ENTANGLED FATE

chapter 1 Ella

The scent of iron hits first. Sharp. Wet. Wrong.

My claws are fresh with blood, some of it mine, most theirs.

The rogues appear out of nowhere, shadows slipping between the trees, growls curling through the night. Moonlight glints off teeth, madness flashing in their eyes.

I had only gone hunting. That’s my only offense. Just meat for the next few days. Nothing more. But the forest had other plans.

I’ve hunted alone since I was fourteen. Alone, forced to survive without anyone watching my back. Packs are chaos, and rogues are worse.

Three of them, Storm warns inside my head, her voice a low rumble that steadies my pulse. The one on your left limps. Go for him first.

I move before she finishes. My blade cuts through the dark, finds flesh. A snarl, a flash of fire down my arm. The rogue falls, dragging me with him. His claws tear into my shoulder, hot pain running deep.

I shove him off, gasping. I’m not dying here.

Then move… Storm growls.

I started running. Branches snap against my face, thorns claw my legs, but I didn't stop. Every heartbeat feels borrowed, every breath ragged. The forest blurs green, black, silver, every color flashing before my eyes.

Behind me, a growl splits the air. Closer. Oh my goodness, I hate rogues but there’s no time to hate. They track the scent of my blood.

Storm’s anger presses through me, raw and steady. Keep north. There’s a river. We’ll lose them there.

The growls fade, swallowed by the trees. The silence that follows is worse.

I slowed down, pressing a hand to my shoulder. Warm blood seeps between my fingers. Copper tang fills the air.

Don’t stop, Storm urges. You don’t know if they’re really gone.

I need a second, I whisper.

You don’t have one. Not yet.

She’s right. She always is.

Still, my legs collapsed. I hit the ground hard, pain exploding through my ribs. For a moment, I stayed there, staring at the trees. Vision pulses. The evening fractures in a blur; I refuse to cry through it.

Storm… It’s too much.

Then crawl if you have to. You’ve survived worse.

Her voice steadies me. I push to my knees, forcing one foot forward, then another. Boots sink into soft ground, every step an act of will. The forest stretches endlessly dark trunks, shifting shadows, no path, no direction.

I didn’t even know where home was anymore… Well, I’m homeless, I remind myself. I’ve been sleeping in abandoned cabins, hiding in hollow trees, surviving where I can. It’s what I do. Alone.

Just keep moving, Storm says, gentler now. We’ll figure it out.

The night air grows colder, sharp enough to sting. I taste rain on the wind, metallic, heavy, close. My shirt clings to my skin, soaked in sweat and blood. My body shakes, but I keep going, teeth gritted.

Somewhere behind me, an owl cries. I flinch. My nerves are raw, every sense stretched too tight.

Then the scent changes.

Not rogues. Not the wild.

Something heavier. Older. Power woven into the air like static before a storm.

Stop… Storm hisses.

Do you smell that? Smell what?

I don’t care. We just need—

A branch snaps ahead. My body halts before my mind catches up. Too late.

A wolf lunges from the shadows. Not rogue. Armor glints under the reflection of a patrol.

A territory.

I don’t know it yet, but Storm does. I feel her jolt inside me. This isn’t our land, Ella. Back off.

Another patrol member appears to my left, massive and silent.

My instincts scream to shift, but pain claws through my back. The wound from earlier has reopened. Warm blood slides down my spine.

The first soldier barks an order, but my head spins too hard to understand.

I raise my hands slowly. “I’m not

He moves faster than I expect, slamming into me. Dirt explodes under my face. Air bursts from my lungs. A second soldier pins my arms behind me, the weight crushing the last of my strength.

Got her, one of them growls, like a beast he really is

Fight back, Storm urges, but her voice wavers now, fear barely held in. Don’t let them think you’re weak.

I’m not weak, I rasp. I just—need—to—breathe…

Their scent hits me clean steel, forest smoke, dominance that isn’t known to me. Definitely not rogues.

The world slanted.

I try to shift again, but my body refuses. Every nerve screams at once, then goes numb. Vision pulses red, then black.

Ella, stay with me. Storm’s voice sounds far away. Don’t close your eyes. Not here.

I didn’t mean…my words slurred. Didn’t mean to cross…

No one answers.

Boots thud around me, men’s voices, orders, the clatter of weapons.

One crouches beside me. I can’t see his face, only his weird-looking hand brushing my hair from my eyes. The gesture should be gentle. But it feels like judgment.

She reeks of rogues, someone says.

I’m not… I try again, words dying in my throat.

Don’t waste breath, Storm whispers, her strength wrapping around mine. Save it. We’ll need it later.

The soldier tightens the restraints around my wrists. Silver bites instantly. Pain explodes through my veins.

A small sound escapes me half snarl, half plea.

He doesn’t look at me again. Take her to the cells. Alpha will decide.

Alpha.

The word slices through the haze like a knife. I want to ask who, where, and why, but the world is already folding inward.

Storm’s voice trembles, fading with me. Hold on, Ella. We survive. We always survive.

But survival feels far away. The forest dims to a smear of gray and silver.

I thought I saw moonlight flash off armor one last time.

And then nothing, everything went blank.