CHAPTER THIRTEEN.

(MELIORA'S POV)

"Thank you so much, I really hope I'll see you again someday," I said, ducking my head gratefully as the kind woman pressed a small bundle into my hands.

Inside were a few simple but serviceable clothes, a matchbox, a parcel of dry bread, and a compass - humble provisions, but more than I could have hoped for in my current circumstances.

My fingers traced over the ancient compass in wonder, marveling at having such a vital tool to guide my journey northward.

The woman smiled, the creases around her eyes crinkling warmly. "We too. Be safe out there, miss."

I bent to press a kiss to the little girl's forehead, who had been my inadvertent savior in leading me to this hidden settlement. "I'm glad you brought me here. I enjoyed my stay," I told her sincerely before straightening and offering a final wave of farewell.

The generous man who had extended me his hospitality stepped forward then. "I'll escort you to the riverbanks before we part ways," he informed me gruffly. "Because that's as far we locals go."

Nodding in agreement, I walked beside him as he led us through a narrow, winding trail through the forest.

Along the way, he told me a few useful survival tricks, as he was a skillful hunter himself and I listened attentively, jotting everything down in my memory.

"So once you cross this river, you go north," he said when at last we reached the sandy banks. "The compass will be your guide from there."

I ducked my head respectfully. "Yes, kind sir. I'm forever indebted to you and yours for your generosity."

He nodded, seemingly embarrassed by my effusive gratitude, and gestured for me to proceed across the shallow waterway. As I waded through the gently flowing current, I glanced over my shoulder to offer him one final look of heartfelt appreciation.

But when I reached the opposite shore and turned fully around, he had already melted back into the forest, allowing me to continue my quest unburdened by sentiment or prolonged farewells.

Pushing aside the unexpected pang of loneliness his abrupt departure sparked, I caught a few fish from the river, wrapping them carefully in leaves to save in my new bag.

With my meager provisions secured, I struck out with renewed determination, following the compass' steadfast pointing toward my intended destination.

I walked until nightfall, covering as much ground as I could while the daylight held. When at last I could go no further, I constructed a small fire with the gifted matches and roasted my fish over the crackling flames.

"Well, this time traveling feels better," I mused aloud, relishing the simple but sustaining meal.

After eating, I found a sturdy overhanging branch and settled myself to rest for the night, my back cradled by the comforting solidity of the ancient tree trunk.

"If there's anything that ventures out the anger of my dad's death, it's the weariness from this travel," I murmured, already feeling the bone-deep fatigue of an unremitting day's exertion tugging at my eyelids.

"Any comfort made me weak and prone to tears, but hardship made me strong, tired, and I slept in no time."

And so it went for the next few days. I walked from sunrise to sunset, rationing my scant supplies carefully and seeking momentary reprieves wherever I could find them - a hospitable thicket to rest my aching feet, a stream to replenish my drinking water, a prime fishing hole to trap my evening's sustenance.

With each new morning's light, I embraced the increasingly familiar cycle of striking camp, shouldering my bag, and pressing ever northward with the compass as my constant, unwavering guide.

I relinquished myself to every moment, seeing it as a means of propelling me further towards my ultimate victory, even if in reality nothing concrete had been achieved quite yet.

"Zoey's probably married to Arthur now," I mused aloud one evening, my fatigued body sprawled along a thick branch in preparation for another night's bivouac amid the wilderness.

"He had always liked her, and he'd be eager to seize this opportunity to claim her as his mate."

My expression darkened as I recalled the contemptuous glint that so often smoldered behind my stepmother's eyes whenever she looked my way.

"But with Father gone, wouldn't she want to be Alpha herself, as she and her mother had always schemed? That's why they married me off and out of the Silver Shining Moon pack to begin with. Now I guess she'd be torn between wanting to be Arthur's Luna and being Alpha of my pack."

I sighed, allowing the familiar currents of anger and sorrow to wash over me briefly before focusing on steadying my breathing like Kaira had taught me. Dwelling on such thoughts now would only corrode my hard-won inner strength.


The mournful howling of wolves jerked me abruptly from my light slumber. Fear gripped my chest as I instinctively clutched the branch beneath me, nearly losing my precarious balance in the process.

The haunting cries drew nearer - they had caught my scent.

"Come down here, you spy!" an authoritative bark shattered the stillness from the forest floor below.

Summoning every ounce of my remaining composure, I called out, "I'm not a spy. And I'm coming down now."

Sliding carefully from my perch, I landed lightly on the loamy earth and raised my hands in a placating gesture toward the shadowy figures emerging from the undergrowth encircling my camp.

Their eyes glinted with menace in the faint moonlight filtering through the canopy above as they appraised me - five burly wolves in their man-forms, armed with wicked-looking hunting blades and longbows nocked with arrows aimed directly at my chest.


"State your business trespassing our territory," the apparent leader growled, his teeth elongating into vicious fangs.

Drawing a steadying breath, I met his feral glare unflinchingly. "I'm simply passing through on my way to the nearest civilized pack lands up north. I'll be gone from here by first light, I swear it."

The wolf snorted derisively. "So you expect us to just let you go? After tracking unknown strangers so deep into our forests?"

"I meant no intrusion," I kept my tone even and respectful. "I was merely...displaced from my former home."

My diplomacy seemed to be getting me nowhere. The quintet closed in, their predatory forms towering over mine disconcertingly.

"You're coming with us, rogue. The elders will sort you out properly."

Vastly outnumbered and with no way to signal for aid even if it existed, I realized resistance would be futile.

Allowing them to bind my wrists, I could only hope that appealing to the sense of hospitality I'd heard preached in certain territories might work in my favor.