Chapter 002
1217 Words
Chapter 002
The feeling persisted that were being watched by Anelia. Whenever she went out of her small apartment, her senses phrased. Was Deyan's shadow so omnipresent on the sides of her life, or was her paranoia just the prompting noise in her head?
She was still in the alleyway, days later, and she had spent most of her time trying to forget the eyes, dark and piercing and chilling, that she saw pinned to her as if they were rebar… She plunged into work, inhaling herself in designs and deadlines so that she wouldn’t have to think anything.
But her efforts were futile. Anelia was already already caught in the orbit of Deyan’s world, with its own gravity.
---
But when it came to loose ends, Deyan was not a man to let him dangle. He had begun to wonder what Anelia was—she was a fiery, determined woman who stood her ground even with face to face of the dangerous world he lorded over. Anelia’s defiance roused him in a way he had never known, because he had seen so many people crumple under the weight of his… authority, but she had had the nerve to raise her hand to him, and it irritated him in a way he could not comprehend.
One of his lieutenants warned, 'She's a risk.' 'You should cut her loose while you still can.'
Deyan didn’t listen to the advice, his mind was already made up. “No,” he said firmly. “She’s something else.”
He hadn’t become powerful by being careless, but this time logic took a back seat to instinct. He wasn’t ready to let her slip away, Anelia fascinated him.
---
The black car across the street, she had seen it as she was walking home from a late shift. This wasn’t the first time she’d seen it. The same car had been there the night before, and the night before that.
Her eyes darted around the dimly lit street, her face not slowing her pace. She wasn’t the type to scare easily, but this was different. The usual dangers of the city were random, but this, this was deliberate.
“Anelia.”
She stopped in her tracks at the voice. It was low, commanding, unmistakable.
Slowly she turned and caught her breath as she saw Deyan leaning casually against the car. Dressed sharply like he had just stepped out of a meeting.
She said, her voice laced with irritation, 'You.' “What are you doing here?”
His movements deliberate, Deyan stepped closer. 'I've been thinking of you,' he stated matter of factly.
Anelia’s jaw tightened. “I’d appreciate it if you stayed out of my life,” he said.
“I don’t think that’s possible anymore,” he said. There was an intensity in his eyes that made her heart race, while his words were calm.
She crossed her arms and demanded ‘What do you want from me?’
Deyan smiled faintly, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “To keep you safe.”
Anelia scoffed. “Safe? From what? ‘You’re the only danger I’ve come across lately.’”
Deyan’s smile disappeared, and his voice dropped. “You have no idea what kind of world you’ve fallen into.” You’re in it now, whether you like it or not.”
---
Anelia's struggle to deal with her ropes knotted around Deyan's world, meanwhile, took place at a completely different distance, in the thick unbroken forest.
Kiril’s wrath had been avoided by Katerina all day. Ever since word of a rival pack moving into the Alpha’s territory had been heard, his mood had soured. She had seen the results of his anger too many times to count and didn't want any part of it.
Thoughts unconcious racked Katerina's mind as the sun began to dip below the horizon and herself, closer to the edge of Shadow Moon territory. She could feel freedom, just beyond the tree line, but she knew Kiril’s reach was far beyond what she could see.
When she had almost turned to go she heard a rustling in the underbrush. She saw shadows and the figures of a group emerge from it.
It wasn’t Kiril or his enforcers. It was someone else entirely.
The Alpha of the rival pack stood at the center of the group, name Viktor. He was commanding, but not cruel or oppressive, not like Kiril’s. He was quiet, a quiet strength to him that Katerina’s instincts were screaming both warning and intrigue.
He caught her eyes and for one second the world was still.
Viktor's voice was deep but said 'Katerina'.
Her name sounded strange on his lips, and she frowned. “How do you know my name?”
Viktor walked closer and his pack members paid careful attention. “I’ve been looking for you.”
Katerina took a step back. Her curiosity beat her instincts. “Why?”
He said simply, as if that explained everything, 'You're my mate.'
Her breath hitched. She’d heard that there was the so–called fated mate bond, the sacred link of werewolf lore, but she’d never thought it would happen to her. She wasn’t exactly in a position to talk him down, and definitely not now when she was caught in Kiril’s iron embrace.
“I’m not anyone’s,” she said, her voice stronger than she felt.
Viktor's gaze was softening, nodding. “I’m not here to claim you. I’m here to help you. To protect you.”
Katerina could not respond before a low growl sounded through the trees. Kiril and his enforcers appeared, each with their face dark with anger.
Kiril’s eyes narrowed and he barked, “Katerina.” “Get back here.”
Viktor’s jaw tightened and he stepped protectively in front of her. “She’s not yours to command.”
Kiril’s laugh was cold and sharp. “Do you think you can take what’s mine?”
Viktor shot back: “I think she deserves a choice.”
Tension crackled like a live wire and Katerina was trapped between two giant forces. Viktor’s defiance would bring his father to this beach, when he could see the danger but sense the promise of something she had never known, freedom.
---
Choices were being made by Anelia as she was back in the city.
And her voice was steady, even as the fear began to boil in her chest, “I don’t need your protection,” she told Deyan.
Deyan’s expression hardened. ‘You don’t get to decide that.’”
Her eyes blazed defiantly, and Anelia stepped closer. “Watch me.”
Neither one said a word for a moment the air between them charged with unspoken tension. So, Deyan wasn’t the type to be challenged and Anelia was not the type to back down.
---
Katerina did battle of wills in the forest as well. Viktor didn’t waver and I could see Kiril’s growl deepen his enforcers ready to strike.
She looked back and forth between the two Alphas and Katerina’s heart hammer. It was terrifying, choosing to be the first in all of eternity. She knew that it would be her choice.
If you had to choose between the life you’ve always known and the freedom you’ve always dreamed of, what would you do?
- Writer
