THE MATE THEY CALL MY BROTHER

CHAPTER 10

The evening dragged on forever, like a cut that just wouldn’t stop bleeding.

I stayed by the window long after Kaleb left the library. The sky went from orange to deep purple to black, and I watched every bit of it fade away. The ring sat warm in my palm, its rough edges digging into my skin. I kept rolling it between my fingers, over and over.

Sixteen years of carrying it had smoothed down the high spots, but the little grooves and that one bad gash were still there, the one where my knife slipped. Kaleb had laughed and called it “character.”

He remembered. Every tiny, stupid detail. Things no one else could possibly know.

I pressed the ring against my chest and closed my eyes.

*That doesn’t mean it’s really him,* I told myself. *Someone could’ve told him. Or he found old records. Or…”

But I didn’t believe any of it.

The sun finally disappeared. The clouds turned gray, then vanished into the dark. A few stars came out, scattered like salt on black fabric. When the moon rose, big, bright, and full, something inside me shifted.

My wolf.

She’d been quiet ever since I rejected Kaleb. Not gone, just… curled up in the corner of my chest, sulking, angry, hurt and confused.

I got it. I felt the same way.

‘Let’s run,’’ I said to her.

No answer.

‘Come on. Please. I need to move. I need to breathe.’

Still nothing.

I sighed, pushed off the window, and stretched. My legs were stiff, my neck sore. I changed into a thin long-sleeve and leggings, nothing fancy, just stuff I could move in. Then I slipped out of the room without a sound.

The pack grounds were quiet. Most houses were dark. A few windows still had lights on, and somewhere far off I could hear low voices and glasses clinking. Guards, probably.

No one saw me leave.

I headed for the forest. The air got cooler and damper the closer I got, thick with the smell of dirt and moss. At the tree line I looked back at the pack house on the hill. Somewhere in there, Kaleb was probably talking to my dad. Planning ceremonies. Alliances. Picking a new Luna.

‘He’ll find someone else.’I thought as if trying to convince myself.

The thought should’ve made me feel better.

It didn’t.

I turned and walked into the trees.

They swallowed me up. The canopy blocked out most of the moonlight, but I didn’t need light. These woods knew me. I’d run through them, cried against them, screamed into them more times than I could count.

I walked deeper until the sounds of the pack faded completely. Then I started running.

My feet pounded the ground. Trees blurred past. My breath came hard and fast in the cold air. Finally, my wolf stirred.

The shift hit me like a wave. Bones stretched, fur rippled across my skin, and everything sharpened, smells, sounds, the night itself. I dropped to all fours and ran harder.

God, it felt good.

For the first time in days, in years, maybe, I felt free. The wind in my fur, the moon overhead, the burn in my muscles. I pushed faster until my lungs ached and my heart slammed against my ribs. I wasn’t going anywhere. I was just… running.

A squirrel shot across my path. Pure instinct took over. I chased it, leaping, claws digging into bark, tongue hanging out like an i***t. I wasn’t even trying to catch it. I just wanted the thrill. The simplicity.

I landed back on the ground, tail wagging, actually smiling for the first time all day.

Then the arrow whistled past my ear.It hit the squirrel mid-air. The little body dropped with a soft thud.

I skidded to a stop, heart beating fast.

My shoulder stung. A graze. It was already healing, but..

Another arrow slammed into my thigh.

The pain was blinding. I howled and collapsed. Silver. The damned arrow had a silver head. It burned like fire spreading through my leg.

I shifted back without meaning to, the pain forcing my body into human form. Now I was naked on the forest floor, bleeding, dragging my leg behind me as I tried to crawl away.

Five figures dropped from the trees, landing in a silent circle around me. Black masks. Cold eyes. Katanas in their hands.

One stepped forward, the tallest. He drew a shorter blade that caught the moonlight.

I backed up until I hit a tree. Nowhere left to go.

“Please…” The word slipped out, small and pathetic. I hated it.

He didn’t answer. Just kept coming, slow and calm. Like he had all the time in the world.

I squeezed my eyes shut as he raised the sword.

So this is the end. Naked, bleeding and alone in the woods.*

I thought of Garrett’s smile. My father’s cold face. And Kaleb, his eyes when he called me mate.

The blade started to fall.

A body crashed into the man from the side like a freight train.

The impact was brutal. The swordsman went flying. The others spun, blades up, but the newcomer was already moving, fast, fluid, terrifying.

He planted himself between me and the five of them.

Even from behind, I could tell he was calm and ready. Not scared even a bit.

The man he’d tackled got up, grabbed his sword, and rejoined the others. Five against one.

The stranger reached back and drew two short swords of his own. He held them loose, waiting.

“You’re making a mistake,” the leader growled.

The stranger tilted his head. His voice was low, cold… and way too familiar.

“No,” he said. “I’m not.”