Chapter 16: When I Tell You to Run
1179 Words
The impact threw me hard against the seatbelt.
Glass exploded inward from the side window as the car spun across the dirt path. Kai’s arm shot out across my chest, holding me in place as he fought the wheel with his other hand. Trees blurred past us. The world tilted. For a terrifying second I was sure we were going to crash head-on into the thick trunks lining the road.
Kai snarled and yanked the wheel again.
The car skidded to a violent stop in a cloud of dust and broken branches. My ears were ringing. My heart felt like it was trying to break out of my ribs. Before I could even catch my breath, Kai was already moving.
“Lila. Look at me.”
I turned my head. His eyes were pure, burning gold. Blood ran from a small cut near his temple, but he didn’t seem to notice.
“Are you hurt?” he demanded.
“I don’t think so.”
“Good.” He reached over, unbuckled my seatbelt, and pushed my bag into my arms in one swift motion. “Listen to me carefully. When I get out, you wait for my signal. Then you run straight into the trees on the left. There’s a narrow trail. Follow it until you reach the cabin. Do not stop. Do not look back.”
“Kai—”
“Do you understand?”
The force in his voice left no space for argument. I nodded, even though every part of me hated the order.
Kai’s hand cupped the side of my face for a brief second, thumb brushing my cheek. The mate bond surged hard between us, full of protective fury and something deeper.
“I’ll find you,” he said.
Then he kicked his door open and stepped out into the open.
I stayed low in the seat, watching through the cracked windshield as three men emerged from the two black cars that had forced us off the road. They moved with the same predatory confidence as the wolves from before. One of them smiled when he saw Kai.
“Future Alpha,” the man called out. “You’ve been hard to catch with your little human.”
Kai didn’t waste time on words.
He attacked.
The first man barely had time to raise his arms before Kai slammed into him with terrifying speed. The sound of the impact was brutal. The second wolf lunged from the side, claws extended, but Kai twisted, caught him by the arm, and threw him into the side of their own car hard enough to leave a dent.
The third one tried to go around toward the passenger side—toward me.
Kai’s head snapped in his direction with a feral growl that made the air itself feel heavier.
“Don’t,” Kai warned, his voice barely human.
The wolf didn’t listen.
He reached for my door handle.
Kai was there in less than a second. He grabbed the man by the throat and drove him down into the dirt with a force that made the ground shake. The wet, violent sound that followed made my stomach turn.
“Now, Lila!” Kai shouted.
I shoved my door open and ran.
Branches whipped at my arms and face as I sprinted into the trees on the left. My bag bounced against my side. Behind me, the sounds of the fight continued—growls, impacts, the sharp noise of bodies hitting metal and earth. The mate bond twisted painfully in my chest with every hit Kai took.
I didn’t stop.
The trail was narrow and uneven. Roots tried to trip me. My lungs burned. I kept running until the sounds of the fight grew more distant and the trees began to thicken around me. Only then did I risk a glance over my shoulder.
No one was following.
Yet.
I pushed forward until a small wooden cabin finally appeared between the trees. It looked old but solid, with dark windows and a reinforced door. I stumbled up the short steps and tried the handle. Locked.
“Come on,” I whispered, panicked, shaking it harder.
A soft electronic beep sounded. The lock clicked open.
Kai must have set it up somehow.
I rushed inside and slammed the door shut behind me, locking it again. The cabin was small—one main room, a narrow bed, a table, and a door that probably led to a bathroom. I pressed my back against the wall beside the window, trying to quiet my breathing as I looked outside.
Nothing moved among the trees.
Minutes passed.
The bond in my chest remained tight and restless, telling me Kai was still fighting… still alive. I clung to that feeling like a lifeline.
Then, suddenly, the pull changed.
It sharpened.
A few moments later, I heard heavy footsteps approaching the cabin. My body tensed until a familiar voice called out, low and rough.
“Lila. It’s me.”
I unlocked the door with shaking hands.
Kai stepped inside and closed it firmly behind him. He looked worse than before. There was more blood on his arms and a tear in his shirt near the ribs. His eyes were still glowing gold, and the energy coming off him felt wilder, less controlled.
The moment the door was locked, he reached for me.
Both of his hands framed my face as he checked me over, eyes scanning quickly for injuries. When he found none, some of the lethal tension in his shoulders eased—but not much.
“You’re okay,” he said, almost to himself.
“You told me to run.”
“And you listened.” His thumb brushed over my lower lip. “Good girl.”
The words sent an unexpected heat through the bond. Kai noticed my reaction. His eyes darkened further as he stepped closer, backing me gently against the wall.
“They’ll regroup,” he said quietly. “We can’t stay here long. But we have a little time.”
“How little?”
“Long enough.”
His forehead rested against mine. I could feel the heat of his body, the residual adrenaline, and the heavy pull of the mate bond demanding closeness after the danger. Kai’s breathing was still uneven.
“I hated sending you away,” he admitted, voice rough. “Every second you were out of my sight felt wrong.”
“I hated leaving you.”
Something fierce flashed across his face at that. His hand slid from my cheek to the back of my neck, holding me there.
“Say that again,” he murmured.
Before I could, a distant howl rose through the trees.
Kai’s body went rigid. The gold in his eyes burned brighter as he slowly turned his head toward the window.
“They’re not regrouping,” he said coldly. “They’re calling for more.”
He pulled back just enough to look at me fully, expression deadly serious.
“Lila… I need you to trust me completely for what comes next.”
- Writer
