Betrayed By One. Bound To Three-Chapter 64: Escaped.

The night was thick and still, the kind of darkness that swallowed sound and shape alike.

Selena moved carefully, one step after another, her heart hammering in her chest. Every instinct urged her to run, to stay low, to keep hidden. For the first time in days, her wolf stirred faintly beneath the surface, whispering guidance she could barely feel.

The healer had acted quickly once the door was opened.

In the brief moment before Selena slipped out, the woman had pressed a small bundle into her hands while the guards’ attention drifted elsewhere.

"Use it," she had whispered, her eyes wide with fear as they darted down the corridor. "It will help you... but be careful."

Now Selena clutched the bundle tightly to her chest as she moved through the darkness, feeling the warmth of the herbs through the cloth. A faint scent rose from it, earthy and sharp, something that reminded her strangely of safety.

The healer had guided her through the quiet halls with small, hurried gestures. Each time footsteps echoed nearby, the woman had stiffened, her hands trembling under the weight of Silas’s threat. No words were needed. The fear in her eyes had been enough.

Selena had only nodded once, pressing her lips together, determined not to betray the terror clawing inside her.

The garden walls loomed ahead now.

She pressed her hands against the rough stone, testing each ledge and foothold before pulling herself upward. Her arms trembled with the effort, weakened by the poison still moving through her body.

For a terrifying moment her foot slipped.

Then she hauled herself over.

She landed softly on the other side, the damp grass catching her knees as the night air struck her skin. Cold and sharp.

Selena did not look back.

Behind her, the healer was already retreating into the shadows of the house.

Selena forced herself to move.

The forest stretched ahead, dark and endless.

Trees towered above her like silent sentinels. Branches brushed her hair as she pushed deeper into the woods, leaves whispering softly in the wind.

Every rustle made her heart race.

Every snapping twig sounded like a guard’s boot.

She crouched low, moving from shadow to shadow, barely daring to breathe.

Time blurred into something strange and endless.

Her body ached from the poison still clinging to her veins, from the exhaustion of fainting earlier, and from the constant tension that kept every muscle tight.

At one point she stumbled over a root, barely catching herself against a tree.

Her hands scraped against the bark as she steadied herself, her fingers trembling. Only then did she realize just how weak her wolf had become.

The faint pulse beneath her skin was all she had left.

Selena pressed her back against the trunk of a massive oak, closing her eyes as she forced herself to breathe slowly.

Her wolf stirred faintly.

Weak.

But still there.

She clutched the healer’s bundle tighter and whispered hoarsely into the darkness.

"I will survive."

Her voice trembled slightly.

"I will fight. I will not let them win."

The night grew colder as the hours dragged on.

Hunger twisted in her stomach and dizziness rolled through her body in slow waves. The same weakness that had struck her in the council chamber returned with quiet persistence.

She stumbled again, catching herself against another tree before sliding down to the forest floor.

The damp earth soaked into her clothes as she sat there, breathing hard.

For a moment the exhaustion threatened to pull her under.

Then a rustle sounded nearby.

Selena’s head snapped up.

A shadow moved through the trees.

The healer stepped forward.

"You shouldn’t be out here," the woman whispered urgently, her eyes scanning the darkness around them.

She pressed a small vial into Selena’s shaking hands before reaching into the bundle she had given her earlier.

"Drink this. It will slow the poison... but only for a little while."

She crushed a few leaves quickly, mixing them with water from a small flask before pushing the cup toward Selena.

"Hurry."

Selena swallowed the bitter liquid without hesitation.

The taste was sharp and earthy, but almost immediately her wolf stirred beneath her skin, reacting to the faint relief.

"Thank you," Selena whispered.

But the healer had already stepped back.

Her eyes widened suddenly as she glanced toward the distant edge of the forest.

Without another word, she slipped back into the shadows.

Selena was alone again.

The forest felt impossibly vast now.

She forced herself to stand and continued forward, walking as steadily as she could. Each step was slow and deliberate, guided as much by instinct as by sight.

Hours passed in a blur of shadows and quiet sounds.

Every snapping twig made her flinch.

Every distant echo of voices sent her crouching behind trees.

Her body grew heavier with every step.

Eventually she stumbled into a small clearing.

The wet grass gave way beneath her feet and her legs finally buckled.

She collapsed to the ground, shivering as the fragile strength from the healer’s herbs began to fade.

For a long moment she simply lay there, her cheek pressed against the cold earth.

The forest breathed around her.

Wind moved through the branches overhead. Somewhere far away a wolf howled.

Selena closed her eyes.

Her wolf nudged faintly beneath the surface.

Not giving up.

Slowly, painfully, she pushed herself upright again and leaned against a nearby tree.

Every movement felt like a battle.

But she forced herself forward once more.

Dawn began to creep slowly across the horizon.

Pale light filtered through the canopy as Selena stumbled deeper into the forest.

Her legs trembled violently now. Mud clung to her boots. More than once she fell to her knees before dragging herself back up again.

Still she kept moving.

Finally the faint sound of running water reached her ears.

A small stream appeared between the trees, its surface silver in the growing light.

Selena dropped to her knees beside it.

She cupped the cold water in her hands and drank greedily, letting it wash over her face.

The icy shock helped clear the fog from her mind.

Her wolf stirred again.

Stronger this time.

Selena pressed a hand to her chest, feeling the faint pulse beneath her skin.

She was still alive.

Still moving.

And though the forest stretched endlessly ahead, though Silas’s shadow remained somewhere behind her, she had taken the first step toward freedom.

Her strength finally gave out.

Selena collapsed beside the stream, her body trembling as exhaustion claimed her.

The sound of the water flowed softly beside her.

Above, the forest swayed gently in the morning wind.

Her eyes fluttered closed.

She had escaped.

Or so she thought.