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Avelyn realized it took Sabine longer to turn into her wolf form. Maybe she had time to reach Dunkelstadt and scream her lungs out in hopes that someone would hear her. She dashed through the trees, willing her tired legs to move as fast as possible. But having a head start did nothing when one was chased by a shape-shifter. First, she heard the sound of twigs snapping and bushes being stomped to the ground. The next thing she knew, she was lying on a bed of leaves and pine needles, her mouth full of slightly damp earth. She spit it out and tried to breathe. The heavy weight of the large, black she-wolf pinned her down. Avelyn screamed and kicked her legs. She tried to push herself up. She was determined to fight for her life, even though she knew she had already lost. She was at the mercy of the enraged werewolf.
Finally, Avelyn managed to turn her body around. Her heart stopped when she saw the she-wolf’s sharp fangs so close to her face. “Please…” she whispered. The beast sneered and placed a huge, heavy paw on Avelyn’s chest. She threw her head back, closed her eyes, and howled at the moon. A long, bloodcurdling howl that pierced Avelyn’s ears. She pushed at the wolf’s chest with all her might, but the immense body didn’t even budge. It felt like a rock under her trembling fingers. She grabbed at the fur and pulled. She had no idea what she was doing and what consequences it might bring, but she had to do something. Anything. She wasn’t going to go down without a fight. She ended up with two handfuls of black fur and a very angry werewolf right in her face.
“No, Sabine! Don’t! Please!” She was screaming, begging for her life. A paw pinned one of her flailing hands to the ground, and the werewolf’s fangs went for her neck.
Unbearable pain. Blood gushing out of a deep wound. The sting of werewolf venom making its way through her body. Avelyn’s vision went black and she lost consciousness.
***
She felt two strong arms lifting her off the ground. Her head fell back for a moment, her fiery hair hanging down, then the big arms readjusted her body effortlessly, and her cheek was pressed against a muscular chest. Feeling returned to her arms and hands, and she raised one shaky hand to hook around the neck of the person who was carrying her. She felt warm and safe in his arms. Her torn neck and collarbone didn’t hurt as badly.
“Max?” Her voice was hoarse. She had forced the word out and it almost scratched at her dry throat.
“Shh… I’m here. I’m here now.”
It was Max. The gentle tone made heavy tears run down her cheeks, digging thin rivulets into the dried dirt covering them.
“I’m sorry,” she croaked. “I didn’t know. I’m so sorry. I should have trusted you.”
“Shh… It’s okay. It’s my fault. I should have told you. I should have never lied to you.”
Avelyn sniffed her nose and cringed when a sharp pain ran from her left shoulder to her temple and exploded into an unbelievable migraine. She opened her eyes and stared up at Max’s neck and chin. He was looking straight ahead. She could only see his tightly clenched jaw and a shiny teardrop hanging off his chin. It fell on Avelyn’s neck.
“Where is she?” she asked.
“I don’t know. She ran away. Kevin and a couple of wolves are trying to track her down.”
“I’m sorry… I thought… I thought I was helping her.”
“She can’t be helped.”
“Why? What have I ever done to her? I w
anted to be her friend.”
“You can’t think like that. She almost killed you.”
Avelyn furrowed her brows in concentration. “No, she never wanted to kill me.”
Max hesitated for a second. “She left you to bleed to death.”
“No. She only wanted to turn me. So I couldn’t have children.”
Max stopped, eyes wide with shock and understanding. His grip on Avelyn’s body tightened.
“She loves you, Max. She couldn’t stand the idea that you had taken another bride who could bear your children when that was the only thing she couldn’t offer you. This is my fault, not hers. You locked her up because she couldn’t give you heirs and then you bought yourself a human female. If only I had known… How else could she have reacted? She felt abandoned and betrayed.”
“I didn’t lock her up because she couldn’t have children. Is that what she told you?” He looked down at Avelyn, his eyes taking in her dirty face, her heavy tears, the dried blood that covered her chest. “I locked her up because she had gone insane. She was a danger to herself and everyone around her. Avelyn, I locked her up because she had killed two maids and injured a Moon Child.”
Bile rose in Avelyn’s throat, and her body started trembling uncontrollably. “No…”
“Yes. The wolves wanted me to kill her or take her to court. If she’d been judged by the council, she would’ve been sentenced to death. I couldn’t do either of that. It was the only solution. We covered the murder as best as we could, and made sure she would not hurt anyone again.”
“What have I done?”
Max squeezed her to his chest and resumed walking. The first sun rays were peeking through the clouds and the Schloss came into view, its tall towers reigning over the mountain and the forest.
“You’ve only done what you thought was the right thing, my love, and I respect you for that. I’ll protect you, I’ll keep you safe, I promise. I’ll spend my life trying to gain your forgiveness. I should have never lied to you.”
