The SUV roared down the deserted highway, its headlights cutting through the thick mountain mist. Behind them, the city was a chaotic blur of smoke and strange, flashing lights. The "Awakening" was spreading like a wildfire, but inside the car, it was deathly silent.
Killian gripped the steering wheel so hard his knuckles were white. His eyes kept darting to the rearview mirror, checking the backseat where Faith lay with her head in her mother's lap.
Faith's breathing was very shallow. Every few miles, she would gasp, her body jerking as if she were having a nightmare she couldn't wake up from. The black veins from the Void Blade had reached her collarbone. In the dim light of the cabin, they looked like ink spreading through water.
"We need to stop soon," Sarah whispered. Her voice was thin, exhausted. "I need to clean the wound again. The shadow is eating through the bandages."
"We can't stop until we hit the tree line," Killian said, his voice a low growl. The King's scouts have aerial drones. If we're caught on the open road, it's over.
Leo, sitting in the passenger seat, was staring at his phone. Or rather, what was left of it. The network is down. The Council has jammed all signals. They don't want the world to see what's happening in the slums. He looked at Killian, his expression haunted. "My father won't just let us go, Killian. He'll burn the whole mountain to find her."
"He can only try" Killian muttered.
Two hours later, they pulled into a hidden clearing beneath a canopy of ancient pines. The air was biting cold, smelling of pine needles and damp earth.
Killian jumped out and opened the back door. He didn't wait for Sarah to move, he reached in and gently lifted Faith out. She was shivering, her teeth chattering even though she was burning up with a fever.
"Killian…." she mumbled, her eyes fluttering open for a split second. They were so dull, too dull, the silver light nearly extinguished. "Is it….is it over?"
"Not yet, little bird," he whispered, his heart squeezing painfully in his chest. He carried her to a flat rock and laid her down on a pile of coats. We're just taking a break. and you're doing great.
But it was a lie. They both knew it.
Sarah moved in with a small medical kit. As she peeled back the blood-soaked bandage, even Killian had to look away. The wound wasn't just a cut; it was a hole of pure darkness. The skin's edges were gray, crumbling like ash.
"I need water," Sarah said, her hands trembling. Leo, find a stream. Now!
As Leo disappeared into the dark woods, Killian sat behind Faith, pulling her upper body into his lap to keep her warm. He didn't care about the blood staining his shirt. He didn't care about the freezing wind.
"I'm so sorry Killian" Faith whispered. A single tear tracked through the dirt on her face. I'm really sorry "I broke….everything. Your empire. Your pack. You're a fugitive because of me."
Killian leaned down, pressing his lips to her forehead. "Hey look at me, you didn't break anything, Faith. You woke me up. I was a ghost in a suit, buying things I didn't need and fighting people I didn't hate. I'd rather be a fugitive with you than a King without you."
Faith let out a weak, shaky laugh that turned into a cough. "You're a…. Very terrible businessman, Killian. This is a….bad deal."
"It's the best investment I've ever made," he replied, his voice thick with emotion.
Suddenly, a twig snapped in the darkness.
Killian was on his feet in a second, his handgun leveled at the treeline. His Alpha instincts were screaming, even if his power felt drained.
A figure stepped into the moonlight. It wasn't a Royal Guard. It was a young man, barely older than Faith, wearing rags. His eyes were wide, and he stared at his own hands, which glowed with a faint, unsteady golden light.
"I….I heard the car," the boy stammered. He looked at Killian, then at Faith. I'm from the South Side mines. Something happened. I woke up and my skin was burning and then I could see in the dark. I ran. I didn't know where else to go.
Killian lowered his gun slightly. This was the result of Faith's pulse. An Awakened Dud.
There are more of us, the boy said, his voice rising with fear and excitement. "Thousands of us. We're all heading North. We heard a rumor….they said the White Wolf is coming to save us."
Killian looked down at Faith. She was the "White Wolf" they were looking for, but she could barely hold her head up.
She's resting, Killian said, his voice firm. "If you want to live, keep moving. Don't use your light until you're deep in the forest. The King's hunters are behind us."
The boy nodded quickly, looking at Faith with a sense of awe before vanishing back into the shadows.
They're looking for a leader, Sarah said, coming back with a bowl of water. She looked at Killian. "If we don't get her to the Source, they won't find a savior. They'll find a victim. And that kind of war? Nobody wins that."
Killian looked at the black veins on Faith's neck. They had moved another inch.
"Get her ready," Killian said, his face hardening into a mask of pure determination. "We aren't sleeping and we aren't stopping! We're driving all through the night."
He picked her up again, feeling how light she had become. He whispered to her ear." Hey little bird, please hang in there". She was the key to a new world, but to him, she was just the girl who had jumped onto his car and changed his soul and He wasn't about to let the world have her yet.