RECLAIMING HIS ONCE REJECTED MATE

Chapter 008

Chapter 008

Emilia's POV

He did not surprise me by arriving today. Not quite like this. Not following anything. There he stood; the door to the Crimson Moon Packhouse blasted open. Maximum.

His boots clicked against the hardwood floor, each step deliberate, under control. On the outside, he was cool, but I could see a storm building in his eyes. He constantly masked his feelings, but I always knew about his thoughts with regard to me. His gaze fixed on me, causing my heart to flutter. His focus narrowed.

He said nothing; I knew what was about to happen. The tension was thick enough to cut with a knife.

"Emilia", his voice was subdued but had an edge that made my skin crawl. "Come with me. Now."

Standing my ground, my feet anchored to the floor. I wasn’t going to be anyone’s prisoner anymore.

"I’m not your prisoner," I shot back, my voice wavering despite my efforts to sound powerful.

He didn’t like that. His teeth closed, then he saw Nikolas standing beside me. His face froze, like a switch turned off. Between us, the air grew frigid.

Nikolas moved in front of me, his eyes narrowing to meet Maximilian. He was sending me protective energy, a subtle promise to guard me as much as possible.

Maximilian yelled at him, "Stay out of this," but Nikolas moved not one inch. He just stood there, unflinching.

Nikolas responded, voice cutting, a direct challenge to Maximilian's assertion: "She doesn't belong to you anymore."

Something inside me constricted, hearing him say that. It was like the first time someone had told the truth front-front. The truth, though, was not what Maximilian was seeking.

Maximilian rushed before I could even respond, snatching my arm with a ferocity that rocked my body. His hold was like iron; for a period, I found it difficult to breathe. His growl shivered my spine like a black echo in my ear.

He sneered, "You are mine," the words more of a directive than a request.

Something inside of me caught fire.

I had not changed in months. Thought to be gone, my wolf—the one I buried deep inside after the events with Maximilian—started to rise. It sensed itself in my blood. The strength, the fire.

Then my wolf surfaced, like a burst of energy running through me, and I could not hold it back any more. My eyes shining, my body tingled as silver light poured over my view.

Maximilian hesitated. I know he sensed the change as his eyes expanded for a split second.

"Not anymore," I said, my voice a deep, guttural tone that made even my own skin bristle with expectation.

I felt free for the first time in years.

Maximilian let go of my arm, his face contorted with resentment. He retreated, his hands closed at his sides. Still, it was not terror in his eyes. It was frustration.

I gave no thought at all. Finally, my inner strength was returning. And this time I was not going to let anyone run over me ever once more.

Maximilian moved forward, his eyes icy and deliberate. His voice tight with wrath, he asked, "You think you can just walk away?"

Nikolas came forward, but I stopped him with a hand on his arm. I had no need of him guarding me anymore.

"Yes," I answered, voice firm and forceful. "I'm done with you."

There was great stress. Every second that went by seemed as though the universe were waiting for the next action. My heart hammered; the adrenaline coursed through me.

I felt as though I were on the brink of something great, something horrible.

But I heard it later. It was a sound that sent shivers down my spine. A great crack, then the clear snap of a branch breaking far away.

Something is approaching.

Maximilian looked at me, but his eyes were off in another direction. His lips snarling into a scowl, he was staring at something behind me.

"What now?" I barely could breathe and whispered.

Maximilian ignored it. He fixed a focused, fierce look.

He whispered, hardly more than a growl, "Run."

I had no need of being informed twice.

Turning, my wolf already under control, I shot forward. The door of the packhouse slammed open, and I felt the cool night air whip past me, but I continued.

I found myself unable to stop.

Something was approaching, and it was arriving quickly.

Nikolas was close behind me, his feet hammering on the floor. I wasn't sure, though, if he was running to flee with me or to guard me.

The uncertainty, the anxiety – it's all too much. My heart was pounding, my ideas disjointed.

I listened for footsteps behind us. I ran from looking back.

What were they doing? What were we rushing from?

And was this merely the beginning, or was I at last free from Maximilian?

The most horrible sound I had ever heard was the cry of a wolf echoing far away.

Too late to outrun my past?

The tension in the evening air seemed weighty. Every breath I inhaled seemed to ruck in my chest as I ran, the chilly breeze cutting my skin. My thoughts were racing just as much, even while my wolf was pushing me on quicker and faster. We were chasing something. Others who had arrived as well.

Now Nikolas was so near, his presence almost like a force field encircled me. I had no idea if he was dragging me into his personal struggle or coming to guard me. Still, I was not going to quit. I am unable to.

"Emilia, hold back!" Nikolas called, but I did not slow down. I couldn’t. Not while I was unsure of what was behind me.

It sounds clear to me right now. The quick moves of something or someone catching on to us. It was too many, not one set of steps. I knew it was not simply Maximilian. He would have been right behind me, but with every stride, I sensed his presence withering.

There was something else as well.

I looked back and felt my stomach turn at shadows moving faster than I could have imagined. They were relentless, whatever they were.

Still another wail, nearer this time. It did not originate with Maximilian. I felt cold to the bone from this deep, guttural sound.

"Emalia!" Nikolas's voice was pleading desperately. I was too far gone, too committed, while he was beginning to catch up.

The obvious smell of wolves all around us made the hairs on my neck stand up. They were closing in. Quickly. Too fast.

"Run!" I yelled, my voice breaking under anxiety.

Still, there was nowhere to turn. They were too numerous for me to outrun indefinitely. My heart hammered, every pulse seeming as though it might be my last.

Maximilian's visage flashed in my head, his icy gaze fixed on me, but it didn't matter now. Not right now.

Wolves closed in from all directions.

I felt something hit from behind. Difficult. Before I was hurled and slamming on the earth, I had not even had time to yell. My fingers burrowing into the ground, the air whooshed out of my lungs caused me to gasp for breath.

I tried to raise myself, but something weighty pinned me to the ground. Still raw, my wolf battled inside me for control and for freedom.

I turned just enough to catch what had knocked me down.

Above me stood a dark form almost too fast for me to grasp.

My body stiffened, every muscle begging to run.

Then I heard someone else speaking. A voice I could not quite identify.

"She's mine," remarked it.

And everything darkened exactly like that.

Whose words had been spoken? And what was happening?

This marked the end of my escape. Alternatively, was this simply another turn in the dream I was unable to manage to wake from?