I ran with the cold wind whipping against my face. My lungs were on fire, my legs painful, but I did not stop. I couldn't.
Branches shredded my skin, my bare feet burning as they slapped against the rough ground. Behind me, heavy footfalls crashed through the woods, swift and merciless.
I could hear them.
I could feel them.
They were coming.
A deep, bone-chilling howl echoed across the night. My stomach twisted. They were close. Too close.
Quick, I told myself, urging harder, forcing my body to continue. I knew what I would face if I was caught.
I knew what Alpha Raiden was going to do.
The thought kicked up another wave of fear through me, causing my heart to slam harder in my chest. I wasn't strong. I wasn't a fighter. I had never been one. But I wasn't going to die up in here.
I saw a gap between the trees ahead an opportunity. If I could only make it there, perhaps
Something hit me in my back.
I fell hard onto the ground as my face slammed against the cold dirt. A searing pain radiates through my ribs while my body slid along the forest floor, expelling the air from my lungs.
No. No. No.
I wheezed, trying to crawl, but a terrible weight bore down on me, stuffing me in the dirt.
"Where do you think you're going, little wolf?
My body went rigid. That voice.
Deep. Cold. Familiar.
Alpha Raiden.
His boot pressed into my back, pinning me as his cruel laughter echoed in my ears.
"Oh, you really thought you could get away?" he taunted.
I clenched my jaws, trying to push off the floor, but he had the strength of iron. I was exhausted and my body was shaking but I was determined not to give up.
"Please," I gasped, struggling to breathe.
"Please?" he sneered, bending down, his fingers encircling my throat. He pulled me up, my body pressed against his, his nails digging into my skin. "You don't get to beg, Elara. You belong to me."
His golden eyes blazed with fury, his lips curling into an evil smirk. I hated that look. That stare that I knew he liked to force me to suffer.
"You've always been pathetic," he mumbled, squeezing tighter. "Always weak. That's why you will never be more than a useless omega."
My eyes filled with tears but I wouldn't let them fall. He wanted me broken. He wanted me to beg.
But I wouldn't.
"I'd rather die," I spat.
For a moment, silence.
Then he laughed.
A slow, threatening laugh that crept under my skin.
"That can be arranged," he said ominously.
He shoved me back down, my hands striking the dirt, and my gut twisted. I attempted to push up, but his foot was against my back once more, keeping me down like prey.
I clenched my fists. He was better than I was, but I wouldn't yield. Not now.
Then suddenly
The ground trembled.
The air shifted.
It was filled with a new presence, heavy with wild, unbridled strength. It wasn't from Raiden. It wasn't from his men.
It was something stronger.
Something deadlier.
Raiden stiffened above me. His nostrils widened as he turned, sensing it as well.
Then came the deep growl that shook the trees.
Slow. Dangerous.
Something deep in me went sitting up straight. My breathing hitched. My body responded before my brain could even understand it.
And then—I saw him.
Emerging into the clearing like a shadow pulled from a nightmare, golden eyes glimmering in the moonlight.
The Alpha King.
Soren Blackwood.
My body went still.
He was taller than Raiden, his form wide and powerful, layered in dark clothing that only seemed to make him more of a threat. His hair was wind-ruffled black that lay unrestrained over sharp features chiseled with power and something worse than that—the power of authority.
His glance fell on Raiden first. "Let her go."
His voice was deep and quiet, but it had weight. A summons that sent a ripple of tension through the air.
Raiden's fingertips trembled along my skin, his entire body going rigid. He paused for a second, then scoffed.
"You have no claims on her, Blackwood," Raiden spat. "She's mine."
Soren didn't react. He simply remained there, steady, unyielding. But there was something about him that made the air feel denser, crackling with an energy I didn't understand.
"Let her go," he said again. His voice lowered this time. Sharper.
A warning.
Raiden bared his teeth. "And if I don't?"
Soren finally moved.
Fast. Too fast.
Before I could even blink, he had crossed the gap and was standing in front of us. Raiden barely had time to prepare before a force crashed into him, propelling him backward.
My body slammed to the ground and I gasped for air, pulled from his embrace. I coughed, turned on my side, vision swimming.
The second my head lifted, Raiden was back on his feet, his face contorted in fury.
"How dare you defy me over an omega?" he spat.
Soren didn't respond. He simply stayed there, golden eyes fixed on Raiden's. Calm. Unbothered.
"You forget your station, Blackwood," hissed Raiden. "And you may be king, but this is my pack. My land. And she is mine."
Soren cocked his head to the side slightly, just enough to seem radiant. Then, after a long pause, he just said, "Not anymore."
Raiden clenched his fists as he growled. I could see it the way his muscles flexed, the barely contained anger ignited under his skin.
He was going to attack.
But Soren was faster.
Before Raiden had a chance to move, Soren was in front of him, his hand attached to Raiden's throat. He hoisted him up as if he was weightless.
Raiden choked, hands clawing at Soren's hold, but it did not help.
"You're weak," Soren said, almost bored. "And I don't spend time with weak men."
Then he threw him.
Raiden's body slammed against a tree with a sickening crack.
Silence.
The other wolves lurking in the shadows didn't stir. Didn't breathe.
Soren looked over at them. "Leave," he ordered.
They ran.
All of them darted off into the woods, enveloped by the darkness.
And then, finally, his gaze landed on me.
I choked on my breath.
For a second, we were both silent.
Then he came closer, lowering himself until we were at the same level. His fingers slipped, lifting my chin up.
His touch sent a jolt through my body, fire lapping under my skin.
"Elara Nightshade," he said softly, pronouncing my name as if he had known it all his life.
I couldn't move. Couldn't think.
He was too close. Too powerful.
Too dangerous.
"You're coming with me," he said.
My heart stopped.
"What?" I whispered.
He didn't repeat himself.
He didn't need to.
Because the next second, he picked me up in his arms and turned away, taking me into the dark — away from everything I had ever known.
And for the first time that night… I didn't know if I was running toward safety or something worse.