Single Mother of a Werewolf Baby novel Chapter 312

Chapter 312: I Hate Bunnies

With a resentful expression, Eleanor pushed forward with all the determination she had left. There was no time to waste, no time to recuperate. If she didn’t reach the town before darkness veiled the land, all would be lost. And hopefully, the town would have a temple to shelter her... as any common settlement in Vanaheim should.

At some point she broke into a jog to cover the distance faster. She stumbled more than once, nearly hitting the ground, but forced herself onward. Fallen leaves and dust scattered beneath her feet as she somehow managed to keep herself upright. Gritting her teeth, she ran like a madwoman.

A sudden, distant noise made her freeze. She lifted her gaze. High above, a lone bird cut across the sky, flying straight towards her. It approached from the direction of the setting sun, rendered pitch-black by the dying light. There was no way to tell what it was.

Perhaps it had spotted her movement and been drawn to it. She was utterly exposed here.

"I need cover."

Her eyes darted around until she found a medium-sized tree not far off. She dashed towards it. "How much worse can my luck get?"

The moment Eleanor slipped beneath the tree’s branches, the bird swept overhead. She crouched low, willing her presence to shrink into nothing. She couldn’t see the creature... only the beat of its wings tearing at the air. With any luck, it couldn’t see her either.

Holding her breath, crushing down the panic clawing at her chest, she waited. The bird circled the tree twice, then veered off towards the mountains. Only when she was certain she could sense no trace of it did Eleanor lift her head and scan the surroundings.

The bird was gone.

Despite her relief at the brief safety, her stomach dropped. The sun had already set. Its lingering reddish glow clung weakly to the horizon, announcing its final breath for the day. The vast plain was sinking into darkness.

Eleanor sprinted toward the town. A mile still separated her from its safety. Those precious minutes lost because of the bird now weighed heavily on her. She had no way of knowing what creatures prowled these plains at night.

Her wounds and blood had long since dried. Her bones ached, but she could endure that. Her speed had improved somewhat, her regeneration having knit her injuries enough for her to move more freely. She felt she could call upon her bloodline powers if absolutely necessary... but she refused to risk reopening wounds that had not fully healed.

Darkness slowly flooded the land. Three moons rose into the sky, their silvery light washing over the plain in a way that only deepened her unease. She ran with everything she had.

She stopped abruptly, eyes widening.

A large bunny stood directly in her path, upright on its hind legs, staring at her with the unnatural glow of hollow, dark eye sockets. In the next second, it lunged... jaws parting to reveal serrated teeth stretched into a hungry grin.

Defying all logic, the creature swelled larger mid-leap, moving with a speed Eleanor herself couldn’t achieve without calling on her abilities. Her combat instincts surged. She pivoted, driving her fist into the charging monstrosity. A thunderous crack split the air as the thing was hurled backwards, its skull collapsing into its ribcage before it hit the ground in a wet, shapeless heap.

She didn’t waste a heartbeat. She bolted for the town. Then her ears twitched.

A cold chill crawled down her spine.

From every direction, soft thump... thump... thuds rippled across the plain... not frantic, but deliberate, growing steadily louder.

The town itself was nothing like what she’d imagined from afar. It was a skeleton of what had once been a small settlement. Stone houses lay in ruins, reduced to heaps of weathered rubble. Grass and small trees grew freely through the remnants of walls and collapsed roofs. It looked as though a catastrophic earthquake had struck long ago, and its residents had never returned.

The only contrast was a single-storey building still standing at the centre of the destruction. With a single glance, Eleanor recognised it as the temple.

The temple was old, but not broken. It stood with a solemn, enduring presence... timber walls weathered by time yet straight and sturdy. The steeply pitched roof, thick with hardy moss, bore its weight without a hint of sagging. The heavy oak door, worn smooth by age, sat perfectly true within its frame. There was no rot, no decay... only a quiet, steadfast patience.

Killing the last few bunny monsters, Eleanor stepped toward the temple. She pushed the heavy oak door open, its iron fittings catching the moonlight with a dull gleam. Inside, the darkness was deep but not complete. A single shaft of pure moonlight fell through a high, narrow window, slicing through the still air like a blade of cold platinum and landing upon the statue. The rest of the interior lay in a velveteen grey, its details revealing themselves slowly as she stood there: the grain of the floorboards, the texture of the stone walls.

The statue of the goddess stood at the centre of the gloom. Moonlight traced the curve of her shoulder, the line of her spear, the serene plane of her cheek, leaving the rest in commanding shadow. The intricate necklace at her throat formed a labyrinth of dark and light, while the twin stone cats crouched at her feet like dense pools of blackness... their presence more felt than seen. The light made her both ethereal and unmistakably solid, a power gathering itself from the night.

The temple’s perfect preservation amidst the surrounding ruin spoke not of daylight’s warmth but of a strength that endured through the darkest hours. On the plinth, an offering of wild heather lay like a tuft of soft grey, its purple drained by the night. The cool, still air carried a hint of frost and old, sacred stone.

The silence here was unlike the emptiness outside. Eleanor felt its weight... a profound, watchful calm. She slowly sat on the stone floor, leaning her back against the wall.

"I hate bunnies."

That was her final thought before her vision went dark.