CHAPTER 9: YOU ARE MINE
1387 Words
The chains rattled as I struggled.
It was useless. There was no need to struggle.
Every time I dug my heels into the ground, every time I twisted against the restraints, the result was the same.
Nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
The battlefield was disappearing behind us, swallowed by distance and darkness. The cries of my pack had faded. The smell of blood was becoming a memory.
And still, Meka kept walking.
As if dragging me away was the most natural thing in the world.
I was happy that for now the pack would enjoy some peace. I hoped that Cally knew what to do.
Since he wasn’t coming, he should be able to fortify the pack.
I hoped, for his sake, he would be able to put the Therians back in their caves so that the Krackans cannot smell their scent.
Thoughts flowed through me as Meka dragged me like his slave or a lower being.
As if I belonged beside him.
As if I already belonged to him.
"You belong to me now!" he roared without looking back.
His voice echoed across the hills.
"So does your pack!"
The declaration sent murmurs through the surviving Lycans.
Some cheered.
Others laughed.
I wanted to spit in his face.
Instead, I pulled harder against the chains.
The metal cut into my wrists and my waist.
Pain flared. I could not bear it.
Meka didn't even slow down. He seemed happy to see me in pain.
But as my anger burned, something else crept into my thoughts.
Understanding. Yes, it was a cold, unwelcome understanding.
I finally realized why he was doing this.
Why he chained me in front of everyone.
Why he had claimed me instead of claiming Whitewolf territory immediately.
It wasn't about possession.
Not entirely.
It was a bait and at the same time, a challenge. Or some sort of provocation.
Meka was waiting for something.
Waiting for someone.
Waiting for Cally.
The Lycan King wanted the Alpha of Whitewolf to chase him.
To fight for me.
To rally the pack and come storming after us.
It would justify another war.
Another conquest.
Another victory.
I almost laughed.
A bitter laugh.
Because Meka had made one mistake.
He thought Cally cared enough to come.
I looked back one last time.
The Whitewolf territory is barely visible now.
Just distant shapes against the horizon.
No warriors, no banners, no pursuit, just nothing.
Exactly as I expected.
My chest tightened despite myself.
Not because I was surprised.
Because I wasn't.
That was what hurt.
I knew.
Deep down, I knew.
Cally wasn't coming.
The man I had bled for.
The man I had nearly died protecting.
The man the Goddess had chosen for me.
He wasn't coming.
"You keep looking back."
Meka's voice broke through my thoughts.
I glared at him.
"Waiting for your mate?" he asked.
I remained silent.
His lips curved slightly.
A cruel smile.
"He isn't coming."
The words landed like a blade.
Not because they were wrong.
Because they were true.
We were both realizing what a coward my mate is and that whatever plan to rescue me was not coming.
Rage surged through me.
Pure, hot and violent..
I twisted suddenly and lunged.
Ignoring the chains.
Ignoring the pain.
Ignoring the fact that he outweighed me and outmatched me.
I just wanted to hurt him.
Once. Just once.
My shoulder slammed into him.
My knee came up.
My claws reached for his throat.
The world blurred.
Meka moved faster than I thought.
One moment I was attacking.
The next—
His fist connected with my jaw.
The impact was monstrous.
Not painful.
Not at first.
Just overwhelming.
Like being struck by a falling tree.
I felt my feet leave the ground.
Felt the sky spin.
Felt darkness rush in from the edges of my vision.
The last thing I saw was Meka standing over me.
He had this huge and terrifying figure.
He stood unmoved.
His golden eyes stared down at me.
And then he crouched beside me.
Close enough that only I could hear him.
"You should have stayed behind those chains, little wolf."
Darkness swallowed everything.
And I fell into it completely.
Woke to movement.
Not gentle movement.
The kind that jolts through aching bones and bruised flesh.
Pain exploded through my jaw the moment consciousness returned. My head throbbed. My vision was blurred. For several seconds, I couldn't remember where I was.
Then it all came back.
The battle.
The Krackans.
Cally.
The chains.
Meka's fist.
My eyes snapped open.
The Wild Forest was gone.
I knew it immediately.
The ancient trees that had dominated the horizon were nowhere to be seen. Instead, rolling hills stretched ahead of us beneath a darkening sky.
We had crossed the forest.
Crossed the most dangerous barrier between kingdoms.
My stomach sank.
I had been unconscious for longer than I thought.
I tried to move.
Nothing happened.
Not my arms.
Not my legs.
Not even my fingers.
Panic surged through me.
I looked down.
Two Lycans were carrying me between them as though I were nothing more than cargo.
My wrists remained chained.
My body felt strangely heavy.
Numb.
Whatever Meka had done to me had not only knocked me unconscious.
It had weakened me.
Severely.
One of the Lycans noticed my movement.
A moment later, another presence appeared beside me.
I didn't need to look.
I already knew who it was.
"Finally awake."
The voice was smooth.
Dangerously calm.
I turned my head.
Meka was walking beside me.
His golden eyes studied me carefully.
Then he smiled.
Not warmly.
Not kindly.
The smile of a predator that had already secured its prey.
A smile that made my skin crawl.
"You recover quickly."
I glared at him.
If looks could kill, he would have died a hundred times already.
The smile widened.
"I wouldn't try that again."
His voice dropped lower.
More dangerous.
"Next time you attack me, I won't stop with a warning."
A chill ran through me.
There was no anger in his tone.
That was what made it frightening.
He wasn't threatening me.
He was informing me.
"As stubborn as you are, Emily," he continued, "there are limits."
His eyes hardened.
"Cross them again, and I will kill you."
The silence that followed felt heavy.
Oppressive.
The Lycans around us pretended not to listen.
But they heard every word.
Every single one.
I looked away from him.
Refusing to give him the satisfaction of a response.
That was when I noticed it.
Something moving.
Far behind us.
At first I thought it was exhaustion.
A trick of the eye.
A shadow between shadows.
Then I saw it again.
Some movement.
Quick and precise.
But before I could open my mouth to speak, everything felt silent again. They were gone.
Then there again. Following us all of a sudden.
My heartbeat quickened.
I focused harder.
The terrain behind the Lycan column was uneven, filled with rocks and patches of brush. Whatever was back there stayed hidden well.
Too well.
Another flicker.
A silhouette.
Then nothing.
I narrowed my eyes.
Trying to make sense of what I had seen.
Krackans?
The thought came immediately.
The creatures had followed prey for incredible distances before.
And the scent of blood still clung to every Lycan here.
It was possible.
Very possible.
But something felt wrong.
Krackans weren't usually subtle.
They hunted.
They stalked.
But this?
This felt deliberate.
Patient.
Almost intelligent.
My pulse quickened.
Could it be allies?
Whitewolf scouts?
Warriors sent by Pink?
Had someone finally decided to follow?
Had someone finally decided I was worth saving?
The hope rose before I could stop it.
Then I crushed it immediately.
No.
Hope was dangerous.
Especially where Cally was concerned.
I kept watching.
The movement appeared again.
Closer this time.
A shape slipping behind a cluster of rocks.
Gone before I could identify it.
One.
Maybe two.
Possibly more.
Beside me, Meka suddenly stopped smiling.
His eyes shifted toward the horizon.
Toward the exact place I had been watching.
My stomach tightened.
He had noticed it too.
The Lycans carrying me became tense.
Warriors adjusted their weapons.
Conversations stopped.
The entire column seemed to sense something.
No one spoke.
No one needed to.
The air itself had changed.
Something was out there.
Watching, following and waiting.
- Writer
