Chapter 113 Talia’s test 2

Chapter 113: Chapter 113 Talia’s test 2

Talia’s POV

"I am going to get you out of here," I said.

"There are too many of them, Luna," he whispered. "You cannot fight them all."

"I am not going to fight them," I said. "I am going to run."

His eyes widened. "Run where?"

"Anywhere but here," I said.

I looked up at the rogues. They were still standing in a loose circle around us, and their shock was fading. Their black eyes were hardening again, and their claws were flexing at their sides.

I knew that they were going to attack, and this time, it was all of them.

I looked at Finn’s leg. He could not walk, and he could not even stand. The bone was broken, and the skin was torn, and blood was soaking through his pants and pooling on the ground beneath him.

I knew that I would have to carry him.

I grabbed him under his arms and pulled him up. He cried out in pain, and his fingers dug into my shoulders, but he did not let go.

"I am sorry," I said. "I know it hurts. But I need you to hold on to me and not let go. Can you do that?"

He nodded weakly. "Yes, Luna."

I lifted him onto my back, and his weight pressed down on me, heavy and warm. His arms wrapped around my neck, and his cheek pressed against my shoulder, and I could feel his heart pounding against my spine.

The rogues started moving.

They were coming toward us now, slow and deliberate, like they knew we had nowhere to go. Their black eyes were fixed on me, and their claws were raised, and they were smiling.

I backed away, one step at a time, with Finn clinging to my back.

"There is nowhere to run, little girl," one of them said. "Give us the boy, and we let you live."

"No," I said.

"Then you both die," the rogue said. Then they lunged.

I turned and ran.

My feet pounded against the dirt, and Finn’s weight bounced against my back, and my lungs burned with every breath. Branches whipped against my arms and my face, leaving thin red scratches on my skin, but I did not stop.

Behind me, I heard their footsteps. They were faster than me, and they were gaining.

I pushed harder, and faster. My legs ached, and my arms trembled, and blood dripped from my knuckles onto the ground behind me. ℯℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Finn’s grip tightened around my neck. "Luna," he whispered. "They are coming."

"I know," I said.

I looked ahead. The trees were thinning, and the path was widening. I could see the edge of the forest, and beyond it, the open field that led to the pack house.

I just had to reach it, and I just had to keep running.

I thought about Kaelen. About his gray eyes and the way he looked at me when he thought I was not watching. About his hands on my face and his voice in my ear.

I wondered if he knew I was gone. I wondered if he was looking for me, and I wondered if I would ever see him again.

"Keep running," my wolf said. "Do not think about him. Think about the field, think about the pack house, and think about breathing."

She was right. Kaelen could not help me right now, only I could help me.

So I ran faster.

But a claw raked across my back.

Pain exploded through my shoulder, hot and sharp, and I stumbled. Finn cried out, and his weight shifted, and I almost dropped him. I caught myself at the last second, and I kept running.

Warm liquid dripped onto my collarbone, and I did not need to look to know what it was. Finn’s blood was soaking through his pants, but he had a deep wound on his arm as well, and it was dripping, and running down my back, and I could feel every drop of it sliding across my skin.

"Do not close your eyes," I said. "Finn, do you hear me? Do not close your eyes."

"I hear you, Luna," he whispered. But his voice was weak, and his grip was loosening.

"Hold on tighter," I said. "Squeeze my neck if you have to. Just do not let go."

His arms tightened around me, and I felt his tears on my shoulder.

The rogue who had cut me was right behind me. I could hear his breathing, and I could smell the blood on his claws.

He raised his arm to strike again.

But I turned left, and his claws sliced through the air where my head had been. He stumbled past me, and I used the moment to put more distance between us.

The edge of the forest was closer now. I could see the open field, and the pack house beyond it, and the wolves moving in the distance.

But the rogues were still coming. All of them.

I counted them in my head as they appeared. First they were Six, then seven, or maybe more. They were too many, but I had survived worse odds. So, I would survive this too.

I just had to get to the open field, but I knew that they were not going to let me reach that field.