CHAPTER2
1554 Words
ELARA
I didn’t run toward the pack house or run toward the main gates. I just ran.
My lungs burned as I pushed through the crowd, but the pack didn't make it easy. They didn’t
just let me pass. They closed ranks, their shoulders bumping into mine, their sneers cutting
deeper than any blade.
"Watch it, little lunar-curse," a voice hissed.
I stumbled, nearly tripping over a pair of boots. It was Jax, one of the younger warriors who
had always enjoyed making my life miserable. He was grinning, his arms crossed over his
chest. Beside him stood Sarah, a girl who had spent the last three years trying to catch
Kaelen’s eye.
"Leaving so soon, Elara?" Sarah asked, her voice dripping with fake sympathy. "The party is
just starting. We’re celebrating your Alpha, our Alpha."
"Move, Sarah," I said, my voice cracking.
"Or what?" Jax stepped closer, his shadow looming over me. "You’ll tell your mate? Oh, wait.
He doesn't want you. Nobody does."
"I said move," I growled. To my surprise, the words didn't come out as a whimper.
Jax laughed, a harsh, barking sound. "Look at her. She’s acting like she has a wolf. You’re a
mistake, Elara. The Moon Goddess must have been drunk when she picked you."
"Maybe she just wanted to see Kaelen suffer," Sarah added. "Having to look at your plain
face and know the universe thought you were his match? It’s an insult to the whole lineage."
I didn't answer. I put my head down and shoved past them. Jax reached out to grab my arm,
but I yanked away so hard I felt my skin sting. I didn't stop until I reached the small,
weathered cottage on the edge of the village where I lived with my father.
The door was already open.
My father was standing by the fireplace, his back to me.
The room smelled like stale tobacco.
"Close the door," he said. His voice was dangerously quiet.
I clicked the latch shut. "Father, I—"
"You humiliated me," he interrupted, turning around. His eyes were bloodshot. "In front of the
entire pack. In front of the Council."
"I didn't do anything!" I yelled, the frustration finally boiling over. "I didn't choose him. I didn't
ask for the bond to snap. I was standing in the back, minding my own business!"
"And yet, it happened," he snapped, taking a step toward me. "Do you have any idea what
this means for us? I am a senior advisor. I served Kaelen’s father for twenty years. Now, my
daughter is the reason the new Alpha's ascension is a joke."
"Kaelen rejected me," I said, my heart twisting at the memory of his cold eyes. "It’s over. He
made it very clear."
"It’s not over," my father hissed. "The bond is still there. I can see it in your face. You look
like you’re still reaching for him."
"I'm not!"
"You need to fix this, Elara. Go to the pack house tomorrow. Beg for his forgiveness. Tell him
you’ll accept a lower position—a servant, a scout, anything just so he can keep you under
his thumb without acknowledging the bond. If you don't, he’ll see us as a threat to his
authority."
I stared at him, horrified. "You want me to be his slave? After he called me a 'broken thing' in
front of everyone?"
"I want us to survive!" my father roared. "The pack is already talking about exile for both of
us. Is that what you want? To be a Rogue? You wouldn't last a night in the wild without a
wolf."
"I'd rather be a Rogue than stay here and be treated like trash by you and the Alpha," I said,
my voice trembling with defiance.
I didn't wait for his response. I turned and ran into my small bedroom, slamming the door.
My hands were shaking as I pulled a worn leather bag from under my bed. I threw in a
change of clothes, a knife I’d stolen from the kitchens months ago, and a handful of dried
meat.
I couldn't stay here. The air felt too thin, like the walls were closing in on me.
As I packed, a sudden throb pulsed through my chest. It wasn't pain—it was a tug. I looked
toward the window. The pack house sat on the hill, its windows glowing with light from the
celebration.
Kaelen was there.
I could feel him. I could feel a low, buzzing irritation in the back of my mind. It was his
emotion, leaking through the bond he claimed to have broken. He was angry and restless.
Good, I thought, gritting my teeth. I hope he’s miserable.
The rejection was supposed to kill the bond. That’s what the stories said. But as I stood
there, the pull was getting stronger, not weaker. It felt like a tether wrapped around my ribs,
tightening every time I breathed. It was confusing, and it made me want to scream.
I wasn't going to beg him and I wasn't going to be his servant.
I waited until I heard my father’s footsteps head toward his own room. I waited until the
house was silent, save for the ticking of the clock. Then, I climbed out my window.
The night air was cool, smelling of damp earth and the coming rain. I avoided the main
paths, sticking to the bushes behind the houses.
I needed to get to the Neutral Territory—a stretch of forest three miles east that didn't belong
to any pack. I just needed one night of peace. One night where I didn't feel the weight of a
thousand judgmental stares.
The further I got from the village, the quieter the bond became. The buzzing in my head
faded to a dull hum.
"See?" I whispered to the trees. "I don't need him."
Most humans would have been terrified, but I had spent my whole life in these woods. I
knew the way the moonlight hit the creek, and I knew which roots were slick with moss.
I reached the border stream—a shallow, bubbling line of water that marked the end of
Blackwood land. I stepped over it, feeling a strange sense of relief. For the first time in
eighteen years, I wasn't under an Alpha's command.
I walked for another hour, the tension in my shoulders finally starting to bleed away.
I found a small space protected by a rocky overhang. It was a good place to rest until dawn.
I sat down, leaning my back against the cold stone.
I pulled out a piece of dried meat and started to eat, watching the clouds move across the
moon.
The silence was perfect.
Until it wasn't.
A twig snapped. It was a small sound, barely audible over the wind in the leaves, but my
heart stopped.
I still went. I didn't breathe. I listened, every nerve in my body on high alert.
Snap.
It was closer this time. To my left.
I reached into my bag and gripped the handle of my knife. "Who’s there?" I called out. My
voice sounded small.
No answer.
Then, the wind shifted and the scent hit me.
Sandalwood. Storm clouds. And a dark, heavy musk that made my heart race for all the
wrong reasons.
"Kaelen?" I whispered, my pulse hammering against my throat.
The bond didn't just pulse; it roared. It felt like a heat that flared to life in my chest, more
intense than it had been during the ritual. He was close. He was right here.
I scrambled to my feet, spinning around. "I know you're there! I crossed the border! You
rejected me, remember? You have no right to follow me!"
A low growl vibrated through the air. It wasn't human. It was deep, guttural, and full of a dark
promise.
A pair of glowing gold eyes emerged from the darkness of the trees. They were huge,
looming much higher than a normal wolf’s eyes.
"Kaelen, stop," I said, my voice trembling. I held the knife out in front of me, though I knew it
was useless against an Alpha. "Stay back."
The wolf didn't stay back, instead he stepped into the moonlight.
He was massive. His fur was as black as the night around us, his muscles rippling with every
slow step. This was Kaelen’s wolf—a beast that was supposed to be a myth.
He didn't look like he wanted to talk. He looked like he was on a hunt.
I backed away, my heels hitting the stone wall of the overhang. I was trapped.
"Please," I breathed.
The giant wolf stopped just inches away from me. I could feel the heat radiating off his body.
His golden eyes searched mine, and for a second, I saw that same raw, [[terrifying]]
hunger from the dais.
Before I could move or scream, a weight hit me from behind.
A cloth was pressed over my mouth and nose.
It smelled sickly sweet—cloying and chemical. I struggled, kicking and clawing at the arms
that held me, but it was like trying to fight a powerful person.
My vision began to swim. The gold eyes of the black wolf were the last thing I saw before the
world turned to black.
- Writer
