Rejected by Moonlight: Second Moon, Second Chance

Lila's heart clenched tight as the amber eyes pierced through the rain-drenched trees. Their predator's glare cut through the downpour and slashed her fragile hope like a sharpened edge. She stood frozen while her arms shook as they cradled Kade's blood-soaked body. His weight pulled at her bruised and battered frame as the storm battered them with cold, unyielding force. Her breath snagged in her throat since a scream fought to break free. Jaxon's wolves had tracked them and followed through fire and rain, ready to end what Tara began. Her green eyes flicked to Kade. His head slumped against her shoulder while blood seeped from the silver bolt lodged in his ribs. His gray gaze flickered with defiance dimming but stubbornly alive. She couldn't fight, not in this state since her strength was crumbling, but she wouldn't let him die here, not after dragging him from the flames.

The eyes blinked once, then shifted. A low bleat shattered the tension. A deer, its antlers slick with rain, bolted from the bushes and vanished into the misty haze. Relief surged through Lila while a trembling sob slipped past her lips. Her knees buckled and nearly dropped Kade into the mud below. "Just a deer," she whispered. Her voice quivered as tears blended with the rain streaking her face. She tightened her hold on him while her blistered hands slipped against his drenched shirt. She staggered deeper into the woods as the trees closed in like a protective veil. Rain pounded down as a gray shroud dulled the smoldering barn behind them. Its fire reduced to a faint hiss under the deluge. Jaxon's wolves hunted somewhere out there, but for now, the storm cloaked her trail.

She pulled Kade along while her thigh pulsed with pain from Tara's claw mark. Her shoulder burned where Jaxon's wounds throbbed beneath the soaked bandage. Each step was a struggle since mud clung to her bare feet and branches snagged her torn skin, but she pressed on. She wouldn't stop, not with his life draining away under her grip, not with her baby kicking as a fierce little spark driving her forward. "We're alive," she murmured. Her voice sounded rough as a desperate chant against the despair gnawing at her chest. "We're alive, Kade, so stay with me." He grunted in response with a weak, pained sound, but it lit a fire in her, a glimmer of hope piercing the gloom.

The forest grew dense as tall pines loomed above. Their needles turned the rain into a steady drip that soaked her through. She stumbled into a thicket since its brambles formed a jagged barrier. She lowered Kade beneath its cover and rested him against a twisted trunk. His chest lifted with shallow, uneven breaths while blood pooled in the mud beneath him. She dropped beside him as her hands trembled while she pressed them to his wound. The rags were saturated and useless against the silver's venom. Panic rose as a chilling wave threatened to drown her fragile hope. She couldn't lose him, not after Tom, not after all this. She fumbled at her shirt and ripped a strip with unsteady hands while her tears splashed onto his face.

"Don't you dare leave me," she said. Her voice broke as a mix of command and plea while she packed the fresh cloth against the bolt. Blood soaked through instantly and stained her fingers. His gray eyes fluttered open and locked onto hers through a fog of pain. She saw trust there, delicate but real, a bond forged in blood and flame that split her heart wide open. "I need you," she whispered. Her voice quaked with a truth she hadn't planned to admit while her hands pressed harder and urged him to hold on. He'd saved her and stood against the storm for her. Now she'd stand for him and pour a mother's strength and a survivor's will into this rain-soaked moment.

A strange warmth pulsed under her palms, not from Kade's blood but something vibrant and alive. She froze while her breath caught as a faint glow shimmered around her belly. It cut through the rain's gray curtain with a soft light. Her baby, her unborn child, emitted a radiance she'd never witnessed, a gentle throb that spread over her hands and arms while a tingling heat sank into Kade's wound. His breathing steadied slightly and his eyes sharpened with a hint of clarity. Lila's tears quickened as a sob lodged in her throat. "What is this?" she stammered. Her voice shook with wonder and dread while her hands hovered over her stomach as the glow faded as swiftly as it appeared.

Kade's voice grated through the rain, hoarse and labored, while his eyes fixed on her belly with a blend of agony and awe. "That kid's not just human," he said and coughed while blood speckled his lips. "Hybrid power. Jaxon knows, it's why he wants you dead." His words struck like lightning and shattered her fleeting calm. She stared at him while her mind reeled under the revelation's weight. Her baby, Tom's legacy born of a human father, carried shifter blood, a spark of something rare that Jaxon feared, a challenge to his brutal reign. Her tears slowed and gave way to a growing determination. A mother's fierce love hardened into iron. She'd shield this child and this power, no matter the cost.

