My shoulders sagged in relief, and I started to shift my body as much as I could in an attempt to attract his attention.

"Lucien!" I called out, my body wriggling back and forth like a worm on a hook. "Lucien! Lu―"

"Shut it!" Magnus growled.

He had turned back as well, and when he realized that Lucien was hot on our tails, he quickly lost the lazy, amused expression he wore the entire time. His eyebrows furrowed as he clicked his tongue in irritation.

"No more wasting time," he muttered bitterly under his breath. "Shift!"

The two other men did as they were told. With the sound of cracking bones, they quickly shifted, their human bodies morphing into those of huge wolves.

The man who originally had me on his shoulder tossed me in the air as he shifted, and a scream ripped from my throat the second I became airborne. The world around me spun, and I braced for impact, fully expecting to land on the ground before one of them would pick me up.

However, instead of the pain I expected, I was yanked out of the air by the collar of my shirt before being flung over a wolf’s back. A choked sound escaped my throat, and I resisted the urge to gag.

One look and I quickly realized that this must be Magnus, for he was the only wolf I recognized from that night of attack. On top of that, he gave me a cold look over his shoulder as though warning me to stay put, before dashing forward with the rest of his men.

I turned back, desperately glancing at Lucien with growing despair. The distance between us no longer shrank as quickly as before.

I didn’t know if Lucien would be able to catch up quickly enough. For all I knew, the triplets could be waiting at any bend around the corner. I highly doubted that these rogues would lead me straight back into Shadowclaw’s grounds, knowing that Lucien would just track me down there.

If Lucien had successfully invaded Shadowclaw once and brought me out, he could jolly well do the same again. This time, Shadowclaw’s defenses were also down after the casualties they suffered from the recent attack. It was unlikely that they would store me there again.

The rogue wolves growled, and I turned instinctively at the sound to glance at the road ahead of us.

At first, I thought that they were signalling to each other that the Hadeon triplets were just up ahead. After all, rogue wolves didn’t belong in a traditional pack― they didn’t have such a thing as a pack link and wouldn’t be able to communicate with words while they were in their wolf forms.

However, what I saw only made me pale, more so than if I had seen any one of the triplets standing right there.

"Stop!" I yelled when I realized that they were only speeding up, charging headfirst towards a cliffside.

Fog was starting to gather around us, and beyond the plummet towards nothingness, there was nothing else I could see. However, I wasn’t going to bet on whether or not there was something on the other end.

They completely ignored me, which made me scream even louder. "Are you planning on killing yourselves too?!"

These people were insane. All for a little bit of money, they were entirely alright with risking their safety and maybe even their lives.

If this had been a month before, I would’ve been perfectly fine with jumping off a cliff to end my suffering. However, things were different now. Now, I had finally found a mate worth living for. I didn’t want to die. Especially not now, when I finally had a small glimpse of what life could be like for me.

Despite my yelling and squirming, none of the three wolves heeded my words. They treated me as though I was nothing more than the wind wisping past their ears, and they continued forth with determination.

Behind us, Lucien was starting to close the distance once more. My heart was now in my throat, desperately praying that he would be able to catch up. He had his eyes locked on me, and I paled when I realized he wasn’t alone.

There was a group of wolves chasing after him, and they didn’t look like they were his backup. If anything, they looked like they were here to stop him from catching up with us.

"Lucien!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. "We’re headed towards a cliff!" 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

I wasn’t sure if he could hear me, but I needed to warn him, just in case he hadn’t yet spotted the cliffside. If he charged full speed without knowing, he could fall off the cliff. I wasn’t sure if this was Magnus’s tactic to finally get Lucien off our trail.

Lucien had heard me, surely. His speed suddenly increased, and he shortly closed the gap between us while throwing the wolves behind him off. A couple of them managed to catch up, nipping at his heels. He swung his mighty tail, sending one of the wolves flying off the dirt path and into the trees, leaving him in the dust.

Several wolves behind him growled, but they weren’t able to keep up with Lucien’s acceleration.

I turned back to look at the road ahead, my face paling. Now that we were closer to the edge, I could see that there was indeed a path on the other side. It was more like a ravine that separated both cliff sides, and on the other end, there were three familiar figures who stood there, patiently waiting.

Even from such a distance away, I could recognize those three towering black wolves. They looked nearly identical to Lucien’s wolf. However, the look in their eyes was anything but kind and patient. There was still quite a bit of distance between us, but I could already feel their gazes on me.

The knowledge of what sort of fate awaited me made me shiver with dread.

"No..." I muttered under my breath. My throat went dry as we approached the edge. "Stop! Stop, you hear me!"

When Magnus refused to cooperate, I gritted my teeth. I could always fling myself off his back. The momentum might send me rolling a short distance, but it might not be enough to send my free falling to my death.

I carefully watched the road beneath us before holding my breath. Then, with all the strength I had, I swung my upper body, using it to propel myself off.

However, I hadn’t even been airborne for a second before one of Magnus’s friends caught me in the air by his teeth. He then threw me back to Magnus, who caught me once more by the collar of my shirt.

I didn’t even have the time to despair before he leaped off the cliff.

"Ah!" A scream tore through my throat, the wind whipping past my ears.

There was nothing for me to hold on to, and below us was a rushing river whose current would curl me under, if I even survived the fall.

And that was a big ’if’.

The river was filled with sharp spikes that rose from the waters, weathered down into their pointy tips by the rapid currents. If I landed wrong, it would pierce through me instantly. I would have to worry a single bit about drowning in the water if I were to be impaled like a skewer.

We weren’t even halfway through when Magnus’s body quickly started to fall downwards. The momentum that he created from his mighty leap could only get us halfway there. Then, it was downhill from that point on.

I watched in horror as gravity started to work its magic on us. This was the end. I was sure that I would die.

I squeezed my eyes shut, resenting the fact that even with our impending doom, Magnus refused to loosen his bite on my shirt. However, just as I thought that, I was once again thrown upwards and into the air.

For a second, I was sent flying. Magnus had put everything into that swing, easily propelling me up as though I was nothing more than a rag doll. I flew upwards, the wind rushing against my cheeks, and I was forced to shut my eyes as a result.

By the time I finally opened them, a black wolf from the other side had caught me, clamping my torso in its jaws.

It was Rowan. He was careful not to bite down too hard, in case his teeth chewed through me instantly. Meanwhile, Soren and Cassian stood slightly further back, only coming forward to either greet Rowan or check on me.

Once they made sure that I was still breathing, all three of them paused and turned towards the other side of the cliff. Lucien had finally caught up, and he was determined to jump. I peered down, and other than an endless sea of fog and the occasional glimpse of the treacherous waters below, there was nothing else I could spot.

I couldn’t find Magnus or his two friends. They had disappeared entirely.

And if Lucien jumped over the cliff after me, I had the sinking feeling that this would be his fate as well.