Shadows Follow Lonely Minds — Christopher Harris 5
Chapter 005
For the first time in my life, I stood beyond the border. No title. No wolf. No pack.
Just an exiled outcast.
My wrists throbbed from where the guards had gripped too tightly, a few bruises forming and my cheek burned from the stone someone had thrown as I was dragged through the crowd.
Despite the pain I forced my feet to move.
I can’t collapse here. Not where they could still see me from the walls.
I walked until the torches of the pack lands disappeared, swallowed by shadows. Only then did I let myself stumble, knees buckling against the damp earth.
This is how they want me to die, I thought bitterly.
Alone. Forgotten.
Like I hadn’t been their Luna for three years.
Now,I’m nothing more than a common criminal to them.
Moving a little into the forest that’s when I heard it.
A growl—low, throaty.
Then a clash of claws, the sickening rip of flesh. Snarls echoed through the trees, snapping me out of my daze.
Instinct snapped my head toward the sound. At first, I thought it was a rogue—but then I saw him.
I ducked behind a thick oak, heart hammering.
The fight ended as abruptly as it began.
A shadow stumbled into the moonlight, collapsing to the ground a few feet from me.
I froze.
The man before me was tall, broad-shouldered, his black cloak soaked in blood. Even unconscious, power bled from him, raw and commanding.
My instincts screamed for me to leave but I couldn’t.
I rushed to the spot. There, a man lay half-buried in leaves, blood soaking his side. His chest rose and fell shallowly, eyes half-lidded with pain.
His clothes—dark leathers torn by claw marks—spoke of power, not weakness.
And the aura that clung to him… My breath caught.
He wasn’t just any man. He was an Alpha.
I should have run. Should have left him. But when I saw the crimson pool spreading beneath him, something inside me broke.
Blood. Smoke.
The metallic tang of blood thickens in the air.
I should’ve walked away—goddess knows I’d had enough of saving people who’d only call me traitor later.
But then I felt it.
That pull.
That weight that bends the air when an Alpha breathes.
Even half-dead and half-mad from exhaustion, I knew. I could recognize an Alpha even in my half-dead state.
It wasn’t just his scent—it was the way the world seemed to pause around him, waiting.
His pulse was weak under my fingers, but steady. Stubborn. Like mine.
Maybe that’s why I stayed. Maybe that’s why I pressed my hands against his wounds and whispered, “Don’t you dare die on me, stranger.”
My training surged to the surface before fear could. I crawled to his side, pressing my hand to the wound. Hot blood pulsed against my palm.
When I tried to move him, more blood spilt out. He was drifting away from consciousness.
“No… no, not like this,” I whispered, my hands trembling.
My trembling hands tore open the satchel at my hip. I had little left, a strip of cloth, a crushed root, a single vial of salve, I always kept this with me for emergencies.
Thank goodness, it came in handy.
“…Wha..t,” the injured man struggled to speak.
“You’re bleeding out,” I muttered, scanning the damage. “If I don’t stop it now, you won’t see the next moonrise.”
The man’s lips curved faintly, even through the pain. “Then… save me, healer.”
Kneeling beside him, I tore what was left of my torn dress. I pressed the cloth hard against his wound where the blood wouldn’t stop seeping through. His breath hitched, shallow but steady.
The wound was deep; too deep for any normal wolf to survive. But he wasn’t ordinary. I could feel that even before his eyes fluttered open.
I’d treated enough bodies to know the difference between those clinging to life and those already gone. He clung. Fiercely.
My hands moved quickly, memory guiding me.
I got a few herbs,ground them between stones, and pressed the paste to his wound.
I tied thewound with my torn dress, binding it.
I whispered steadying breaths, urging him to stay awake. Slowly, the flow of blood lessened. His breathing steadied.
His breath rattled, low and uneven. “Why… help me?”
I almost laughed. It came out rough. “Because you’re alive. For now.”
He tried to move, but I pushed him down with a firm hand. “Don’t be stupid, Alpha. You’ll tear it open again.”
The title slipped out before I could stop it. He looked at me then—really looked—and something flickered behind his pain.
Surprise, maybe. Or curiosity.
After tightening up his wounds, I stood up looking at the weak man in front of me.
“I hope this is enough to keep you alive,” I said.
I shook my head,saying. “I could recognize an Alpha even in my half-dead state. And I’ve never been good at walking away from trouble.”
He smirked, faint but real.
“Why did you save me?” he asked, weakly, his eyes drooping.
I hesitated, swallowing whatever was in my throat tightly.
“Because…” I faltered, the words clawing their way out. “…because I couldn’t save myself.”
“You shouldn’t… have risked yourself,” he rasped, eyes half-lidded.
His voice was deep, edged with command, though weakness dragged it down.
“You would have bled out before dawn,” I muttered, binding his side tighter. “I don’t care who you are. I don’t leave people to die.”
“Strange…”
Suddenly, he catches my wrist, his grip surprisingly strong for a dying man.
His eyes, a stormy grey, locked on mine.
“Your name,” he rasped. “Tell me your name.”
I hesitated, my throat tight. “Kaia.”
The ghost of a smile touched his lips. “I’ll remember it.”
For a heartbeat, something unspoken passed between us. Then his grip slackened, his body sagging.
“Stay with me,” I urged, applying more pressure but he fell unconscious again.
But the forest shifted again—voices, hurried footsteps.
I rose slowly, wiping my bloodstained hands on my torn dress.
Three men burst into the clearing, all wearing the same uniform.
Their eyes widened at the sight of him.
“Alpha Theo!” one barked, rushing to lift him.
I jerked back, stunned. Alpha…Theo
“Step away from him,” another, who I presumed was the Delta yelled.
His tone made it sound less like a warning and more of a threat.
I lifted my hands, palms open. “He was dying. I helped him.”
Another man knelt beside the Alpha, checking his pulse, his expression grim. “She’s right. But we don’t know who she is.”
I bit back the sharp reply forming on my tongue.
They wouldn’t believe me anyway. Not with the state I was in; mud-caked, thin, half-starved, and reeking of exile.
The leader, a tall wolf with a scar across his jaw, stepped closer.
His eyes raked over me, suspicious and cold. “Whatever debt you think you’re owed, girl, leave it. You’ll get no reward from the Alpha.”
I stiffened. “I didn’t do it for a reward.”
He scoffed. “Then do yourself a favor and disappear before you regret staying.”
They lifted the Alpha between them, moving with a practised urgency.
They worked quickly, lifting him as though he were weightless.
One warrior turned to me, gaze sharp. “Forget you ever saw him. You never speak of this. For your own sake.”
One of them spared me a glance;a fleeting flicker of something like pity—before they vanished into the trees.
Before I could respond, they vanished into the night, leaving only the blood-soaked earth as proof he’d been there at all.
And just like that, the clearing was silent again.
I stood there for a long time, staring at the crushed grass where he’d been lying. His scent still lingered in the air—smoke, cedar, and command.
“I could recognize an Alpha even half-dead,” I whispered to no one. “And somehow, that makes it worse.”
I sank back onto the ground, staring at my stained hands. My chest tightened, not with fear, but with something I couldn’t name.
An Alpha nearly died at my feet… and I would never forget the storm in his eyes.
Cedella is a passionate storyteller known for her bold romantic and spicy novels that keep readers hooked from the very first chapter. With a flair for crafting emotionally intense plots and unforgettable characters, she blends love, desire, and drama into every story she writes. Cedella’s storytelling style is immersive and addictive—perfect for fans of heated romances and heart-pounding twists.
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