"Kade, what does it mean?" she asked. Her voice wavered but stayed firm while her hands returned to his wound with fresh intent. He grunted and shifted weakly against the trunk. His gray eyes narrowed as he scanned the trees while rain cloaked their scent. "Means target," he rasped. His hand clamped her wrist, frail but resolute. "Not just you, that kid's a threat to him, to them all. We've got to move since hunters'll smell it too."

Her stomach plummeted as a fresh wave of terror crashed over her while she glanced around the thicket. Rain drummed relentlessly on the leaves. Hunters, silver-wielding shadows who'd taken Tom and hunted her through this endless night, wouldn't settle for her blood alone. They'd crave her baby and this glowing power Jaxon dreaded, a prize worth more than her life. She pressed harder on Kade's wound while her hands trembled and tears fell into the mud. She couldn't lose him, not when he'd glimpsed her child's light, not when he'd named the peril she now bore.

The forest groaned around them as branches swayed in the storm. Kade's head jerked up and his nostrils flared despite the pain carving his face. "They're coming," he growled. His voice sounded thick with urgency as his grip tightened on her wrist. "Horses, close." Her heart leapt into her throat while her eyes darted through the trees. Rain blurred her sight, but then she caught it, a faint thud beneath the downpour, hooves striking the ground and growing louder and unyielding. Hunters were drawn by the blood, the smoke, and the chaos of their escape, closing in like a tightening snare.

"Kade, you can't," she began. Her voice cracked, but he interrupted. His gray eyes blazed with a defiance that cut through her fear. "Get up," he rasped and pushed himself upright. Blood spilled fresh as he clutched the trunk while his legs trembled beneath him. "We run or we die." His words rang with command as an alpha's resolve echoed through his pain. She rose and slung his arm over her shoulder. Her body ached but her will stayed steadfast. She'd carry him and fight for him just as he'd fought for her.

They lurched from the thicket while mud sucked at her feet and rain plastered her hair to her face. Kade's weight strained her injured frame. The forest whirled as a gray blur of trees and mist. She held him close while her hands were slick with his blood and her baby's shimmer stayed a quiet ember in her chest. The hooves grew louder as a rumble shook the earth. She pushed onward while her breaths came as ragged sobs. Her mind was a tempest of fear and love. She'd escaped the fire and defied Jaxon's wrath, but the hunters were here as relentless shadows pursuing the power she carried.

A shout broke through the rain. "There! The rogue woman!" Lila's head whipped around while her heart stalled as a rider charged from the trees. His horse snorted steam and his crossbow aimed. She dove and pulled Kade behind a fallen log while mud splashed as they hit the ground. His groan of pain pierced her core. The rider reloaded while his scarred face twisted into a grin. Lila's hands scrambled in the dirt and seized a jagged branch, rough and makeshift but hers. She stood while the branch shook in her grip and tears were lost to the rain. She faced the hunter with a mother's rage. She wouldn't let him take them, not Kade, not her child.

The crossbow fired as a silver bolt whistled through the air. She swung the branch while a desperate yell tore from her throat. It struck the bolt mid-flight and knocked it into a tree with a thud that jolted her arms. Her strength was a thin barrier against the storm. The rider cursed and urged his horse closer, but Kade's growl rose beside her, faint yet ferocious. He shifted as claws burst forth and lunged at the rider's leg despite the blood gushing from his side. The horse reared while the hunter shouted. Lila swung again and the branch cracked against the man's arm, sending the crossbow tumbling into the mud.

They stumbled back while Kade collapsed against her. His wolf form faded to human while his breaths came short and gasping. The rider wheeled away and called into the rain. "She's here! Bring the others!" The hooves thundered again as more shadows closed in through the mist. Lila's chest heaved while her tears splashed onto Kade's face as she dragged him deeper into the trees. Her body failed but her spirit stayed unbroken. She'd felt her baby's power and seen its light, and now it was a beacon, a lure drawing hunters like flies to a flame.

A bolt zipped past and pinned her sleeve to a tree with a thud that stopped her heart. She yanked free as fabric ripped while her eyes widened with panic as the rain blurred the figures. Hunters, wolves, and Jaxon's fury were all converging. Kade's hand slipped from hers as his body slumped. She caught him while sobbing. Her voice came as a whisper against the storm. "We're not done," she vowed. Her baby's shimmer stayed a faint pulse in her chest, a power she didn't grasp but would die to defend.