Chapter 6 – The Heart of the Hunt
POV: Seren Thorne
The forest was alive with the scent of blood.
Not from the hunt. Not yet.
It was a different kind of blood. Ancient and potent, carried on the wind, tangled in the leaves. The very air hummed with it, as though the trees themselves knew that something had shifted — something deep within the earth and sky.
I stood at the edge of the clearing, watching the pack move like wolves on a mission. Kael led them, his presence so commanding, it made the hairs on the back of my neck rise.
I didn't want to watch him. Didn't want to feel the pull of the bond that twisted between us like a knot tightening every moment.
But I couldn't look away.
His movements were sharp, precise. Every inch of him screamed authority. His power was palpable. But there was something more, something darker lurking beneath his cool facade. A turbulence I could feel, even from this distance.
He was struggling too.
I wanted to reach out. To close the gap between us, to talk. To ask why he rejected me — to demand an answer that made sense. But I knew better. He wasn't going to give me one.
And the bond… it wouldn't let me leave him alone. It thrummed through me, a constant reminder that we were connected, no matter how much he wished otherwise.
Something stirred in my chest — a flicker of anger, followed by a deep, bone-shaking sense of loss.
He didn't want me. That much was clear.
But I wasn't ready to let go.
Not yet.
I turned away from the clearing, walking deeper into the woods. The hunt was beginning, and I wasn't going to be a part of it. I didn't need their approval. I didn't need Kael's.
But something did need me.
That pull.
It was becoming unbearable.
I didn't hear them coming until it was too late.
The snap of branches. The rustle of leaves. Before I could turn, a dark figure launched itself from the shadows.
A rogue.
I barely had time to react before he was on me, claws outstretched, aiming for my throat.
Instinct kicked in.
My hands shot out, shoving him away, but not before his claws grazed my side, tearing through flesh. The pain was immediate, burning, but I barely registered it. My wolf — my real wolf — was there, urging me forward. She was awake now, alive, more present than she had been since the rejection.
The rogue snarled, recovering quickly, his eyes flashing with malice. He was bigger than most, a shadow of muscle and rage, his scent a mix of desperation and fear.
He had no idea who he was messing with.
I shifted.
The power that surged through me was raw, unrefined, but it felt good. The fur rippled across my skin, my bones crackling as I took on the form that had always been just beyond my reach.
I lunged at the rogue, my jaws snapping with fury. He tried to dodge, but I was faster. My teeth sank deep into his shoulder, and he screamed — a guttural sound that echoed through the trees.
I didn't give him a chance to recover. I twisted, dragging him to the ground, my claws slashing through his chest.
When the battle was over, the rogue was dead. His body lay crumpled at my feet, blood staining the earth. But it wasn't the kill that made my heart race.
It was the voice that whispered in my mind.
"Well done, my child."
I froze. The voice wasn't mine. It wasn't my wolf. It was something older. Something darker.
And then it vanished, leaving behind only silence.
I stumbled back, gasping for air. My chest heaved, and the bond with Kael flared again, sharp and undeniable.
It wasn't just the bond that connected us anymore. It was something else. Something dangerous.
POV: Kael Draven
I could feel her.
Her scent. Her power. The way the bond pulled at me like a thread being drawn tighter with every passing moment.
I tried to focus on the hunt. On the task at hand. The pack was moving through the trees, tracking the prey. But every time I tried to center myself, my mind drifted back to her — Seren.
She was out there somewhere. I knew it.
I could feel her power, that wild, untamed energy that thrummed in the air like a heartbeat. It was like she was calling to me, even if she didn't know it.
My wolf was restless. I could hear him growling inside me, urging me forward.
Find her.
But I couldn't. Not yet.
The bond had changed. The rejection hadn't severed it like I'd hoped. It had just… twisted it.
And now I was paying the price.
I had to focus. The pack needed me. But every instinct I had was telling me to stop, to go to her.
And then I heard it.
A scream.
It wasn't a wolf's cry. It was something else. Human.
It was Seren.
My heart clenched.
Without thinking, I shifted, breaking away from the pack, my claws digging into the earth as I bolted through the trees. The ground beneath me blurred as I ran, my senses stretched wide. Her scent was growing stronger, her power more intense, and I followed it like a moth to the flame.
I didn't know why I was doing this. Didn't know if I was running toward her or away from the truth I refused to face.
But I ran.
And when I found her, she was standing over the body of a rogue, blood dripping from her claws, her eyes wild and glowing with power.
My chest tightened. This wasn't her. This wasn't the Seren I knew.
This was something else.
She looked at me then, her eyes locking with mine. And for a moment, everything stilled. The world faded away. It was just her. And me.
The bond pulsed between us.
But it wasn't the same.
She was different now. More than just the mate I rejected. She was… something else. Something powerful. Something that was only beginning to awaken.
I took a step toward her, but she flinched.
"I'm not the same," she said, her voice low. "I'm not the girl you knew."
I wanted to argue, to pull her into my arms, but I couldn't. I knew it wasn't that simple.
The forest around us seemed to close in, as if watching, waiting.
And I couldn't help but wonder:
Had I made a mistake?