"Don't move."
The command came out of my mouth—but it didn't sound like me.
It was deeper.
Colder.
Stronger.
The rogues froze.
All three of them.
For a moment, none of us moved. The forest seemed to hold its breath, the wind dying down as if even nature was waiting to see what I would do next.
My heart was pounding—but not from fear anymore.
From something else.
Something… darker.
I slowly pushed myself up from the ground, my body no longer trembling. The pain that had been tearing through me moments ago was gone, replaced by a strange, burning energy coursing through my veins.
Alive.
Too alive.
"What the hell is wrong with her…?" one of them whispered.
I tilted my head slightly, my gaze locking onto him.
His scent hit me all at once.
Fear.
Sweat.
Blood.
My lips parted as a strange, unfamiliar urge crawled through me.
Hunt.
The thought wasn't mine.
Or maybe it was.
I took a step forward.
They stepped back.
Interesting.
"You were so confident a second ago," I said quietly, my voice calm in a way that felt unnatural. "What happened?"
The leader growled, trying to recover his authority.
"She's just putting on a show," he snapped. "She's still weak."
Weak.
The word echoed in my head.
Something inside me twisted violently.
My wolf surged forward.
We are not weak.
Before I even realized what I was doing—I moved.
Fast.
Faster than I had ever moved before.
One second I was standing in front of them.
The next, I was behind the leader.
He barely had time to react before I grabbed him and slammed him into the ground.
A shocked gasp left his lips.
So did mine.
I stared down at him, my chest rising and falling.
That… was me?
The other two lunged toward me.
Instinct took over.
I spun, dodging one and striking the other, my movements sharp and precise like I had done this a thousand times before.
But I hadn't.
I knew I hadn't.
So why did it feel so natural?
A hand grabbed my arm.
I twisted, using his own grip against him, throwing him to the ground with a force that made the earth shake beneath us.
Silence fell again.
All three rogues were down.
Breathing.
But barely.
I stood in the middle of them, my chest heaving, my pulse racing—not with fear, but with something dangerously close to… satisfaction.
My stomach twisted again.
Sharp.
Painful.
I froze.
My hand flew to it instinctively.
The feeling was different this time.
Not violent.
Not burning.
Just… there.
Alive.
"What… is happening to me…?" I whispered.
The leader groaned beneath me, drawing my attention back to him.
He looked up at me now—not with mockery or cruelty.
But fear.
Real fear.
"You're not normal," he said hoarsely.
A bitter smile tugged at my lips.
"You think I don't know that?"
I stepped back slowly, putting distance between us.
They didn't move.
Didn't attack.
Didn't even try.
Good.
I didn't know how much longer I could hold whatever this was… back.
"Get out of my way," I said quietly.
None of them argued.
None of them dared.
I turned and walked away, my steps steady, controlled—even though everything inside me felt like it was on the verge of exploding.
The deeper I went into the forest, the stronger the silence became.
No pack scents.
No boundaries.
No protection.
Just me.
And whatever I was becoming.
My body still buzzed with energy, every sense heightened to a level I had never experienced before. I could hear the rustling of leaves miles away. Smell the faint trace of animals hidden in the shadows.
Feel the pulse of the earth beneath my feet.
It should have scared me.
But it didn't.
That scared me more.
I finally stopped when I reached a clearing, my legs shaking beneath me as I fell on my knees.
My breathing was uneven now.
Unstable.
Everything that had just happened hit me all at once.
The rejection.
The banishment.
The attack.
The fight.
My hands trembled as I stared at them.
These were the same hands that couldn't even defend myself before.
So how…?
"Kael…" His name slipped out before I could stop it.
Pain followed immediately after.
Sharp.
Unforgiving.
I clenched my fists.
"No," I whispered harshly. "Don't."
Don't think about him.
Don't remember.
Don't feel.
He made his choice.
And I needed to make mine.
A branch snapped nearby.
I went still.
Not again.
My head snapped up, my senses immediately locking onto the direction of the sound.
Footsteps.
Slow.
Deliberate.
Different from before.
Stronger.
My body tensed as a figure stepped out from the shadows.
Tall.
Broad.
Dangerous.
His presence hit me instantly—heavy, commanding, impossible to ignore.
Not a normal rogue.
Something else.
Something worse.
His eyes—dark, unreadable—locked onto mine.
And for a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then he tilted his head slightly, studying me like I was something… interesting.
Not prey.
Not weak.
Something else.
"Well," he said finally, his voice calm but laced with quiet authority. "That was unexpected."
I didn't respond.
Didn't move.
Didn't trust him.
He stepped closer.
I didn't step back.
"I've been watching you," he continued.
My heart skipped.
Watching…?
"For someone who just got thrown out of a pack," he said, his gaze sharp, "you fight like you've got nothing left to lose."
A hollow laugh escaped me.
"You're not wrong."
His eyes flickered with something—approval or interest?
I didn't like it.
"You're in Shadowfang now," he said. "Most don't survive their first hour."
"I'm still here," I replied coldly.
A small smirk touched his lips.
"Clearly."
Silence stretched between us again.
Tense.
Uncertain.
Then his gaze dropped—just for a second.
To my stomach.
My breath caught.
No.
He looked back up at me slowly.
And this time… there was something different in his eyes.
Recognition.
"How far along are you?" he asked.
The question hit me like a physical blow.
My mind went blank.
"What…?" I whispered.
His expression didn't change.
"You didn't know," he said quietly.
It wasn't a question.
It was a realization.
My heart began to race again—but this time, it wasn't from power or anger.
It was from something much worse.
Fear.
"No," I said, shaking my head. "That's not—"
The strange feeling in my stomach pulsed again.
Stronger.
Clearer.
Real.
My breath hitched.
"No…"
The word came out broken.
Impossible.
It couldn't be.
Not now.
Not after everything.
Not after—
My mind flashed back to that night.
The forest.
The way he held me.
The way he said my name.
The way he promised—
My knees nearly gave out.
The man in front of me didn't move.
Didn't interrupt.
He just watched.
"You're carrying a child," he said.
The world went silent.
Everything inside me stopped.
My heart.
My thoughts.
My breath.
And then—
It hit me.
Hard.
Overwhelming.
Terrifying.
My hand slowly moved to my stomach.
Shaking.
Uncertain.
And for the first time since I was rejected…
I felt something that had nothing to do with pain.
Something fragile.
Something real.
Something that changed everything.
A child.
His child.
Kael's.
My breath came out in a shaky whisper.
"…What have I done?"
The man in front of me stepped closer.
And the next words he said sent a chill down my spine.
"You just became the most valuable target in this entire territory."