Shadows Between Us
1182 Words
Elara’s POV
The forest would not let them breathe.
Branches clawed at Elara’s arms as she pushed forward, her lungs burning, her pulse erratic. Every step felt heavier than the last—not just from exhaustion, but from the weight of everything that had just happened.
Her brother.
Her pack.
Kaelen bleeding out behind her.
No—beside her.
Always beside her.
She tightened her grip on his arm as he staggered, his weight pressing harder against her with each step.
“Kaelen…” her voice trembled despite her effort to steady it. “You need to stop.”
“No,” he rasped.
The word came out raw. Final.
But she felt it.
Through the bond.
Weakness.
Pain.
The poison spreading like fire through his veins.
“You’re barely standing,” she insisted, trying to pull him toward a thicker cluster of trees. “If you collapse out here—”
“I won’t,” he snapped.
A lie.
And they both knew it.
His steps faltered.
Just once.
But it was enough.
Elara’s heart dropped.
“Kaelen—”
His knees buckled.
She barely caught him in time, his weight dragging her down to the forest floor with him.
The impact knocked the breath from her lungs.
“Damn it,” she whispered, panic rising fast now. “Stay with me. Do you hear me? Stay with me.”
His breathing was uneven.
Too slow.
Too heavy.
She rolled him slightly, her hands trembling as she reached for the wound.
The bandage was soaked through.
Again.
Blood—dark, thick, wrong—covered her fingers instantly.
Her stomach twisted.
“This isn’t just wolfsbane…” she whispered.
The wound looked worse.
Angrier.
Like something was eating at him from the inside.
Kaelen’s hand suddenly shot out, gripping her wrist.
Tight.
Possessive.
His eyes opened.
Silver—but dimmer now.
Still burning.
Still him.
“Don’t look at it like that,” he murmured.
Her throat tightened. “Like what?”
“Like I’m already dead.”
Her breath hitched.
“You’re not,” she said immediately. Too quickly. Too desperately.
Something in his gaze softened.
Just slightly.
“Liar.”
“I’m serious,” she snapped, anger breaking through fear. “You don’t get to give up on yourself. Not after everything—”
“I’m not giving up,” he cut in, his voice low, strained.
His grip on her wrist tightened.
“I’m trying to make sure you survive.”
The words hit harder than they should have.
“I don’t want to survive without you,” she said before she could stop herself.
Silence.
The forest seemed to still around them.
Even the wind paused.
Kaelen stared at her.
Really stared.
Like he was seeing something dangerous.
Something he wanted.
Something he shouldn’t.
The bond reacted instantly.
A sharp pull.
Heat flooding her chest.
Her breath caught.
“You don’t understand what you’re saying,” he said quietly.
“Then explain it to me,” she shot back.
His jaw tightened.
“I can’t.”
“Or you won’t?”
“Both.”
Frustration flared—but it didn’t last.
Because suddenly—
Pain hit.
Not hers.
His.
It slammed into her chest like a physical blow.
Elara gasped, her hand flying to her sternum.
“What—” her voice broke. “What is that?”
Kaelen froze.
Too late.
The bond pulsed again.
Stronger.
She felt it clearly now—
The burning in his side.
The poison in his blood.
The way his body was slowly… failing.
Her eyes widened.
“Oh my God…”
Realization crashed over her.
“I can feel you.”
Kaelen went completely still.
“You shouldn’t be able to do that yet,” he said, voice dangerously quiet.
“Yet?” she echoed, panic rising. “Kaelen, I can feel everything—your pain, your heartbeat—it’s like—”
“Stop.”
The command was sharp.
Instinctive.
Alpha.
She flinched.
Not from fear.
From the force of it.
Kaelen exhaled slowly, dragging a hand through his hair.
“This is bad,” he muttered.
“That’s your concern right now?” she snapped. “You’re dying and you’re worried about—what? Me feeling it?”
“Yes.”
The word was immediate.
Fierce.
Unyielding.
Elara blinked.
“Why?”
His gaze locked onto hers.
Because if she felt it—
She could be hurt by it.
But he didn’t say that.
Instead—
“Because it means the bond is progressing too fast.”
Her stomach dropped.
“What does that mean?”
“It means,” he said slowly, “you’re tied to me more than you should be.”
The words should have scared her.
Maybe they did.
But not in the way he expected.
“Too late,” she whispered.
Something flickered in his eyes.
Danger.
Desire.
Restraint barely holding.
“Elara…” her name came out like a warning.
Like a plea.
Before anything else could happen—
A sound cut through the forest.
Sharp.
Deliberate.
Footsteps.
Both of them froze.
Kaelen’s head turned instantly, his body tensing despite the pain.
Elara felt it too.
Through the bond.
Alertness.
Danger.
“They found us,” she whispered.
Kaelen pushed himself up.
Somehow.
Ignoring everything his body was screaming at him.
“Elara,” he said, his voice shifting again—hard, commanding. “Listen to me carefully.”
“No,” she said immediately. “I’m not leaving you again—”
“You’re not,” he cut in.
Her breath caught.
“But you are going to do exactly what I say.”
His eyes burned into hers.
Silver. Dominant. Absolute.
“If anything happens,” he continued, “you run.”
“I’m not running—”
“You run,” he repeated, sharper now. “And you don’t look back.”
The bond twisted painfully at the thought.
“I won’t leave you,” she said, softer now—but just as firm.
Something in his expression shifted.
Not anger.
Something deeper.
More dangerous.
“Stubborn,” he muttered.
“Always.”
A shadow moved between the trees.
Then another.
And another.
Elara’s pulse spiked.
Hunters.
Closing in.
Too many.
Kaelen stepped in front of her again.
Even now.
Even like this.
Protecting her.
A figure emerged from the darkness.
Tall.
Still.
Deadly.
A blade gleamed in his hand.
Not just silver.
Glowing.
Wrong.
Kaelen’s body went rigid.
“Elara,” he said quietly.
But this time—
There was something different in his voice.
Not just warning.
Recognition.
Danger of a different kind.
“That’s not just a hunter.”
The man stepped fully into the moonlight.
Smiling.
Cold.
Knowing.
“It seems,” he said slowly, his gaze flicking between them, “the bond has already begun.”
Elara’s heart stopped.
Kaelen’s hand found hers.
Tight.
Possessive.
Ready for war.
And in that moment—
She understood.
This wasn’t just about survival anymore.
This was about something much bigger.
Something ancient.
Something that wanted them both dead.
- Writer
