CHAPTER5
1356 Words
JACE’s POV
The shot still rang in my ears.
One second, I was about to kiss her again—no, to tear her apart or let her tear me apart, I hadn’t decided yet and the next, stone splintered beside her head. Panic, dust and Stella’s sharp inhale.
I shoved her behind me, gun already out. My wolf raged, hackles up, snarl in my throat. Whoever had followed us here wasn’t just some stray.
That shot had precision. Purpose.
“Stay down,” I snapped.
Of course, she didn’t listen. Her voice was still loud.
“Don’t tell me—”
“Stella.” I looked back at her, just once, eyes flashing. “Do it.”
Something in my tone must have cut through to her, because for once, she shut up.
Another shot cracked, pinging off rusted steel. Smart bastard—using the shaft like an amplifier.
I moved low, fast, gun up. My wolf prowled under my skin, urging me to shift, to hunt with teeth instead of bullets. But there wasn’t space for fur here, not with her behind me, not with the cave so tight.
“Two scents,” Stella murmured suddenly, crouched low, nostrils flaring.
My chest tightened.
Goddess, even now she was dangerous—too alert, too aware. She was supposed to be tucked safe in Moon Howl’s towers, not trying to guess scents in the dark with me.
“Two?” I asked.
She nodded once. “Sniper, and… another. Cloaked. Circling.”
Her wolf was good. Mine growled agreement.
“Then let’s move.”
We split. My back rested on the wall, hers darting to the left. Her eyes caught the faint light, silver-bright, wolf riding her hard. My chest ached at the sight. I forced it down.
Not the time.
The next shot came fast. Too fast. But Stella was faster—she shoved a rock down the shaft, drawing fire, and in that split second I caught the idea of what I needed to do.
I didn’t think. I fired.
Stone shattered, someone cursed. A dark figure stumbled into the open, clutching a rifle.
Not human. The scent hit me—feral, corrupted. Not Bloodfang. Not Moon Howl.
“Third faction,” I muttered, pulling Stella close as the second scent struck, rushing from the rear, the glint of blade appearing.
She turned, steel in her hand, blocking the strike clean. Our wolves moved as one, back to back, taking blows meant for the other.
It was messy. Brutal. Over fast.
When it was done, one body bled out on the stone, throat torn open. The other fled limping into the trees, leaving nothing but rusted blood and the reek of rot behind.
I wiped my blade clean, breath harsh. Stella stood beside me, chest heaving, hair wild, blood on her cheek that wasn’t hers.
And gods help me, she was beautiful.
Our eyes met. The bond hot and raw, pulling me toward her like gravity.
My wolf pressed hard, wanting her, needing her.
I forced it down. Turned away. “You need to go.”
She didn’t even look back before making her way out of the cave.
By the time I rolled back into Bloodfang territory, dawn was rising across the horizon.
The clubhouse lot was already full, bikes lined, brothers waiting inside probably wondering where I was. I hadn’t been gone a full night without warning in years.
“Where the hell were you?” Rafe, my second in command, stepped forward, eyes narrow. He sniffed once, then twice, and his lip curled. “You stink like Moon Howl.”
Every muscle in me went rigid.
“I was handling business.” My tone was flat.
“Business?” He barked a laugh, cruel. “Business that’s got your jacket reeking of their princess?”
The others murmured.
I stepped in close, voice low enough only Rafe could hear. “Say that again, and I’ll put you in the ground.”
His grin didn’t falter. But he stepped back. Smart enough to know when my wolf wasn’t bluffing.
Still, their eyes followed me into the clubhouse.
Heat on my back.
Questions I didn’t answer.
And through it all, her scent clung to me like sin.
Hours later, word came down the line. Moon Howl council had made their move.
Their rule spread fast, faster than wild fire.
Any Bloodfang wolf caught in Moon Howl territory would be executed. No questions. No mercy.
The brothers raged. My wolf snarled. But underneath it all, something colder twisted in my gut. Because I knew what that meant for her.
Stella’s freedom would barely exist and the bond between us was about to strangle us both.
I thought that was the worst of it. I was wrong.
Just after midnight, an old contact slid into my barstool, smelling of Moon Howl council halls. A rat, but a useful one.
“They are planning a strike,” he whispered. “Next full moon. Wipe Bloodfang off the map before you make your next move.”
My heart went still. “The full moon?”
He nodded. “When wolves are weakest to their bonds.” His eyes flicked to me. “When secrets don’t stay secret.”
The fucker slid out before I could snarl and ask him what he meant with that look.
I sat there, fists tight, wolf pressing hard against my skin.
Because he was right.
The full moon was coming. The bond would flare.
And the whole damn world would know she was mine.
The glass in my hand cracked before I realized I had squeezed too hard.
Whiskey dripped down my knuckles, I barely registered the blood that came with the burn. My wolf prowled, restless, wanting to tear something apart—no, wanting her.
Full moon. Strike. Bond.
Three words circling my skull, disturbing.
I left the bar before the brothers could start sniffing at me again.
Leaned on the hood of my truck, breathing deep, trying to leash the thing inside me.
It didn’t work.
The bond burned low in my gut, a rope pulling toward her. I could swear that I could almost hear her heartbeat across the city, steady and stubborn. My wolf pressed closer, whispering one word, over and over.
Mate.
“Shut up,” I muttered.
But wolves don’t understand silence.
The door behind me banged open. Rafe again, of course. Always the one too stupid—or too loyal to leave when asked to.
“You’re hiding something.” He didn’t bother to soften it.
I lit a cigarette, slow, let the smoke curl between us. “Everyone’s hiding something. It’s called personal business.”
He stalked closer, eyes sharp. “Don’t play. You were gone all night, you come back stinking of Moon Howl, and now you are chewing nails instead of answers. The brothers deserve to know what the hell’s going on.”
“My business isn’t theirs,” I said flatly.
“Bullshit. If you drag the Bloodfang into a war we can’t win—”
I moved before I thought. Slammed him against the truck, my hand around his throat. My wolf surged, teeth scraping my skin.
Rafe choked, grinning even through it. “That’s it, isn’t it? You’ve got a secret and it’s involves Moon Howl Alpha’s daughter .”
For one wild heartbeat, I almost crushed his windpipe. Almost.
Then I shoved him back, snarling. “Careful, brother. You’re a hair from saying something you won’t walk away from.”
His grin faltered, but the suspicion in his eyes didn’t.
When he was gone, I sagged against the truck, chest heaving. My wolf still roared, claws scraping at my ribs.
Claim her. Protect her.
Take her away before the strike burns everything down.
But I couldn’t.
If I pulled her close, Moon Howl would see it as betrayal. If I pushed her away, my wolf would shred me from the inside.
Either way, someone bled.
And the goddess—damn her twisted games had the gall to time it with the full moon, when every bond would be obvious.
- Writer
