Chapter 2: The Escape
1128 Words
"Selena!" The voice echoed behind me, sharp and furious. "Don't you dare run from me!"
My heart raced, thumping against my ribs like a wild animal trying to break free. My breath came in ragged gasps as I sprinted through the dense forest, my feet slipping on the wet leaves and uneven ground. The trees blurred past me, their branches stretching out like clawed fingers, but I couldn’t stop. I wouldn’t stop.
The rejection still stung. It was a burning ache deep in my chest, a wound that throbbed with every painful memory. Killian had rejected me—his true mate—his heart hardened by arrogance and pride. In front of the entire pack, he had cast me aside like I was nothing, choosing Isabel, that manipulative woman, over me. I had thought the bond between us was sacred, but in the end, it was nothing but a cruel joke.
Now, I was running. Running from him. From everything.
I didn’t look back, not once. I couldn’t afford to. I had to keep going.
But the growl that rumbled through the air behind me shattered the stillness of the night. My blood ran cold. I knew that sound.
Killian’s wolf.
His presence lingered like a dark cloud over the forest, a constant reminder of the man who had broken me, who had left me alone and humiliated. The heavy, predatory growl echoed through the trees, sending a shiver down my spine. He was close. Too close.
I pushed my legs harder, ignoring the burn in my muscles, my lungs screaming for air. I couldn’t let him catch me. I couldn’t face him, not now, not after everything.
A twig snapped behind me, and I knew it was too late.
Before I could react, something large and heavy slammed into me from behind. My body was yanked off the ground, and I gasped, struggling to break free. My heart hammered in my chest as I kicked out, trying to twist in his grip.
But it was no use. His hold was unyielding.
I didn’t need to look to know who had caught me. I could feel the power radiating from him, feel the weight of his presence pressing against my back like a suffocating force.
“Let me go!” I snarled, clawing at the arm that held me captive.
“Struggling won’t help, Selena,” a low, familiar voice whispered in my ear, sending a chill down my spine. His breath was warm against my neck, and my body tensed involuntarily.
Killian.
He had me, and there was no escaping this time.
“You think you can run from me? You think you can escape me, Selena?” His voice was dark, laced with both anger and something deeper, something that felt like regret. But there was no mistaking the possessiveness in his tone. “You’re mine. Forever.”
I froze, his words sinking into my skin like poison.
I tried to wriggle out of his grasp, but the harder I fought, the tighter his grip became. His wolf—his animal side—was in full control, and I could feel it. The way he held me, the raw power in his touch, it was a reminder of everything I had tried to escape.
“You don’t get to make this decision for me, Killian!” I snapped, twisting in his arms. “You rejected me! You made your choice!”
His grip tightened even more, and I hissed in pain as he pressed me harder against his chest. “You think I didn’t know what I was doing?” he growled. “You think I wanted to hurt you? I was a fool, Selena. A damn fool.”
I shook my head, trying to pull away. “You don’t get to take everything from me and then act like you care!” I shouted. “You made your choice, and now you have to live with it!”
His chest heaved with a deep breath, and for a moment, I thought he might let me go. But then he whispered, his voice raw with emotion, “I was wrong. I know I was. I’ve been living in hell since I rejected you. Every day, every damn day, I’ve regretted it. But now... now it’s too late.”
I didn’t believe him. Not anymore.
“You made your bed, Killian,” I spat, still struggling in his arms. “Now lie in it.”
But even as I said the words, part of me—part I didn’t want to acknowledge—ached with the longing for him to be the man I once thought he was. I had been his mate, his equal. The bond between us had been strong, sacred even. But he had destroyed it. He had shattered it with his pride, and I couldn’t—no, I wouldn’t—let him destroy me again.
“Let go of me!” I screamed, thrashing harder, but it was futile. His strength was too much.
“You’re not going anywhere, Selena.” His voice was a dark promise, his breath hot against my skin as his lips brushed against my ear.
I froze.
The words hung in the air, thick with the weight of everything I had tried to escape. This was Killian. The Alpha. The man who had rejected me. The man who had broken me. And yet, here he was, holding me against him, his wolf snarling in the depths of my soul.
“You think you can run from me forever?” he whispered, his tone low, dangerous.
I wanted to scream at him. I wanted to tell him that I had a life now, that I was stronger than he had ever known. But the words wouldn’t come. Instead, I was paralyzed, caught between the man I had loved and the man who had betrayed me.
“I’ll never be yours again, Killian,” I whispered the words barely breathing, yet they felt like they were tearing me apart.
He didn’t respond at first, his hold on me loosening ever so slightly. But then, as if my words had pierced him, he growled, the sound vibrating through his chest. His wolf surged forward, an overwhelming presence that filled the night air.
“You’ll always be mine, Selena,” he said, his voice like a promise and a threat all at once.
I closed my eyes, feeling the weight of his words settle deep into my bones. This was it. The moment I had feared.
And just as I was about to break free, to fight one last time...
His grip tightened again, and he whispered in my ear, “You think you can escape me, Selena? You’re mine. Forever.”
- Writer
