UNCLAIMED MATE

Chapter 3— Run or Die?

••Diane••

The growl came again, closer this time.

Low… deep… and threatening in a way that made my entire body go cold.

I didn’t move. I couldn’t.

Selene’s hand tightened around mine, her grip almost painful now, but I didn’t complain. It was the only thing keeping me grounded, the only thing reminding me I wasn’t alone in whatever this was.

“Selene…” I whispered, my voice barely audible.

“I know,” she replied softly, but there was nothing calm about her tone anymore.

The air around us felt different, and heavy. Like something was pressing down on us from all sides. Then the bushes ahead of us rustled.

Something that knew we were here.

“Run,” Selene said suddenly.

We didn’t wait to see it. We ran.

Branches scratched against my arms as we pushed through the trees, my feet stumbling over roots and uneven ground, but I didn’t stop. I couldn’t stop. The sound behind us made sure of that.

It was chasing us. I could hear it now.

The heavy pounding of something large moving through the forest, fast… too fast.

“Selene!” I cried out, struggling to keep up.

“I’m right here!” she shouted back, pulling me along.

My lungs burned, my heart racing wildly in my chest as fear took over every part of me.

“What is that?” I asked, my voice breaking.

She didn’t answer, and somehow that scared me even more.

A loud snarl tore through the air behind us. The creature was way too close.

Then Selene tripped. I ran back and pulled her up, but she couldn't run fast anymore. Her legs betrayed her.

“Faster Selene.” I yelled.

“I'm trying.” She groaned.

We went from running fast to now slowing down. “You have to leave me,” Selene said.

“No, no, no. I can't, we will survive this together,” I said, still pulling her along.

“I can't go further, I'm weak and my legs.” She sobbed.

I looked down at her leg. She was already bleeding. “Let's just find somewhere to hide Selene, I can't do this without you.” I said now sobbing too.

“Selene, I…”

I didn’t finish, because something moved beside us.

Fast.

And then it was in front of us.

We both stopped abruptly, stumbling back as the creature stepped out of the shadows.

My breath caught in my throat, because this wasn’t just a wolf. It is massive.

Easily twice the size of a normal one, its body built with raw, terrifying strength, its dark fur blending almost perfectly with the surrounding night, but it was the eyes that froze me.

Bright and glowing.

An unnatural shade of blue that locked onto us like we were already its prey.

“Oh my God…” I whispered.

I stepped slightly in front of Selene, my body tense.

“Stay behind me,” I said.

“No...” she grabbed my arm. “Don’t...”

The wolf growled again, this time, its body lowering as if preparing to attack. Everything happened too fast.

Selene shoved me to the side, and I fell hard against the ground, the impact knocking the air out of my lungs.

“Run!” she shouted.

I scrambled up, my vision spinning as I tried to focus.

“Selene!”

She was already moving, trying to dodge the wolf as it snapped at her, its teeth missing her by inches.

“GO!” she screamed.

I couldn’t leave her. I wouldn’t. I grabbed the nearest thing I could find—a broken branch—and ran toward them without thinking.

“Hey!” I shouted, my voice shaking but loud enough to get its attention.

The wolf’s head snapped toward me instantly, and for a second…

Everything stopped.

Its eyes met mine, and something shifted in me. Something I didn’t understand, but it didn’t last.

With a snarl, it charged at me.

I froze. Completely.

My body refused to move, my mind going blank as fear took over every part of me.

This was it. This was how I was going to die.

“DIANE!”

Selene’s voice broke through the moment.

Then suddenly—

She collided with me, pushing me out of the way just as the wolf lunged. We both fell, but the ground beneath us wasn’t stable.

I slipped.

My foot lost its grip, and before I could react, I was falling—rolling down a steep slope I hadn’t even noticed before.

Branches scraped against my skin, rocks digging into my back as I tumbled uncontrollably, my body hitting everything in its path.

“Selene!” I screamed, reaching out, but there was nothing to grab onto. Nothing to stop me.

Then—

Everything went black. The last thing I heard, was her voice.

“DIANE!”