Running away
1108 Words
Chapter Five
Running away
Aria’s POV
The first thing I felt was heat.
Not the kind that came from the sun or the fire, but something deeper. It was like my skin itself was burning from the inside out.
My heart was pounding too loud, too hard, and for a second I wondered if it was trying to escape my chest altogether.
I shot up with a sharp gasp.
The air around me was strange. It was thick with dust, yet laced with a scent that was unfamiliar but sharp that I could miss it. I blinked rapidly, my vision swimming until the shapes of the room came into focus.
Stone walls, faded pictures, and iron candlelight stands that looked older than time itself.
My eyes moved around the room, till they landed on him.
My gaze snapped to the man sitting at the edge of the bed. His eyes were as green as trees in spring but they had no emotions written on them, his dark skin made him blend so well with the darkness.
He didn’t move, but his presence was overwhelming, like a predator who didn’t need to chase his prey because he already knew it couldn’t escape.
“Who………” My throat closed. My voice cracked, weak from the weight of what had happened. “Who are you?”
His lips curved slightly, not into a smile, but something sharper. “I'm Lucien Vale.”
The name hit me like a blow.
Every wolf in Astrid knew that name. He is the Rogue Alpha. The one mothers warned their pups about.
My stomach turned, my body screaming danger, and I scooted back only to realize I was still on a bed—his bed.
“Stay away from me.” My voice trembled. I hated that it trembled.
“I would,” he said calmly, like my panic didn’t move him at all, “but that would be pointless.”
“What are you talking about?” I demanded, though my body was already shaking.
He leaned closer, his eyes flashing as though something ancient lived inside them. “Because you’re mine.”
The words froze the air in my lungs.
No. No, no, no. That couldn’t be real.
“You’re insane,” I whispered, clutching the blanket around me like it could shield me from the weight of his gaze.
“I felt it,” he said firmly, his voice dropping to a low growl. “The bond, when I touched you. You carry a mark I’ve never seen before, and it called to me. You may deny it, but your soul already knows. You’re bound to me, Aria.”
My entire body went cold. His words sliced open wounds I had spent weeks trying to stitch back together.
Why do I have another bond? It was impossible.
My vision blurred, my breath coming fast and shallow. Images I thought I had buried clawed their way up. I could see Kael’s eyes burning with disgust as he rejected me in front of the pack, his voice slicing through me like a blade: “I will never claim a traitor like you.”
The memory crushed me all over again. My chest tightened, a scream fighting to claw its way up my throat.
“Don’t,” I choked out, pressing my hands to my ears, as though it would block him out, as though it would block them out. “Don’t say that word to me. I can’t…………”
Lucien’s expression flickered, surprise slipping through his mask of control. He leaned forward but stopped himself, his hands curling into fists on his knees.
“I’m not him,” he said. His voice was rough now, like gravel. “Whoever hurt you before, whatever they did to you, I am not them. This bond is real. Whether you want it or not, it exists and I won’t walk away.”
I shook my head violently. My chest felt too tight, the walls of the room pressing in. His words were too much, too heavy, and I couldn’t breathe under them.
“No. I don’t want it. I don’t want you.”
The mark on my shoulder pulsed hot, like it was mocking me. Like it was laughing at me for thinking I had escaped this fate.
That was when I heard it.
A voice. It was soft, cold, as it echoed through the corners of my mind.
“Run, little wolf. He will destroy you like the last one did.”
I froze, my heart lurching into my throat. The voice wasn’t mine, I looked up to Lucian and it wasn’t Lucien’s. It was something else.
My eyes darted around the room, but there was no one else there. Still, the whisper curled around me, familiar and terrifying all at once.
Lucien noticed the change instantly. He leaned closer, his brows furrowed. “What is it? Is something wrong?”
I backed away from him, my feet hitting the floor. My legs were weak, trembling under my weight, but the voice urged me forward.
“Run.”
Without another word, I turned and bolted for the door.
“Aria………” Lucien’s growl followed me, sharp and commanding, but I didn’t stop.
I tore through the corridor, my bare feet slapping against the cold stone. The different pictures placed on the blurred as I passed them, my lungs burning, my heart pounding with every step.
The voice whispered again.
“He isn’t your salvation. He is your ruin. Don't stop Aria.”
And when I reached the end of the hall, the shadows shifted.
Someone was already there, waiting.
My blood froze as the figure stepped into the pale light. His broad shoulders, familiar golden eyes, and long hair. The last man I ever wanted to see again.
Kael.
Kael’s lips curved into a cruel smirk as his golden eyes pinned me in place.
Before I could move, his hand shot out and with iron-strong fingers, he grabbed me by my wrist.
“Where are you running off to?” His voice was low, venomous, dragging me back into the nightmare I’d barely escaped.
“Let me go!” I thrashed, panic clawing at my throat, but he only tightened his grip, yanking me against him.
Lucien’s growl could be heard from behind, but Kael moved fast. With a cloth, he pressed it on my nose. I tried not to breathe but it was impossible.
I took in the poisonous fumes, my vision was becoming blurry.
“Please….” I begged.
I looked up, the world spinning and a smirk on his face.
I blacked out.
- Writer
