Chapter Ten
737 Words
Chapter 10 – Blood on the Trail
The bond screamed.
Zane staggered as if struck, a violent surge of pain ripping through his chest, stealing the air from his lungs. It wasn’t physical, this was worse. This was terror, raw and suffocating, flooding him through the invisible thread that bound him to Zendaya.
She was afraid.
Not startled.
Not anxious.
Terrified.
Zane’s eyes flashed silver as his wolf surged forward, claws scraping beneath his skin, demanding blood. The world narrowed to a single truth.
She’s gone.
Zendaya, he growled, already moving.
Alex noticed the shift immediately. Zane Evans, the ruthless Alpha of Silvermoon, did not lose control. Ever. But now his aura crackled violently, dominance slamming outward in uncontrollable waves.
What is it? Alex demanded, though dread had already begun to coil in his gut.
Zane didn’t slow. She’s been taken.
The words hit like a hammer.
What? Alex lunged forward. That’s not possible. She was just
Zane turned on him, eyes blazing. She is not in the house.
The argument died instantly.
Panic erupted.
Zendaya’s parents burst through the doors moments later, her brothers close behind them, their scents frantic, their faces pale.
She ran inside, and her mother cried. She said she had forgotten something.
Zane was already on the stairs, taking them two at a time. The house screamed of her scent, fear-soaked, sharp, panicked, but it ended abruptly near the back entrance.
That was when he saw it.
The necklace.
Silver chain. Moonstone pendant.
Broken.
Zane’s breath came out ragged as he crouched, lifting it carefully. Rage, unlike anything he had ever known, detonated in his chest.
They hurt her, he said quietly.
Alex went still.
Move, Zane ordered.
They exploded into motion.
Outside, the night air carried chaos, disturbed earth, broken branches, scents. Zane dropped to one knee, pressing his hand to the ground, letting his wolf take over.
Not one scent.
Many.
Covered. Masked. Deliberate.
This was planned, Zane snarled.
Alex swallowed hard. Who would?
Zane shot him with a lethal look. Don’t finish that sentence.
Alex flinched, but followed.
Against every instinct, against every ounce of pride and hatred, Zane forced himself to speak the next words.
You know this territory better than I do.
Alex stiffened. Are you asking for my help?
I am telling you, Zane corrected, that if she dies, nothing in these three packs will survive the aftermath.
Alex’s jaw clenched.
Then he nodded.
Fine, he said hoarsely, for Zendaya.
They shifted.
Two wolves, one silver as moonlight dipped in blood, the other dark and storm-touched, tore through the forest, flanked by Zane’s beta, Malik, and gamma Gema, who had already joined the trail without question.
They ran for miles.
Zendaya’s scent weakened.
That terrified Zane more than anything.
She’s losing consciousness, Malik shouted.
Zane pushed harder, lungs burning, muscles screaming.
Then
A scream.
Zendaya’s.
Faint. Broken.
Zane roared.
They found the clearing seconds later.
Zendaya lay bound against a tree, wrists bleeding from silver-lined restraints, her face pale, her breathing shallow. Hooded figures scattered as the wolves burst into the clearing.
Blood followed.
Zane didn’t remember shifting back.
He only remembered tearing through bodies, snapping bones, ripping throats, red haze consuming him completely. Malik and Gema fought beside him with lethal precision, their movements practiced, brutal.
Alex reached Zendaya first.
Zendaya, he whispered, panic shaking his voice as he cut her restraints.
Her eyes fluttered open.
Alex…? she breathed.
Zane froze.
The sound of her voice, fragile, nearly broke him.
Then her gaze shifted.
Zane, she whispered.
Relief flooded her expression, and something in Zane shattered permanently.
He crossed the distance in a heartbeat, dropping to his knees beside her.
I’m here, he said, voice rough. I’ve got you.
Her fingers curled weakly into his shirt.
I was scared, she whispered.
Rage surged violently.
I know, he said. Never again.
Behind them, the last attacker lay dying.
Zane turned slowly, eyes cold.
Who sent you?
The man laughed weakly. You already know.
Zane snapped his neck.
Zendaya never saw it.
They carried her back in silence.
The doctors said she would live, but her body was bruised, her wolf traumatized, her strength shattered. She drifted in and out of consciousness for days.
Zane never left her side.
Alex stood at the doorway once, watching them.
Zendaya slept with her hand locked in Zane’s.
And for the first time, Alex understood.
He had already lost her.
- Writer
