Chapter 3 : Run
663 Words
The words hit me like a physical blow.
They're here for you.
My wolf's voice echoed through my mind as panic spread through the hall.
Around me, wolves began shouting.
Parents pulled their children close.
Warriors rushed toward the exits.
The guard who had delivered the news collapsed to one knee, blood dripping onto the polished floor.
"Seal the gates!" one of the elders shouted.
"Get everyone to safety!"
Chaos erupted.
But all I could hear was the pounding of my own heartbeat.
"Why would they be looking for me?" I asked my wolf.
She was silent.
Far too silent.
A cold feeling settled in my stomach.
Before I could ask again, a strong hand wrapped around my wrist.
I looked up.
Damien.
"We have to go."
I immediately tried to pull free.
"No."
His jaw tightened.
"Ava."
"No."
The bond sparked where our skin touched.
A strange warmth shot through me.
I hated it.
I hated him.
And I hated that my body seemed incapable of understanding the difference.
"I'm not going anywhere with you."
His eyes flashed.
"This isn't a game."
I laughed bitterly.
"Funny. That's exactly what I've been thinking since the Moon Goddess decided to ruin my life."
A few nearby warriors winced.
Damien didn't.
He simply stared at me.
"Ava, listen carefully."
"No."
"Ava—"
"For years I've listened to everyone else. For years I've listened to lies."
His grip loosened slightly.
Pain flickered across his face.
"You think I wanted this?"
The question caught me off guard.
For a second, I saw something behind the Alpha's mask.
Exhaustion.
Regret.
Maybe even loneliness.
Then it disappeared.
The cold Alpha returned.
"What I want doesn't matter right now."
I folded my arms.
"Convenient."
A growl rumbled from his chest.
Several nearby wolves immediately backed away.
I refused to move.
"Stop treating me like I'm one of your soldiers."
"Then stop acting like a child."
My eyes widened.
A dangerous silence settled between us.
Nobody spoke to me like that.
Especially not him.
"Excuse me?"
His eyes narrowed.
"You are standing in the middle of a potential attack arguing with me."
"Because you won't tell me the truth!"
"Because telling you the truth could get you killed!"
The words exploded from him.
The hall fell silent.
Even Damien seemed surprised he'd said them.
I stared.
"What does that mean?"
His jaw clenched.
For a moment, I thought he might answer.
Then the sound of a horn echoed from outside.
One blast.
Then another.
Then another.
The color drained from several warriors' faces.
"The northern wall," one of them whispered.
"They've reached the northern wall."
Fear swept through the room.
Damien released my wrist.
Immediately, he shifted into Alpha mode.
"All warriors report to your positions."
The command cracked through the hall.
No one hesitated.
Everyone moved.
Everyone except me.
"Ava."
I hated how my name sounded on his lips.
"Come with me."
"No."
His nostrils flared.
"You are impossible."
"And you're a liar."
Something dangerous flashed in his eyes.
Not anger.
Frustration.
As if I was the one thing in his life he couldn't control.
Good.
Let him suffer.
I had suffered for years.
Suddenly, my wolf growled.
Not at Damien.
At something else.
"Ava."
"What?"
"Someone is watching us."
A chill raced down my spine.
I looked around the crowded hall.
Wolves rushed in every direction.
Warriors grabbed weapons.
Elders shouted orders.
Nothing seemed unusual.
"Who?"
"I don't know."
The growl deepened.
"But whoever it is... they know who you are."
My heart skipped.
Then the front doors exploded inward.
Wood shattered across the hall.
Screams erupted.
A massive figure stepped through the smoke.
Not a pack wolf.
A rogue.
The largest rogue I had ever seen.
His scarred face broke into a cruel smile.
And then his eyes locked directly onto me.
Not Damien.
Not the elders.
Me.
The rogue pointed.
"Found her."
The blood drained from my face.
How did he know exactly who I was?
- Writer
