Chapter 3: Hunted
1395 Words
There was something dangerous in the way Cassian said the game like he wasn’t just talking about survival. He meant war. Wolves against wolves. Secrets wrapped in lies, twisted tight by the hands of the Elders.
And somehow, I was the match they were all afraid would catch fire.
I didn’t have time for riddles.
“They sent warriors after me,” I said. “They’re not stopping until I’m dead.”
Cassian raised a brow at that, lazy and amused. “Of course they are. You think that mark on your wrist just makes you interesting? Try threatening.”
I didn’t back down. “Are you here to help me or enjoy the show?”
He studied me. “Help? That depends. Are you gonna keep running in circles or actually start fighting back?”
My breath caught. I didn’t answer.
Didn’t need to.
Because the howls returned—closer this time.
They were coming.
Cassian’s head tilted slightly. “Looks like you brought company.”
The words hadn’t finished leaving his mouth before I bolted.
---
The forest tore at me—branches slashing at my skin, dirt flying up behind my paws, breath coming hard. My wolf ran with everything I had, instincts on fire. I didn’t know where I was heading to. I just knew what was behind me
.
The sound of pursuit split the quiet. Branches cracked. Orders barked. Warriors pushing through the trees like a living storm.
I jumped a fallen log, claws digging for grip as I pushed forward.
My lungs burned. My legs screamed. But I didn’t stop.
They wanted me dead.
Not exiled.
Not imprisoned.
Dead.
And now I understand why.
It was planned. All of it.
The rejection. The mark. The moment I locked eyes with Ronan and felt the bond flare to life, only to be sliced away seconds later.
That wasn't a shock in his eyes that night. It was guilt.
He knew.
He stood there, reciting the rejection like it was memorized—because it was.
The Elders had warned him. Threatened him. Maybe even promised something in return.
Bile rose in my throat.
Ronan didn’t just reject me. He betrayed me.
And now they were hunting me for something I didn’t ask for—something they’d tried to erase before it had a name.
The mark on my wrist flared again, that faint glow beneath the skin responding to my panic like it had its own heartbeat.
Something cracked through the trees behind me—closer than it should’ve been.
I twisted mid-stride, trying to loop around and throw them off.
Didn’t work.
A warrior broke through the trees—shifted, massive, fast. His snarl ripped through the forest as he lunged.
I ducked under him, snapping at his leg and veering left. Pain shot through my ribs—he’d clipped me.
I barely had time to register it before another shadow darted in from the right.
Too fast. Too many.
I stumbled into a small clearing—and froze.
Trapped.
Four wolves closed in and fanned out. Teeth bared. Movements are tight and lethal.
The one in front shifted, golden eyes locked on mine.
“Selene Nightshade,” he growled, voice thick with command. “Surrender. Now.”
I shifted back, crouched and panting. “Why? So you can parade my corpse in front of the Elders?”
He didn’t even blink. “You’ve been marked. It’s law.”
“It’s murder,” I snapped. “And you know it.”
He moved a step forward.
Behind him, the other wolves waited for the signal.
I braced, claws flexing into the dirt. My bones ached. I was losing strength fast, blood dripping down my side, and my muscles were raw from running too long.
I didn’t know if I could survive this.
But I’d sure as hell go down fighting.
Then—
A snarl ripped through the clearing.
Not mine. Not theirs.
Something darker. Wilder.
And it hit the closest warrior like a missile.
The others jumped back, startled, forming a loose circle.
The newcomer was bigger than any of them—midnight black with silver across his shoulders. His fur bristled with fury. His eyes burned.
Cassian.
He didn’t hesitate. He went for the throat.
Blood sprayed across the bark. Bones cracked. Screams tore through the air.
At that moment, I couldn’t move. I just remained there, frozen, while everything around me erupted into chaos.
Cassian tore through them like they were nothing. Calculated. Efficient.
One tried to shift back, mouth open in a plea.
Didn’t matter.
Cassian sank his teeth into his neck and tossed him aside.
Another tried to run. Cassian tackled him mid-air and slammed him into the ground.
It was over in seconds.
The warriors lay groaning or limp in the dirt, blood staining the leaves. Cassian stood over them, unscathed, chest rising steady and slow.
He turned to me.
“You’re bleeding.”
“No sh*t,” I muttered, my legs wobbling under me.
He crossed the clearing fast and caught me just before I collapsed.
“Easy,” he said, his voice low and calmer now. “For tonight, You’re done running.”
I blinked up at him, but the world felt like it was spinning, and tilting.
“I don’t even know who you are.”
My eyes fluttered shut.
Cassian’s arms were warm. Strong. Real.
“All you need to know for now is that I'm the one that saved your ass.”
My knees wobbled before finally giving way.
The edges of my vision went dark. Closing in fast.
The last thing I saw was his face—sharp, unreadable. Watching me like I was a puzzle he hadn’t quite figured out yet.
Then everything went black.
---
I came with dirt on my tongue and cold air clinging to my skin.
A soft rush of water played in the distance—faint but constant. The trees swayed overhead, sunlight threading through the leaves.
Cassian was crouched a few feet away, his shirt gone, arms streaked with drying blood that wasn’t his.
I groaned.
He looked over. “You’re alive. Disappointing.”
“You’re an ass.”
A hint of a grin played at his lips. “You say that now. Just wait ‘til I start asking questions.”
I sat up slowly, hissing. My side throbbed—wrapped in something that smelled like herbs and alcohol.
“Where are we?” I asked, eyes scanning the clearing.
“Off-trail. No pack’s gonna find you here unless you send a smoke signal.”
The stream ran nearby. My clothes were gone—replaced with something loose, too big, probably his.
I folded my arms. “You undressed me?”
“I cleaned your wounds and kept you from bleeding out,” he said, deadpan. “Try not to make it weird.”
A long pause.
Then—
“You saved me again.”
He shrugged. “I wasn’t gonna let them tear you apart. Not yet.”
“Yet?”
“You’ve got questions,” he said. “So do I.”
I hesitated. My eyes dropped to my wrist.
The mark was still there. Fainter in daylight, but alive. Waiting.
Cassian followed my gaze. “That symbol’s more than a target. It’s a message.”
“From who?”
“Depends who you ask,” he said, standing. “Some say it’s from the Moon herself. Others say it belonged to the Alpha Queen before she was slaughtered.”
I blinked. “The Alpha Queen’s a myth.”
“No,” he said flatly. “She was very real. And she nearly destroyed the Elders’ rule before they buried her—and everything she stood for.”
I stared at the stream. “And now I have her mark?”
“Looks that way.”
Cassian stepped closer, voice dropping low.
“You scare them, Selene. Because that mark means you're not just a wolf. You’re a threat to their control.”
The weight of it pressed down on my chest, heavy like stone.
All this time, I thought I was just... unlucky.
Rejected. Betrayed. Alone.
But maybe I was something else entirely.
I didn’t know what that meant yet.
But I was going to find out.
And if the Elders wanted a fight?
So be it.
- Writer
