Mated To The Vengeful Wolf King

The Chase

Liana's POV:

The woods were alive with a deafening silence, only broken by the thundering of my paws on the damp earth and the steady beat of Alaric’s steps ahead of me.

I could feel the icy breeze of the day cut against my fur, but I pressed on, following the blur of his massive form through the shadows of the forest.

I was no longer Liana; Athena had taken control, guiding my every move as if something beyond me had seized my body and soul. My senses were heightened, every sound magnified, every scent intensified.

But all I could focus on was him.

The Wolf King.

Alaric.

He didn’t look back as he ran, but I knew he was aware of me, just as I was painfully aware of him. I felt his presence like a sharp blade that cut through the cool night air. I pushed myself to keep up, my legs burning with pain.

I didn’t understand why I was chasing him—no, why we were chasing him—but I knew that I couldn’t stop.

The connection between us was strong, pulling me forward. Athena buzzed in the back of my mind, urging me to go faster, to stay close.

I caught a glimpse of his pale golden eyes as he glanced over his shoulder. For a moment, his steps faltered, and a look of frustration twisted his features, but then he surged forward, forcing me to quicken my pace.

It was a dance of predator and prey, yet I couldn’t tell who was which. There was anger in his eyes... and something else. A flicker of recognition.

He knew it too, even if he didn’t want to admit it.

The forest opened into a small clearing, the sun spilling through the gaps in the trees like liquid silver. Alaric stopped abruptly, turning to face me.

While Athena urged me forward, closing the distance until I was just a few feet away. I saw his muscles tense, and his lip curled back in a snarl, but I didn’t back down.

I couldn’t.

“What do you want?” He growled, his voice sounded cold and distant. “Why are you following me?”

I tried to respond, but Athena held me back. My own words were trapped in my throat. His eyes narrowed, studying me with a mixture of anger and curiosity.

“Get out of here!” He roared, his voice echoing through the forest. “I have no interest in you. You’re nothing but a distraction.” His tone was venomous, but his eyes... his eyes were full of conflict.

I wanted to say something, anything to break the tension between us, but Athena remained in control, her gaze locked on his. I took a step forward, and he responded by taking a step back. His jaw tightened, his fists clenching at his sides.

“Damn it.” He muttered, more to himself than to me. “Why are you doing this to me?”

Before I could react, the sharp sound of snapping twigs echoed through the clearing. Alaric’s head whipped around, his nostrils flaring as he caught the scent of another intruder. I followed his gaze to the shadow at the edge of the clearing—a man, one of Ronan’s guards, had followed us.

Foolishly.

Alaric moved in a blur, closing the distance in seconds. A strangled gasp escaped the guard’s lips as Alaric’s claws sank deep into his throat, lifting him off the ground. The guard’s eyes widened in terror, his hands clawing helplessly at Alaric’s wrist.

“Run back to your Alpha.” Alaric hissed, his voice deadly calm. “Tell him to stay out of my way.” Then, with a flick of his wrist, he sent the man flying into the trees. The guard’s body crumpled to the ground, motionless.

Something inside me twisted, not in fear, but in something far more dangerous—desire. I should have been horrified by the ruthlessness in Alaric’s actions, but instead, I was drawn to him, pulled in by the raw power that radiated from every inch of him.

There was a dark allure to his rage, and a strange beauty in his brutality. I took another step forward. “You didn’t have to do that.” I said, my voice finally breaking through the barrier Athena had placed around my thoughts.

He froze, turning to look at me with a mixture of surprise and disbelief. “You’re not afraid?” He asked.

“No,.” I replied honestly, shaking my head. “I’m not afraid of you.”

Alaric’s eyes darkened, and he took a step toward me, closing the distance between us until I could feel the heat of his breath on my skin. “You should be.” He said, his voice low and dangerous. “I’m not a good man. I’m here for revenge, not to play games with a foolish girl who doesn’t know what she’s getting herself into.”

“I know exactly what I’m getting into.” I countered, my heart pounding. “And I’m not leaving.”

His expression shifted, a flash of pain crossing his face before it hardened again. He opened his mouth to say something, but then a rustling noise caught our attention. We both turned in unison, our senses prickling with warning.

A figure emerged from the darkness—a woman, moving in a way that set my instincts on edge. Alaric’s reaction was instant, his eyes narrowing with recognition.

“Cassia?” He growled, his body tensing like a coiled spring. “What the hell are you doing here?”

Cassia Zubin.

The name sent a chill down my spine. A descendant of the family that had cursed Alaric to his seven hundred years of torment. She was beautiful in a cruel, cold way, her eyes like chips of ice as they settled on Alaric with an almost predatory gleam.

“I could ask you the same, Wolf King.” She replied, her voice smooth and taunting. “I didn’t expect to find you so... distracted.”

Alaric’s expression darkened, and in a flash, he lunged toward her. Cassia was fast, almost as fast as him, darting back into the woods with a mocking laugh.

Without a second thought, I leapt after them, my body reacting before my mind could catch up. “Stay back!” Alaric’s voice echoed in my mind, but I ignored him, chasing the shadows that flitted through the trees. My paws moved faster, my breathing heavy as I pushed myself to keep up. I wasn’t about to let her get away—not when I finally had a chance to understand what tied Alaric to this nightmare of vengeance.

They was a blur of movement ahead of me, tearing through the undergrowth like a storm. The sun flickered through the canopy, casting eerie patterns on the forest floor. My focus was solely on them—the predator chasing his prey, and me... caught somewhere in between.

Cassia moved left, disappearing down a narrow path, and Alaric followed without hesitation. I was right on their heels when Alaric suddenly spun around, blocking my path.