Chapter 4: Blood and Oaths
1244 Words
The sounds above her were chaos.
Furniture smashing.
Men cursing.
A wolf snarling deep vicious and desperate.
Ivy crouched in the darkness clutching her knees to her chest every muscle trembling. Dust rained from the wooden ceiling above her with each heavy blow. She had no idea how many attackers there were. Two? Three? More?
And Calder was alone against them.
Her throat ached with the need to scream to run to him but she forced herself to stay still. Stay hidden. Just like he’d told her.
Then she heard it a thud. A body hitting the floor.
Silence.
No not silence.
Footsteps. Slow. Deliberate. Getting closer to the trapdoor.
Ivy’s heart climbed into her throat.
No.
No please.
A shadow passed over the cracks in the wood. Ivy squeezed her eyes shut praying to anything that would listen. If they opened the door she was dead. She knew it.
She bit her lip hard enough to draw blood to keep from crying out.
The footsteps stopped directly above her.
A long pause.
Then a low voice dripping malice.
"I can smell you little girl."
Ivy’s stomach turned over.
A hand slammed against the trapdoor. She flinched violently.
"We’ll find you eventually" the voice said. "The Alpha always gets what he wants."
Another pause and then laughter. Cold and cruel.
The footsteps receded.
The door to the cabin slammed open.
Then silence.
For a long moment Ivy didn’t move.
Couldn’t move.
Then a creak.
Not from the trapdoor this time. From the floorboards above.
"Ivy" a rough voice called.
Her heart stuttered.
Calder.
Trembling Ivy pushed at the trapdoor. It stuck at first but Calder’s hands appeared pulling it open.
He crouched over her blood streaking his face a split blooming over his brow. His chest heaved with exertion his knuckles raw and bleeding.
But his eyes gods his eyes they softened the second they found hers.
"You’re safe" he said hoarsely. "Come on."
She let him haul her out of the cellar her legs shaking so badly she nearly collapsed. Calder caught her steadying her against his chest.
The cabin was wrecked. Chairs splintered. Blood splashed across the floor some of it Calder’s some of it not.
"Did you" she started voice cracking.
"I didn’t kill them" Calder muttered. "But I hurt them bad enough to make them think twice."
"Who were they?" Ivy asked fear slicing through her again. "Why are they after me?"
Calder’s jaw tightened. "Because you’re rare. A born wolf who didn’t know what she was."
"But I’m not" she started then stopped.
Because deep down... she already knew she wasn’t fully human anymore.
"You are" Calder said reading her expression. "And the Alpha wants you for your bloodline. For power."
Ivy’s stomach twisted.
"But he can't just" she stammered.
"He can" Calder said grimly. "And he will. Unless we leave. Now."
Ivy didn’t argue.
She helped Calder grab what little supplies were left a battered backpack a few knives a map.
As they moved through the wreckage Ivy’s gaze caught on a mark burned into the floor near the door.
A symbol a circle with three claw marks slashed through it.
"What’s that?" she asked pointing.
Calder’s face darkened.
"The Pack's claim. It means they’ve marked you as theirs."
A chill chased down her spine.
She turned to him desperate. "How do we undo it?"
"You don’t" Calder said. "You outrun it. Or you fight it."
He looked at her then really looked and something fierce flared in his battered features.
"I won’t let them take you" he said fiercely. "I swear it."
Ivy’s chest tightened painfully.
No one had ever fought for her before.
Not her so-called friends.
Not her distant hollow parents.
Not even herself.
But Calder Blackthorn this dangerous broken man had sworn himself to her without hesitation.
And Ivy felt something inside her shift.
Something primal.
Something permanent.
She nodded.
"Let’s go."
The forest swallowed them whole.
Under the moonlight everything looked different. Sharper. Wilder. Ivy’s senses were a mess she could hear every twig snap every owl’s wingbeat. Smell the damp earth and Calder’s blood and the foreign metallic scent of danger.
She stumbled once twice but Calder was always there steadying her.
Hours blurred together until Ivy lost track of time.
Finally Calder led her into a hollow near a stream. The trees closed overhead thick and dense.
"This’ll have to do" he said grimly. "We’ll rest here. Move again at first light."
He built a small fire with practiced hands. Ivy watched him trying not to stare at the way his muscles flexed under his torn shirt. Even battered and bloody he moved with a lethal grace that made her heart trip.
"Calder" she said hesitantly as he knelt by the fire "what happens if... if the Alpha catches me?"
He didn’t look up.
"He’ll force the bond."
Her mouth went dry. "Force it?"
Calder finally met her gaze and the pain there almost broke her.
"He’ll mark you" he said. "Bind you to him permanently. You’ll lose yourself Ivy. You’ll belong to him. Mind body... soul."
Ivy’s skin crawled.
No.
No she couldn’t let that happen.
"I won’t" she said fiercely.
Calder’s lips twisted into a bitter smile. "It’s not always up to you."
Silence stretched between them thick and charged.
Finally Calder stood and paced toward the stream raking a bloody hand through his hair.
"I shouldn’t have found you" he muttered. "I should’ve let someone else deal with it."
"You regret saving me?" she asked hurt blooming in her chest.
He whipped around his expression raw.
"Never" he rasped. "But I’m not what you need. I’m not good enough."
The words hit harder than they should’ve.
Ivy rose to her feet fists clenched.
"You don’t get to decide that" she said voice shaking. "You think I’m some helpless kid you have to protect? You think I can’t make my own choices?"
"You don’t know what you’re choosing!" Calder exploded. "This life it’s blood and death and loss! It’s never safe! Never easy!"
"I don’t care!" she shouted back. "I don’t care about easy! I care about you!"
The confession hung in the air raw and real.
Calder froze.
The bond between them thrummed hot alive electric.
And Ivy knew deep in her bones that she wasn’t the only one feeling it.
Slowly Calder crossed the space between them.
"Ivy" he whispered voice breaking.
Then he cupped her face rough hands trembling slightly.
"You have no idea what you’re getting into" he said.
"Maybe not" she whispered back. "But I trust you."
His forehead pressed against hers his breath ragged.
"Gods help us both" he muttered.
Then his lips brushed hers.
Softly.
Desperately.
As if he was already mourning the ending.
Ivy melted against him her heart splitting open.
For the first time in her life she didn’t feel lost.
She felt found.
A part of something bigger than fear or pain.
A part of him.
They broke apart when a howl shattered the night.
Close.
Too close.
Calder stiffened instantly shoving Ivy behind him.
"Get ready" he growled.
Ivy snatched up a branch from the fire the end blazing with flame.
In the distance glowing eyes blinked in the darkness.
One. Two. Three.
And then a massive black wolf stepped into the clearing.
Larger than any normal animal. Its eyes were crimson mouth dripping with saliva.
The Alpha.
He’d come for her.
And this time... he wasn’t alone.
- Writer
