Phoenix forced the door open and dropped to the ground, reaching back immediately to pull Hazel out carefully before anything else.
Then the crows descended.
They came from every direction, circling in tight violent formations, their wings beating the air into something hostile and close.
Then Korran stepped forward.
His eyes ignited, glowing with a fierce and furious light that had nothing restrained about it. His hair lifted and threw back as the winds gathered around him, responding to something that came from deep within his power rather than from any spell or instruction.
He brought his hands together in one sharp clap.
The gusts that followed exploded outward in every direction simultaneously, tearing through the circling crows and disintegrating each one before they could reform. The trees around them cracked and bent under the force of it. Heavy rocks shifted from their foundations as though the earth itself had been struck.
Then everything stilled.
The remaining soldiers held their positions in perfect order behind him, his eyes still glowing as he turned.
"Alpha," Korran said, his gaze moving immediately to Hazel. "Are you both unharmed?"
Before Phoenix could answer a sound escaped Hazel. Small and involuntary, barely a whimper, but her entire body had gone rigid beside him, every muscle locked against something moving through her from the inside.
The pain broke through every barrier she had built against it.
Hazel lost her footing and began to fall. Phoenix moved first, catching her before she reached the ground, his arms closing around her.
Then Korran was there.
His hands reached her at the same moment, instinct arriving before thought could stop it.
Phoenix looked at him.
The look said everything his voice did not need to.
"Step back," he said. "Now."
Korran released her immediately and straightened. "Forgive me Alpha. It was purely instinct."
Across the road Kael pressed his hand to his forehead and said nothing. The expression on his face said enough.
"Kael," Phoenix said without looking away from Korran. "Take the rest of the convoy back to Redlunar."
"Yes Alpha," Kael replied immediately. "Everyone move. We continue the journey."
"I will remain and help bring her back," Korran said.
Phoenix turned to look at him fully.
"Korran." His voice was quiet. "Do not try to get on my bad side. This is both a warning and a threat and I mean every word of it."
He gathered Hazel into his arms and walked away from the convoy without looking back.
"Korran," Kael said quietly, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Let us go."
Korran stood still for a moment longer then turned and followed.
Phoenix set Hazel down carefully beside the river, the sound of the water filling the silence around them.
"Tell me what is happening," he said. "And explain the bite marks."
"I am fine," she managed between shallow breaths.
"Fine." He looked at her. "You are whimpering in pain and you have been hiding this. For how long?"
"How is that your concern?" she said. "It is the child you care about. Not me. What I do with my own body has nothing to do with you."
Then the scent came again.
Sweet and overwhelming, spreading across the air around them like something alive. Phoenix felt the shift immediately, the movement of creatures in every direction turning toward them, drawn by what her blood carried.
He looked down.
Her white gown was soaking through rapidly.
"Your blood," he said. "It is drawing them."
Hazel was done.
She reached up and pulled the veil away in one swift motion. Then a scream left her, raw and complete, everything she had been holding for days released in a single sound.
Then silence.
She went limp.
The forest floor trembled as creatures broke through the trees from every direction, converging at once. Phoenix rose and looked at them.
"Freeze."
Everything stopped. Every creature locked in place exactly where it stood.
He opened a portal and they went in, one after another, straight into the abyss without resistance.
He turned back to Hazel.
Her gown was entirely red now and more were coming.
He carried Hazel into the river, the cold water rising around them as he waded deeper. Once the current reached his waist he stopped and set her down carefully, keeping one strong arm around her so she would not slip. Then he began to undress her slowly, deliberately, with clear intent.
His fingers worked the fastenings of her dress one by one. Each piece of fabric peeled away with unhurried care, revealing more of her skin to the night air and the chill of the water. He did not rush. His eyes moved over every inch he uncovered, registering every mark as though committing them to memory.
Scars crossed her body in pale, raised lines some thin and fine, others deeper and older. Ancient symbols were etched into her skin in places, dark and deliberate, their meanings half-hidden by the shifting water. His hands followed the paths of those marks, tracing them with the pads of his fingers, feeling the texture of old pain beneath his touch.
When he turned her gently, the major mark came into view: the curse tattoo that spread across her back in bold, intricate lines. It dominated the space between her shoulder blades, black and severe against her skin. He stared at it for a long moment, then let his palm rest fully over the design, feeling the heat of her body through the ink.
Hazel's breath caught. The cold river water lapped at her now-bare skin, making every nerve sharpen, while the heat of his hands and the intensity of his gaze sent a different kind of fire racing through her. He continued until nothing remained between them but the water and the night. His eyes never left her marked body, drinking in every scar, every symbol, every line of the curse that claimed her.
The current tugged at them both. He drew her closer, chest to chest, the full length of her bare form pressed against him as the river swirled around their joined bodies.