Run With Me
1244 Words
🌒 Chapter Six: Run With Me
The moon was thin and high, the frost coated the grass as Raven stepped out into the clearing outside the compound, her boots crunching softly on the earth.
She needed to let Shadow out for a run.
Needed to forget the pull in her chest, the storm of sandalwood and rain that haunted her every breath.
Needed to forget him.
Even if just for a moment.
“Thought I’d find you out here.”
Raven turned, finding Luca leaning against a pine, arms crossed, the moonlight catching the faint scars on his knuckles, the black ink on his forearm that marked him as pack, as hers.
She arched a brow. “Stalking me, Luca?”
A rare smile curved his lips. “Someone has to keep you from brooding yourself into a rage.”
She huffed, turning her eyes back to the moon. “I’m not brooding.”
“You are,” he said, stepping forward, “and you need this.”
She didn’t argue. Not with him. Not tonight.
They stripped quickly, folding their clothes in a pile, the cold biting but clean, the air sharp in their lungs.
Then she let Shadow rise.
It wasn’t pain; it was power. The world tilted as her bones cracked and reshaped, black fur unfurling across her body, the frost a whisper beneath her paws as she landed in the snow, massive and sleek, golden eyes glinting.
Beside her, Luca let his wolf, Ash, take over, a dark gray wolf with piercing blue eyes, powerful and lean, fur bristling in the moonlight.
They exchanged a look.
Then they ran.
The forest opened before them, shadows parting as paws pounded the frozen ground, breath steaming in the cold air as they weaved between pines and leapt over fallen logs. The wind roared past, carrying scents of moss, snow, deer, and always, in the distance, that faint thread of sandalwood and rain.
Shadow pushed faster, paws thudding, muscles stretching, the cold air burning in her lungs as she let herself forget, for just a moment, that she was Alpha, that rogues threatened her borders, that a mate bond she never wanted was tearing her apart.
Ash kept pace easily, his blue eyes flicking to her, a soft huff of amusement in his mind-link.
“You’re faster than last moon,” Luca’s voice slipped through the link, warm and comforting.
“You’re just getting old.” She laughed
“Careful, Alpha.” he chuckled.
They shot through the trees, leaping a small creek, landing in a patch of moonlit snow that sprayed beneath their paws. The world was quiet, except for the thudding of their hearts, the whisper of claws on ice.
They slowed near a ridge overlooking the valley, the moon bathing the forest below in silver light. Shadow lifted her head, breathing deep, letting the cold air clear her thoughts.
Ash nudged her shoulder lightly.
“Talk to me.”
“About what?”
“Don’t insult me, Raven.”
She shifted back, letting Shadow slide away, leaving her standing in the snow, steam rising from her skin, hair tumbling around her shoulders as she pulled on an oversized hoodie and track pants.
Luca followed, shifting seamlessly, pulling on a pair of loose pants, raking a hand through his dark hair.
“About him.”
Her jaw tightened. “I don’t want him.”
“Doesn’t change that he’s yours.”
She sank to sit on a rock, drawing her knees up, hugging them to her chest as she stared out into the trees.
“It’s not supposed to happen like this, Luca. I’m Alpha. I can't have a human mate."
He sat beside her, elbows on his knees. “And yet…”
“And yet, the bond doesn’t care,” she snapped, a low growl in her throat. “I can feel him, every moment, getting closer. I can smell him on the wind. It’s like a rope around my ribs, I don't even know his name."
Luca was silent, the moonlight highlighting the hard lines of his face. “You’re allowed to want something for yourself, Raven.”
She shot him a look. “This isn’t about what I want. It’s about what’s best for the pack.”
They sat in silence, the cold biting, but the bond between them, Alpha and Beta, sister and brother in all but blood kept the cold at bay.
“I saw Levi today,” Luca said, breaking the silence. “He said Archer and Harvey are working on strengthening the east wall traps.”
“Good.” She closed her eyes, exhaling. “We need to be ready.”
“Raven.” His voice was gentle. “The pack is ready. You trained them to be.”
She didn’t reply, because deep down, she feared it might never be enough.
The wind shifted, carrying that scent again, a whisper of sandalwood and rain, lightning under her skin.
She sucked in a breath, her eyes closing, the bond flaring in her chest like a star.
Luca’s eyes softened. “He’s close.”
“I know.”
They stood, Raven brushing snow from her skin as she tied her hair back, reclaiming the cold, hard composure that the Alpha needed to wear like a second skin.
“He could be good for you,” Luca said softly.
“I don’t need good,” she shot back. “I need strong. I need ruthless. I need—”
She broke off, swallowing hard, golden eyes glinting.
“I need to protect them.”
Luca’s hand touched her shoulder, grounding her. “And you will. You always have.”
They shifted again, Shadow and Ash taking over, dark shapes against the snow.
They ran, fast and hard, pushing themselves until the frost blurred beneath them, until the wind tore the fear from Raven’s chest, leaving only the cold, sharp certainty of the hunt.
They returned to the compound as the moon dipped, warriors already awake and patrolling, nodding as their Alpha passed.
Raven shifted back, standing in the training yard, Luca at her side, the scent of pine and smoke filling the cold dawn air.
They pulled on the clothes handed to them by a warrior.
“Hey Luca,” she said softly.
“Yeah?”
“Thank you.”
His smile was small, tired, but real.
“Always.” he replied
That night, Raven stood alone on her balcony, overlooking her pack as they trained by torchlight. Carla and Louise practiced takedowns in human form, while Freya and Camilla drilled stealth movements, moving like shadows around the training dummies.
Levi and Andre laughed as they sparred, shifting seamlessly between human and wolf, while Archer and Harvey tested new trap mechanisms along the perimeter.
They were strong. They were ready.
And yet, her heart ached.
She closed her eyes, letting the bond warm and pull, letting herself feel him, letting herself admit that a part of her wanted him close, wanted to see those piercing gray eyes again.
She wanted to let the world burn for daring to challenge what was hers.
Shadow purred beneath her skin, ready.
Soon, she promised herself, gripping the railing.
And in the forest, Ragnar paused, his breath misting in the cold as he looked up at the moon, feeling her like a heartbeat in his chest.
“I’m coming,” he whispered.
And the bond throbbed, alive between them, unbreakable.
- Writer
