Chapter 57

The scream of tires filled my ears as I fought for control. The car slid sideways, momentum carrying us toward the cliff at terrifying speed.

My heart hammered against my ribs, each beat a desperate prayer to the Moon Goddess for survival. I downshifted frantically, the engine whining as I yanked the wheel opposite.

The vehicle skidded, its nose turning just enough to avoid direct impact with the guardrail. Instead, we scraped along it with a horrific sound of tearing metal, sparks showering from the contact. The car shuddered violently, threatening to flip as the barrier bent outward under the pressure, revealing the dizzying drop just inches away.

My wolf instincts surged, heightening my senses in the face of mortal danger. Time seemed to slow, each second stretching as my enhanced reflexes allowed me to process the rapidly changing situation. The scent of burning rubber and hot metal filled the car, mingling with the cold mountain air rushing through the cracked window.

Through the chaos, I glimpsed the lead vehicle stopped further along the road. Marcus and Elena had emerged, gesturing wildly as they realized my predicament.

Their faces reflected the horror I felt – understanding the grave danger as my car continued its deadly descent. Elena's mouth formed words I couldn't hear over the screech of metal and the thundering of my own heartbeat.

"Aurora! Try to aim for something that will stop you without sending you over!" Kane's voice came through the phone that had wedged between the seats.

His firm, focused instructions anchored me despite the terror coursing through my veins. "Look for a natural barrier – something solid enough to absorb the impact."

Rain pelted the windshield, further obscuring my vision as the wipers struggled to keep pace. The mountain road glistened treacherously, reducing what little traction remained. Each curve threatened to send me plummeting into the mist-filled abyss below.

Scanning the steep slope ahead, I spotted a rocky outcropping jutting from the mountainside – a natural barrier that might halt my descent without plunging me over the edge. If I could just maneuver the car toward it instead of the next switchback turn...

"I see a potential stopping point," I called out, uncertain if Kane could even hear me. "Rocky outcropping about fifty yards ahead. It's my only chance."

"Aim for it," he instructed, his voice crackling through the damaged connection. "Center impact is best – distribute the force. And Aurora – brace yourself against the steering column but try to relax your body. Tensed muscles break more easily."

Summoning every ounce of focus, I fought to control the car's trajectory, aiming for the rocks while using what little friction remained to moderate our speed. The vehicle responded sluggishly, but enough to alter our course toward potential salvation rather than certain death.

Each second brought the outcropping closer, the massive stone formation looming larger in my vision. I adjusted my position, trying to center the impact zone while preparing my body for the inevitable collision. My Luna training had covered many survival scenarios, but nothing had prepared me for this particular nightmare.

Through the windshield, I noticed a familiar vehicle approaching from the opposite direction – Raymond's distinctive black SUV climbing the mountain road toward us. Hope flared briefly as he surveyed the situation, seeming to calculate how to help. Perhaps he could position his vehicle to slow mine, or create some kind of barrier to guide me toward a safer stop.

"Raymond's here!" I called out, relief washing through me despite everything that had happened between us. In this moment of life and death, our complicated history seemed insignificant – surely he would try to save me.

But the moment shattered as shouts erupted from above. Looking up through the rain-streaked side window, I saw rogues emerging from the forest, attacking the vehicle containing Marcus, Elena, and Giana. At least six wolves in human form, armed and coordinated in their assault. Their movements suggested professional training rather than the chaotic aggression typical of rogue attacks.

Marcus had shifted partially, his claws extended as he pushed Elena behind him protectively. Two rogues had already engaged him, while others circled toward the vehicle where Giana remained, her expression strangely calm amid the violence erupting around her.

Raymond froze, visibly torn between continuing toward me and returning to protect his parents and Giana. I watched through the windshield as he struggled with his decision, anguish evident on his face as he looked from me to them and back again. For one heartbreaking moment, our eyes met across the distance – his filled with conflict, mine with desperate hope.

The car continued hurtling toward the rocks as Raymond made his choice.

Time seemed to slow as he turned away, racing back up the slope toward Giana instead of helping me. He moved with supernatural speed, already shifting as he ran, his form blurring as the wolf emerged to lend him greater strength and speed.

The betrayal cut deeper than any physical pain as Raymond's choice became unmistakably clear – even now, even facing death, I wasn't his priority. After everything we'd shared, everything we'd been to each other, he had abandoned me when I needed him most.

I felt a strange calm settle over me as I accepted the truth that had been evident for months but that I'd refused to fully acknowledge. The mate bond might have connected us physically, but Raymond's heart had never truly been mine.

As the rocky outcropping loomed larger through my windshield, one thought crystallized with perfect clarity: He chose Giana over me, even knowing I would die.

The realization brought an unexpected clarity as I focused entirely on survival. I would not die here – not because of Giana's sabotage, not because of Raymond's betrayal. My fingers tightened on the wheel as I made micro-adjustments to ensure the best possible impact angle.

I braced for collision, drawing on every ounce of my wolf strength to prepare my body. Time compressed to this single moment – the rock face rushing toward me, the squeal of tires, the crack of fiberglass as the front bumper made first contact.

The impact was devastating. Metal crumpled like paper as the car slammed into the rocky outcropping with tremendous force.

The airbag deployed, striking me with bruising power, momentarily blinding me in a cloud of white powder. Glass shattered, raining sharp fragments across my skin as the windshield disintegrated.

Pain exploded through my body, my leg trapped beneath twisted metal as the dashboard collapsed. The steering wheel had been driven inward, pinning me against the seat that now tilted at a sickening angle. Through the shattered windshield, I watched Raymond fighting the rogues alongside his father, both shifted partially to access their wolf strength while maintaining human dexterity.

Giana remained behind them, ostensibly frightened but strangely watchful of my wreckage. Her expression held none of the panic or concern that should accompany such a situation – only calculated assessment as she observed the aftermath of her sabotage from a safe distance.

I struggled to free my trapped leg, panic rising as I smelled leaking fuel. Smoke began filling the cabin, acrid and choking as sparking wires ignited the flammable liquid. I called for help, my voice weak from the impact, but no one above seemed to notice or care about my predicament.

Through my damaged vision, I could still see the battle raging above. Raymond had fully shifted to wolf form, his powerful body moving with lethal grace as he engaged multiple attackers. Despite his enhanced vision and senses, he never looked down to where I remained trapped in the burning wreckage.

The smoke thickened, making breathing increasingly difficult as I continued fighting to free myself. My vision blurred from a combination of smoke, tears, and a gash on my forehead that sent warm blood trickling into my eyes. The heat intensified as flames began licking at the engine compartment, creeping steadily toward the cabin.

Just as consciousness began to fade, I heard someone calling my name from outside. The driver's door was wrenched open with supernatural strength, fresh air rushing in to temporarily clear the smoke.

"Aurora!" Kane's voice penetrated my fading awareness. "Hold on, I'm getting you out of here."

His face appeared through the smoke, his expression grim with determination and fury as he assessed my trapped leg. "I'm not leaving you," he promised fiercely. "Not now, not ever."

Above us, the battle continued, none of the fighters sparing a glance toward the burning car where I lay trapped, balanced precariously between life and death.