Claimed by my stepbrother

Chapter 18: Toward the River

The first wolf lunged at Kai.

He met the attack with brutal force, slamming the man sideways into a tree hard enough to crack the bark. Before the body even hit the ground, a second attacker came from the left. Kai twisted, caught him by the shoulder, and drove him down into the dirt with a snarl that sounded barely human.

“Move, Lila!” he shouted.

I ran.

Branches tore at my arms as I kept behind him, staying as close as I could without getting in his way. The partial claim mark on my neck burned with every surge of the bond. I could feel Kai’s rage more clearly than before—hot, focused, and lethal. It poured through the connection like a second heartbeat.

Two more wolves tried to cut us off.

Kai shoved me to the side just in time. One of them swiped at where I had been standing, claws slicing through empty air. Kai grabbed that one by the throat and threw him into the other with terrifying strength. The impact sent both crashing through a cluster of bushes.

“Don’t stop!” Kai ordered.

I forced my legs to keep going. The river had to be close. I could hear rushing water somewhere ahead through the trees. Every step made the mark on my neck throb harder, reacting to the violence behind me and the distance I was putting between myself and Kai—even if it was only a few meters.

A wolf broke away from the fight and came straight at me.

I barely had time to react before Kai was there again. He hit the man from the side with so much force that both of them left the ground for a second. They rolled across the forest floor in a blur of fists, claws, and growls. When they stopped, only Kai rose to his feet.

Blood ran down his arm. His eyes were pure gold.

He grabbed my hand and pulled me forward.

“They’re trying to separate us,” he said through clenched teeth. “Stay connected to me.”

I didn’t need to ask what he meant. The bond was already doing it. Every time fear spiked in my chest, I felt Kai’s presence push back against it—steady, furious, and unyielding.

We reached a steeper slope. Through the trees below, I finally saw it: a wide, fast-moving river cutting through the forest. The water looked cold and dangerous, but it was the only clear escape.

Kai’s grip on my hand tightened.

“Once we reach the edge, we go in,” he said. “The current will carry us far enough to break their tracking.”

Before I could answer, a heavy body slammed into Kai from behind.

The force ripped his hand from mine.

“Kai!”

He hit the ground hard but rolled back to his feet almost immediately, just as three more wolves closed in around him. For the first time since the fight started, he was completely surrounded. One of them looked past Kai and locked eyes with me.

The mark on my neck flared painfully.

Kai noticed the direction of the wolf’s stare. A deep, violent growl tore from his chest.

“Don’t even think about it.”

The wolf smiled and moved toward me anyway.

I stumbled back, heart slamming against my ribs. Kai tried to break through the circle, but the other two attacked him at the same time, forcing him to defend himself. For a second, the bond between us stretched tight with pure panic—both his and mine.

The wolf reached for my arm.

A sudden, powerful surge went through the claim mark.

It wasn’t just pain. It was connection. For a split second I felt Kai’s strength bleed through the bond so sharply that my vision blurred. The wolf who grabbed me staggered as if something invisible had hit him.

Kai used the opening.

He broke free with a roar, crossed the distance in a few explosive steps, and smashed the wolf away from me. Without pausing, he pulled me against his chest, one arm locked tightly around my waist as he backed us toward the slope.

“You’re still with me,” he said roughly, almost like he needed to hear it himself. “Good.”

More shapes moved through the trees behind us. Too many.

Kai looked down at the river, then back at the approaching wolves. His decision was instant.

“Hold your breath when we hit the water.”

“What?”

He didn’t give me time to argue.

Kai lifted me slightly, turned, and ran straight down the slope toward the riverbank. Growls erupted behind us. Footsteps pounded against the earth. I felt the heat of pursuit closing in—

Then Kai jumped.

The cold hit like a shock.

Freezing water swallowed us whole as we crashed into the river. The current grabbed us immediately, yanking us forward with violent force. I tried to keep my grip on Kai, but the water was too strong. It tore at my clothes, my bag, my limbs.

Kai’s arm stayed locked around me.

We surfaced hard. I gasped for air just as the current dragged us around a bend. Behind us, shouts and frustrated howls echoed from the riverbank, growing more distant with every second.

Kai kept us afloat with powerful strokes, never letting go of me even once. The partial claim mark burned under the cold water, reacting to the closeness and the leftover adrenaline.

After what felt like forever, Kai angled us toward the opposite bank. When the water became shallow enough, he dragged us both onto the muddy ground and collapsed to his knees, still holding me against him.

We were both soaked, freezing, and breathing hard.

Kai cupped my face with wet hands, eyes searching mine quickly.

“Are you hurt?”

“I don’t think so.” My voice shook from the cold. “You?”

“I’ll live.”

He pulled me closer, pressing his forehead to mine as the bond settled into a heavy, exhausted pulse between us. For a moment, neither of us moved.

Then Kai lifted his head and scanned the trees around the new side of the river. His body remained tense.

“They won’t cross immediately,” he said. “But they will keep hunting. This only bought us time.”

I gripped the front of his soaked shirt. “Where do we go now?”

Kai looked at me, gold still glowing faintly in his eyes, water dripping from his dark hair.

“There’s an old safe house further north from here,” he said. “If we reach it before nightfall, we can rest long enough to regroup.”

He stood and pulled me up with him, keeping one arm firmly around my waist as if letting go was no longer something he could risk.

“Lila.”

“Yes?”

Kai’s expression darkened with something more intense than the fight.

“That partial claim is already changing things,” he said quietly. “I can feel you stronger than before. Which means they can too. The next time they catch up…”

He didn’t finish the sentence.

He didn’t need to.

Instead, he took my hand and led me into the trees, both of us still dripping river water, the mark on my neck burning like a promise that nothing between us would ever be simple again.