Korran burst out laughing, the sound filling the coach entirely.
"Execution?" he said between breaths. "Who told you anyone was being executed?"
Hazel turned her head toward him.
"There is an annual gathering for pregnant wolves at Bloodmoon," he said, pulling himself together. "That is where the Alpha is taking you. A celebration. Not a sentencing."
Hazel was very still for a moment.
"So all this time I was preparing to die and I was simply going to a gathering."
"He would not harm you," Korran said, his voice settling into something more serious. "Not after the child is born. Not before. He will keep you safe."
"There is more time," she said quietly to herself.
The laughter faded and the coach grew quiet again, the sound of the wheels and the cold outside filling the space between them.
Hazel's head grew heavy and before long she drifted off to sleep.
Korran watched her for a moment then gently guided her head to rest against his chest so she would not wake from the movement of the road.
He stroked her hair slowly.
"What happened to you," he said quietly, low enough that only the silence could hear it. "What turned something this good into something the world calls wicked."
He looked at her sleeping face.
"When all of this is over I will find a way to make you mine. Whatever it costs. And together we will fix every broken thing."
He leaned toward her slowly.
Then the coach jolted hard over the road and Hazel lurched forward, nearly tumbling from her seat.
"It is fine," Korran said quickly, straightening. "Let me go and see what has happened."
He climbed down from the coach and moved to the front where the soldiers had gathered.
"What is the problem?"
"Beta." The soldier stepped forward, his expression tight. "The moment our coaches crossed the river a barrier appeared behind us. Every coach on the other side of it is cut off. We cannot see them. We cannot hear them." He paused. "Not even through a mindlink."
Korran turned and assessed the barrier. It stretched in both directions as far as he could see, solid and silent.
"Split into pairs," he said. "Move along the barrier in both directions and report back if you find any opening."
The soldiers dispersed immediately.
Korran stood at the edge of the barrier and said nothing for a moment, his eyes moving along its surface.
"Do not use any powers for now," Korran instructed before climbing back into the coach.
Hazel turned her head toward him the moment he settled.
"Why did we stop?"
"A small issue at the river crossing," he said evenly. "We will be moving again shortly."
"I heard every word you said out there," Hazel replied. "Every single one."
Korran was quiet for a beat.
"It is just a barrier," he said.
"And the cursed spirits surrounding us right now?" Hazel said. "I can feel them. Every single one. They are getting heavier and closer by the moment."
"None of us are sensing anything," Korran said carefully. "It is likely the pregnancy and the forest. It can feel unsettling even without—"
"Do not do that," Hazel cut in quietly. "I may be ignorant but I am not dumb. I can hear the tension in your voice. I can feel it." She turned fully toward him. "Tell me what is happening."
Korran looked at her for a long moment.
"Your safety is my responsibility right now," he said finally. "I will not fill you with fear when everything is under control."
Hazel said nothing further.
But her hands pressed slowly against her stomach and she did not let go.
A knock came at the coach door.
Korran stepped out immediately.
"No openings anywhere, Beta," the soldier reported, his eyes moving upward. "And the clouds are closing in fast. Dark ones."
Korran looked at the sky. The light had changed entirely, the kind of change that does not give much warning before it delivers.
"This barrier has something to do with the river itself," he said quietly.
"We will set up a tent for the Lady before the rain breaks," the soldier said.
"Do it now."
Korran returned to the coach and opened the door.
"Hazel. There is a storm coming in. We need to move you to a tent before it hits. It is getting cold."
He guided her out carefully, one hand steady at her arm, moving her across the ground with patience until they were inside the shelter.
Korran draped a coat over her shoulders and she pulled it close immediately.
"Thank you," she said. "It was already freezing out there."
"The other soldiers have not reported back," Korran said, pulling on his coat. "They may have found an opening along the barrier. I need to go and check." He turned to the remaining guards. "Stay with her. Do not leave this tent for any reason."
He looked back at Hazel.
"Do not step outside. Not for anything. If you so much as get a scratch Phoenix will not forgive a single one of these soldiers and I will not be far behind them." His voice was firm but underneath it something quieter ran. "Please. Cooperate for everyone's sake."
He stepped out into the rain.
Hazel turned toward the remaining soldiers.
"Say something," she said. "Each of you. I want to recognise your voices."
One by one they introduced themselves, their voices ranging from deep to uncertain.
Hazel nodded slowly.
"Now sing a lullaby. Keep singing until Beta Korran returns."
They exchanged glances but obeyed, their voices rising together awkwardly into the sound of rain.
"Now stomp one foot," she added. "Every three seconds. Keep it steady."
They did.
"Why are you making us do all of this?" one soldier asked between stomps.
"Keep going," Hazel said simply. "I am checking something."
She sat perfectly still, her head slightly tilted, counting voices, counting footsteps, mapping every person in the tent by sound alone.