinging to my skin like cold dread. Max’s voice pierces the night again, frayed with desperation. “Bree! Bree!” his voice full of panic.
“Max!” The word wrenched from my lungs as I reach his trembling form. I reach for him, my hands clasp onto his shoulders, yanking him back from where death froths and churns below as the water moves toward the waterfall. His body convulses with sobs, tiny frame shaking as if the terror of whatever has scared him has sunk into his very bones.
“Max, look at me!” I plead, needing those wild, darting eyes to focus, to find an anchor in mine. He fights against my hold, limbs flailing wanting to escape from my grasp.
Giving him a shake, I force him to look at me.
