The Pack (Completed Series)

Chapter 3 - Kael

I caught her scent the moment the rain touched her skin.

Sweet. Wild. Unmistakable.

I froze at the edge of the gas station lot, cloaked in shadows, my heartbeat syncing with the pounding storm. I'd followed the whispers for weeks. Tracked her from the edge of dreams, through half-glimpsed visions and broken trails. I hadn't been sure—until now.

But there she was.

Aria.

The girl who should never have survived.

The one they thought they'd lost forever.

The one they were looking for, too.

My lip curled. I could smell them on the air—just a trace, but enough to set every instinct in me howling. The Blackfangs. The rival pack. Twisted, corrupted. Obsessed with bloodlines and power. They wanted Aria for one thing and one thing only: to bind her womb to their legacy.

Breed her. Break her. Own her.

Not. A. f*****g. Chance.

I paced along the back of the gas station, boots silent on wet asphalt. The run had brought me miles from the ridge, through cold woods and broken towns. Ryker had wanted to come with me, but this wasn't a mission for the warhound. Not yet. Not until I knew she was real.

Now, though—watching her stumble out of the bathroom in a soaked hoodie, eyes wide, jaw clenched—I knew.

She was more than real. She was awakening.

The wild was in her eyes. The kind of fire you couldn't fake.

She didn't even know what she was yet.

My jaw tightened. The fact that she'd run—barefoot, in the rain, with no hesitation—that meant her instincts had kicked in. The mark must've found her. I'd warned the others it would happen soon. The Blackfangs had always believed she'd return to them when her blood ripened.

But I knew better.

The girl had survived without them. That meant her soul was stronger than they thought. Stronger than they could control.

She just didn't know there was another option.

Us, I thought. She has us.

A flicker of movement caught my eye—Aria disappearing around the back of the station, backpack slung over one shoulder, soaked hair clinging to her skin like copper wire.

She was leaving.

Good.

I could follow her into the trees. Farther from eyes, from cameras, from potential witnesses. Safer that way.

Still, I didn't move yet.

Because the second she stepped beyond the parking lot, they would sense her again. The Blackfangs had a way of smelling desperation. Of tracking fear.

I had to time this perfectly.

I slipped into the tree line, keeping low, a blur between the trunks. I shifted just slightly—nothing too visible, just enough to let my inner wolf rise to the surface. Sharpened senses. Strength at the ready.

She was heading for the forest trail. Smart girl. She knew she had to vanish.

I could feel her pulse in the air. See the way her body moved—light on her feet, quicker than most humans. Her change hadn't started yet, not fully, but it was close.

My chest tightened. She had no idea what she was, but she was running straight into a war.

And she was alone.

Not for long.

I moved. Silent. Fast. Shadow to shadow.

Until she stopped.

Spun.

And locked eyes with me.

Big blue eyes, glowing faintly in the dark. Not human. Not anymore.

She didn't scream.

She didn't run.

She just whispered, "Are you one of them?"

I stepped into the clearing, soaked in moonlight, letting the wolf show just enough to answer.

"No," I growled softly. "I'm the one that's going to keep you alive."