Chapter 9: Run
715 Words
Run where? I asked.
Darian didn’t answer right away. He was scanning the trees, ears catching sounds I couldn’t hear. His hands were still on my face, warm and shaking.
Anywhere Rourke isn’t, he said finally. He’ll come back with more. And if the elders hear about what you did…
He didn’t finish.
What happens if they hear?
Darian’s jaw clenched. They kill anything they don’t understand. Even me. Especially you.
Victor stepped forward, his face pale in the moonlight. Alpha, we can’t just leave. The pack will fall apart without you.
"Better a pack without me than a dead pack," Darian said. Rourke used silver. That’s against the law. But no one will believe me if I’m dead.
He turned back to me, his eyes softer now.
Can you walk? he asked.
I nodded, even though my legs felt like jelly. Adrenaline was the only thing keeping me upright.
Good. He slid one arm under my knees, the other behind my back, and lifted me.
I yelped. Darian, I can walk!
Not fast enough, he said. Hold on.
Before I could argue, he was moving. Fast. Too fast for a human. The forest blurred around us as he shifted into a run.Carrying me like I weighed nothing.
Victor followed close behind, silent and pale.
The wind tore at my hair. My heart pounded, but not from fear. Not anymore.
From him.
From the way he held me like I mattered.
From the way his chest rumbled with a low growl every time he heard a twig snap behind us.
We ran for ten minutes before he slowed.
He set me down behind a fallen log, pressing a finger to my lips before I could speak.
Listen, he mouthed.
I listened.
Nothing. Just crickets and my own breathing.
They’re not following yet, Darian whispered. But they will.
Victor crouched beside us, breathing hard. There’s an old cabin two miles north. My father’s hunting cabin. No one knows about it.
Darian nodded. We go there.
He reached for my hand.
When our skin touched, that heat flared again. Faint, but there. Like an ember that wouldn’t die.
Darian felt it too. His eyes flicked to mine, dark with something I couldn’t name.
We need to talk about what you did, he said quietly. But not here. Not now.
I nodded.
Because the truth was, I didn’t understand it either.
And I was scared of what it meant.
Do you think it’s because of the bond? I whispered.
Darian’s throat moved. I don’t know. Bonds don’t heal like that. Bonds don’t glow.
Victor looked between us, uneasy. There are old stories. About the first wolves. About magic that came before us.
Stories, Darian said flatly. Not real.
But what if they are? I asked.
Darian didn’t answer. He just pulled me closer, like he could shield me from the truth with his body alone.
We started moving again. Darian kept me behind him, one hand on my lower back, guiding me through the underbrush. Every step felt like it could be our last.
Why are you doing this? I asked after a while.
Doing what?
Protecting me. You could leave me. No one would blame you.
He stopped so fast I nearly ran into him.
Because you’re mine, he said, voice low and rough. And because if I let Rourke take you, I’d never forgive myself.
My chest tightened.
Before I could reply, Victor hissed. Down.
We dropped to the ground instantly.
Voices. Close.
Check the gully, someone said. He can’t have gotten far carrying her.
Rourke’s men.
Darian’s hand found mine in the dark. He squeezed once.
Stay quiet, he mouthed.
I nodded, my heart in my throat.
Footsteps passed ten feet from us. I could smell sweat and blood and hatred.
One minute.
Two.
Then they moved on.
Darian let out a breath I didn’t realize he’d been holding. He helped me to my feet, his hands lingering on my arms like he wasn’t sure I was real.
We’re close, Victor whispered. The cabin is just over that ridge.
Darian nodded, but his eyes were on me.
Ready? he asked.
I took a deep breath and nodded.
Ready.
We moved.
Behind us, a branch snapped.
This time, it wasn’t the wind.
[End of Chapter 9]
- Writer
