Eclipse Bound

CHAPTER4

The air outside was even worse than the air inside. It was cold, sharp, and carried a thousand smells at once. Gasoline, damp earth, pine needles, and the scent of too many bodies.

They led me out onto a wide stone balcony that looked over a massive, walled estate. It didn't look like Chicago anymore. It looked like a fortress. High walls, iron gates, and shadows that moved even when the wind wasn't blowing.

I felt like a bug under a microscope. I could feel eyes on me from every corner of the yard below. There were men—and women—standing by the gates, leaning against SUVs, or just lurking in the trees. They weren't looking at Kael or Kai. They were looking at me.

Their stares felt like physical weights. I felt small. I felt like a mistake that someone had forgotten to fix.

"They think you're going to snap," Kai whispered, leaning in close to my ear. He smelled like winter and trouble. "They're waiting for you to go crazy so they have an excuse to put you down."

"Shut up, Kai," Kael snapped. He was standing a few feet ahead of us, his back straight, looking out over his kingdom. He turned to me, his face as hard as the stone we were standing on. "You need to learn to control it, Rhea. What you are now... it’s not a choice. If you don't master the wolf, the wolf will eat you alive."

"I don't want to master anything," I said, my voice cracking. I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to stop the shivering. It wasn't just the cold. It was the vibration under my skin. It felt like a live wire was humming in my blood. "I just want my life back. I want to go to my apartment, see my dog, and forget any of this happened."

"Your apartment is a crime scene," Kael said, his voice flat. "And your dog wouldn't recognize you. You smell like a predator now."

That hurt more than the bite. I looked away, staring at the dark treeline at the edge of the property. I didn't want to believe him. I couldn't.

"Come on, Detective," Kai teased, stepping in front of me. He was poking the bear, and I could tell he was enjoying it. "Show us what’s inside. I bet you’ve got a real monster hiding under that badge. Or maybe you're just a scared little human after all?"

"Leave me alone," I muttered.

"Make me," he challenged. He moved fast, a blur of motion, and shoved my shoulder. It wasn't hard, but it was enough to make me stumble. "Where’s that fight you had in the alley? Where’s the big, bad cop?"

"Kai, stop," Kael warned, but he didn't move to help me. He was watching. He was testing me, too.

"She’s weak," Kai laughed, his eyes flashing that bright, eerie amber. "Maybe the bite didn't take. Maybe we should just—"

He lunged at me again. Something inside me just… broke.

It wasn't a thought. It was a roar. A hot, blinding wave of red flooded my vision. My heart didn't just beat; it slammed against my chest like a sledgehammer. A sound ripped out of my throat that didn't sound like a woman. It was a deep, chest-rattling growl.

I felt my fingernails sharpen, digging into my palms until they drew blood. My jaw ached, my teeth feeling like they were growing too big for my mouth. My bones shifted—a wet, popping sound that should have been agonizing, but it just felt like power.

I didn't just push Kai back. I threw him.

He flew through the air and hit a stone pillar with a loud c***k.

I stood there, gasping, my hands trembling. I looked down and saw my nails—they were long, black talons now. My skin was flushed, and I could feel hair bristling along my forearms. I felt like I was burning up from the inside out.

Below us, in the yard, the pack went silent. Then, the whispers started. It was a low hiss of sound that rose up from the shadows.

"She's unstable."

"Look at her eyes..."

"An Alpha's bite shouldn't do that to a human."

I looked at Kai. He was getting up, wiping a bit of blood from his lip. He wasn't mad. He was grinning. "There she is," he whispered.

But Kael wasn't grinning. He stepped between us, his presence heavy and suffocating. He looked at my hands, his brow furrowed. He reached out and grabbed my wrists, holding them tight.

"Control it," he commanded.

"I can't!" I sobbed. The heat was too much. I felt like I was going to explode.

"Look at me," he said. He didn't yell. He just said it with so much authority that I had to obey. I looked into his eyes. They were deep, golden pools of calm. "Breathe, Rhea. Just breathe."

I followed his lead. In. Out. Slowly, the red faded from my eyes. The heat began to recede, leaving me cold and shaking. My nails shrunk back into normal, blunt human fingers.

I felt sick. I felt like a freak.

"I have to leave," I whispered, pulling my hands away from him. I turned toward the stairs that led down to the main gates. "I can't stay here. I’m not... I’m not one of you."

I started walking, but Kael moved with that terrifying speed and blocked my path. He didn't touch me this time. He just stood there, a wall of muscle and shadow.

"You won't make it a mile," he said.

"I don't care," I snapped, even though my heart was starting to hurt again from the distance. "I’d rather die out there than stay in here with you."

Kael’s face softened just a tiny bit. It was the first time I’d seen anything like an actual emotion on him. It wasn't much, but it made my chest ache in a different way.

"You aren't a prisoner, Rhea," he said softly. "But you aren't free, either. The world you knew is gone. There is no going back to being a detective. There is only survival now."

"I don't believe you," I said, though my voice didn't have any strength left.

I looked past him toward the gate, dreaming of my old life. The boring paperwork. The quiet mornings. It felt like a dream I was waking up from.

Suddenly, a high-pitched, wailing sound cut through the air.

Wooooo-oooooo.

Alarms.

They were coming from the perimeter of the estate. All at once, the wolves in the yard shifted. They didn't look like people anymore. They looked like soldiers.

"Perimeter breach!" someone shouted from below.

Kael’s eyes went cold again. He didn't look at me anymore; he looked at the dark woods beyond the walls. He looked like he was smelling the air.

"What is it?" I asked, my blood turning to ice.

"Ironfang," Kai said, his voice tight. He wasn't joking now. He stepped up beside Kael, his hands balled into fists. "They’re not here for a chat."

A loud, piercing howl echoed from the trees, closer than the others. It sounded full of hate. It sounded like it was calling for blood.

My blood.

"They're hunting you, Rhea," Kael said, grabbing my arm and pulling me back toward the house. "And they've already found us."