Azura's POV
"Stop right there!"
I didn't stop.
My legs threatened to give out, my lungs screamed for air, but I kept running. I clutched the stolen loaf to my chest, its warmth seeping through my tattered cloak, still warm from the baker's oven. If they caught me now, it wouldn't just be about the bread. They'd make an example of me.
Again.
My bare feet slapped against the cobblestones as I tore through the narrow streets of the pack village. Behind me, heavy boots thundered closer.
"You rankless thief! Get back here!"
Yeah, that wasn't happening.
I spotted a thin alley between two crumbling stone buildings and dove into it without thinking. My shoulder grated against the rough brick, tearing a fresh hole in my tunic, but I didn't care. I pressed myself into the shadows, cloak pulled tight, heart hammering so hard I thought it might burst.
The guards rushed past the alley entrance.
I held my breath.
One of them stopped. Sniffed the air.
My stomach dropped.
But then he grunted and kept moving. "She went toward the east gate. Come on!"
I waited until their voices faded completely before I dared to breathe again.
Thank the Goddess for my weak scent. Being rankless meant I barely had a wolf aura. Most wolves could track each other by scent alone, but me? I was practically invisible. A curse most days.
Today, it saved my life.
I peeked out of the alley. Empty. But I knew better than to relax. Those guards were persistent, especially when it came to punishing wolves like me.
I bolted again, this time heading away from the village, toward the forest edge where the pack territory blurred into wildness.
My feet carried me faster than my brain could keep up. Trees blurred past. Branches whipped at my face. I didn't stop until my legs gave out and I stumbled into a clearing I'd never seen before.
I bent over, gasping for air, clutching my knees.
Too quiet.
I slowly straightened, glancing around. The clearing was small, surrounded by tall, ancient oaks. Warm afternoon sunlight filtered through the branches, casting everything in a calm, golden glow. It was peaceful, almost too peaceful.
And then I saw him.
My breath caught.
A man stood in the center of the clearing, shirtless, his back to me. His long brown hair fell past his shoulders, nearly reaching his waist, catching the light like polished wood. His skin was bronzed, a physique forged for battle, not display.
He moved with slow, deliberate grace, practicing strikes against an invisible opponent. Each movement was controlled, powerful, and the sight rooted me to the spot, my own danger momentarily forgotten.
Is that Zeus himself?
I blinked.
No, seriously. Did I just stumble into some kind of godly training ground? Because this man looked like he'd stepped straight out of an ancient legend.
He turned slightly, and I caught a glimpse of his profile. Sharp jaw. Strong nose. Eyes like molten amber.
My heart forgot how to beat properly.
Oh Goddess. I'm staring. I'm definitely staring.
And then I heard it.
Voices. Distant but getting closer.
The guards.
Panic hit me like a punch to the gut. I glanced around, frantic, no alley, no building, nowhere to hide. Just an open clearing… and this ridiculously handsome stranger who probably thought I was some kind of weirdo.
I did the only thing I could think of.
I stumbled forward.
"Please!" The word burst out of me, desperate and breathless.
He stopped mid-strike and turned, his amber eyes locking onto me with an intensity that made my knees weak.
I swallowed hard. "Please, someone's after me. They'll hurt me because I refused to be their girlfriend, and now they won't leave me alone, and I..."
The lie tumbled out so fast I almost believed it myself.
He said nothing. Just stared at me with those unreadable eyes, his expression carved from stone.
Oh Goddess, please, don't let him be like the rest.
The voices grew louder. Closer.
"Please," I whispered again, my voice cracking. "I'm begging you."
For a long, agonizing moment, he didn't move.
His gaze flicked past me toward the sound of approaching boots. When he looked back, his expression had shifted. Something between sympathy and amusement.
He jerked his chin toward a thick cluster of bushes at the edge of the clearing. "Hide there."
His voice was deep. Commanding. The kind of voice that didn't need to be loud to be obeyed.
I didn't hesitate.
I dove into the bushes, ignoring the branches that scratched my arms and tangled in my hair. I curled into the smallest ball I could manage and pressed my hand over my mouth to muffle my breathing.
Footsteps entered the clearing.
"You there," one of the guards barked. "Have you seen a girl? Thin, black hair, wearing rags?"
Silence.
Rags? The nerves.
I peeked through the leaves just enough to see the mysterious man picking up his shirt from where it lay draped over a fallen log. He pulled it on slowly, like he had all the time in the world.
"No," he said finally, his tone flat and unbothered.
"You sure?" another guard pressed. "She's a thief. Stole from the baker. If you're hiding her…"
"I said no." His voice didn't rise, but something in it made the guards go quiet.
There was a long, tense pause.
"Right. Well. If you see her, report it to the Alpha's guards immediately."
"Of course."
The guards muttered something I couldn't hear and then their footsteps retreated, fading back into the forest.
I stayed frozen, afraid to move, afraid to breathe.
The man stood there for a moment longer, his back to me. Then, without a word, he turned and walked away, disappearing into the trees as silently as a shadow.
I waited until I was absolutely sure he was gone before I crawled out of the bushes.
My legs shook. My hands trembled.
Who was that?
I stared at the spot where he'd been standing, my heart still racing for entirely different reasons now.
Whoever he was, he'd just saved me. And Goddess help me, I was already replaying the way he looked shirtless in the sunlight like some kind of lovesick weirdo.
Focus, you fool.
I shook my head and clutched the bread tighter. I didn't have time to daydream about mysterious, godlike strangers. I had somewhere to be.
After a while, I made it to the edge of pack territory, just as bleak as you'd imagine. Forgotten. Run-down. Crumbling stone shelters where the omegas, the sick, and the outcasts were left to survive.
And me.
I wasn't an omega. I didn't fit into any category at all. Being rankless meant I was outside their entire hierarchy. I was at the lowest point.
But the children here didn't care about rank.
As soon as I stepped into the small clearing where they gathered, tiny faces lit up.
"Azura!"
A little girl with tangled blonde hair ran up to me, her bare feet slapping against the dirt. "Did you bring something?"
I crouched down, pulling the bread from under my cloak. "I did."
More children crowded around, their eyes wide and hopeful. There were six of them today. All thin and hungry.
I tore the bread into pieces, handing them out one by one. They took it carefully, like it was something precious.
"Thank you," whispered the little girl, Amanda, as she clutched her piece to her chest.
My throat tightened.
"Eat," I said softly, ruffling her hair.
They devoured the bread in seconds, crumbs falling onto their laps. One boy licked his fingers clean, savoring every bit.
My stomach growled loudly, reminding me I hadn't eaten since yesterday.
I ignored it.
Watching them eat was enough. It had to be.
A small hand tugged on my sleeve. Another child, a boy no older than five, looked up at me with big brown eyes. "Will you come back tomorrow?"
I smiled, even though I didn't know if I could. "I'll try."
He nodded solemnly, like that was a promise carved in stone.
I stood, brushing dirt off my knees, and was about to leave when I heard it.
The thunder of hooves.
A cold dread, sharper than any winter wind, shot down my spine.
Voices carried through the trees, sharp and commanding.
"Search the perimeter! She was spotted heading this way!"
The children looked up at me, confused.
I looked back toward the forest, my heart sinking.
Why won't those stone-hearted bastards quit?