FORBIDDEN BOND

FIGHT OR FLEE

CHAPTER 5

Draven’s POV

I didn’t even get a warning growl.

They surged from the trees like shadows loosed from hell. Twenty–no, thirty. Maybe more. Snarling, armed, fangs already out. Not rogues–no, these bastards were trained.

I didn’t wait.

Pain exploded in my side as I launched forward, fangs bared, claws out. The first one lunged, and I grabbed it mid-air, slamming it into the earth with a crunch. My claws tore through muscle and fur, hot blood spraying across my chest.

Another one was on me before the body hit the ground.

I twisted, ducked, let its momentum carry it past me–then drove my hand into its back and ripped out something wet and pulsing. It screamed once before going limp.

I didn’t stop to think.

I lunged.

Adela’s roar split the night.

I turned just in time to see her shift–bones cracking, fur sprouting in a rush of silver. Her wolf slammed into a Half-Blood, sending them both flying into a tree. Bark shattered. Her teeth sank deep into its throat.

She was fast.

Ferocious.

A blur of silver and red.

Good.

Another hound lunged. I met it mid-air, claws raking its throat. It coughed blood in my face.

I grinned.

Finally, A real fight.

Another wolf went for her throat.

I intercepted, catching it mid-leap, and slammed it spine-first into the ground. My fangs split its throat before it could whine. Warm blood spilled across my tongue.

Everything snapped into place.

My body responded like it had been waiting for this. Pain dulled. Muscles flexed. My heartbeat smoothed into something low and steady and deadly.

I was awake now.

I was hungry.

But I needed more.

The hunger gnawed at me now, deeper than before. My limbs were slowing, not from wounds but from starvation. My vision blurred around the edges.

One of the Half-Bloods stumbled away from the fray, injured but breathing.

I moved like a shadow.

He didn’t even see me coming.

I sank my fangs into his neck, blood exploding into my mouth–thick, hot, and sharp with something metallic. He screamed, then choked, then went still.

More came. I welcomed them.

Two. Three. Four.

Adela was a whirlwind beside me, silver fur soaked red, her shoulder already torn open but still swinging like she was made of nothing but rage and instinct. She took one down by the leg and ripped through it before it could recover.

I, on the other hand, lost myself in the rhythm.

Rip. Tear. Bite. Swallow.

Every mouthful of blood sent another jolt through my system, sharpening my vision, steadying my feet. My wounds sealed as fast as they opened. I didn’t just feel strong–I felt invincible.

But then, something was…

Wrong.

My heart skipped.

Then again.

My knees buckled for half a second.

I recovered–slammed another hound into a tree hard enough to c***k its skull. But the fire in my blood was fading too fast. My limbs trembled–not with exhaustion but with something foreign.

Poison?

What–

Another came at me. I slashed its throat, breathing hard, vision spinning.

I blinked hard. Shook my head. Kept going.

The blood.

Something was in it.

I stumbled. The world tilted.

I caught myself, panting, fangs dripping.

Adela didn’t notice.

She was still fighting.

Her side was bleeding, a deep gash across her ribs. Her silver fur was matted with blood, her jaws locked around Half-Blood’s throat.

Another grabbed my arm–I spun, ripped it free, sent him flying into a tree so hard it cracked in half.

But the taste…

The blood didn’t feel right. Designed to feel good first. Then turn on you mid-fight.

I gritted my teeth. Growled.

It wasn’t energizing anymore. It was heavy. Like it dragged something down with it every time it touched my tongue.

I spat out the next mouthful.

There was no difference.

The next s***h I took to the ribs–hurt. More than it should’ve.

I staggered.

Only for a second.

Adela didn’t see. She was surrounded, holding her own, but I could hear the strain in her breath. Smell her blood. Her left leg had a deep gash across it. But she didn’t fall.

I blinked again. The world shimmered.

No. No, no, no. This was not the time to be weak.

I took a step forward–then another–but my legs felt slow. Not weak. Just… off. Like they weren’t syncing up with my body.

Another wolf charged. I barely dodged in time. His claws caught my side, deeper than expected.

More blood.

Mine, this time.

It hit the dirt in thick splatters. Like the earth was taking back what I had just gotten.

Panic coiled low in my spine.

It couldn't even tell if it was from fear or the recognition that I had been drugged.

It was definitely in the blood.

They kept coming. Three more. Then four, like they knew the poison was setting in.

I couldn’t fight like this.

Damn it!

My instincts screamed at me, Run. Now.

I’ve never run from a fight.

But this–this wasn’t a battle anymore.

It was a trap.

And I was about to fall too deep to climb out.

I wanted to warn her.

Wanted to shout.

But my body was shutting down.

If I stayed, only gods knew what would happen.

One final glance–Adela was leaping into a wolf, jaws snapping.

She didn’t look at me.

Didn’t see me turn.

Didn’t see me leave.

I turned and ran.

The trees swayed.

Branches tore at my skin. The wind roared in my ears. My heart pounded out of rhythm, every step harder than the last.

But I didn’t stop.

Because if I did–

I wouldn’t be able to get back up.

I didn’t know if she’d make it.

Didn’t know if she’d understand why I left.

I didn't even know if I should be worrying about that right now, given this was what she was sent to do– end me.

But I couldn’t stay.

Not like this.

Not when something inside me was breaking.

So I ran.

Somewhere behind me, she was still fighting.

Still bleeding.

Still thinking I had her back.

And I’d left her there.