Chapter 3: The Alpha's Claim
613 Words
The world was a blur.
Kane's shoulder dug into my stomach as he ran. The trees whipped past us, faster than any human could move. My head bounced with every step. I could barely breathe.
"Put me down!" I yelled again, hitting his back. "I can run myself!"
"Like hell you can." His voice was a growl. "They're right behind us."
I twisted to look back. The shadows from before were nothing compared to this. It was a black wave, moving through the trees like liquid smoke. And in the center of it, two red eyes burned.
The Shadow King.
My stomach dropped. "Faster," I whispered.
"I am going faster," Kane snapped.
We burst out of the treeline and into a clearing. In the center was an old cabin, barely standing. Kane kicked the door open and shoved me inside before slamming it shut behind us. He dropped a heavy beam across the door.
"Will that hold them?" I was shaking.
"No." He was already at the window, pulling down thick metal shutters. "But it'll buy us time."
He turned to me. Blood trickled from a cut on his cheek. He didn't even seem to notice. "Are you hurt?"
I shook my head, then stopped. My hand. The silver lines were brighter now, crawling up my wrist like living tattoos. "What is this? You said I'm waking up. Waking up to what?"
Kane crossed the room in two steps. He grabbed my hand, his touch burning. "To what you really are. To me."
"Stop talking in riddles!" I pulled my hand back. "What am I?"
"You're a wolf," he said simply. "Or you will be. The stone didn't just free the Shadow King. It unlocked you."
The words didn't make sense. "I can't be a wolf. I'm human."
"You were human." His silver eyes softened for a second. "The stone was a seal for two things. His prison, and your bloodline. Your family hid you in the human world to keep you safe."
A crash hit the door. The whole cabin shook. Dust fell from the ceiling.
Kane pushed me behind him. His back was to me, but I saw his muscles tense. "They found us."
"So what now?" My voice was small. "We die?"
He looked over his shoulder at me. A slow, dangerous smile spread across his face. "No, Lena. Now we fight."
He started unbuttoning his shirt. "What are you doing?" I choked out.
"Giving you a choice." His shirt hit the floor. His chest was all hard muscle and old scars. "You can stay human and die in the next five minutes. Or you can let me help you shift. Become what you were born to be."
Another crash. The door splintered.
"How?" I was backing up until I hit the wall.
His eyes never left mine. "The mate bond. I can trigger your first shift. But it means accepting me. Accepting us."
The silver lines on my arm burned. The howls outside were right on top of us. The Shadow King's red eyes appeared at the broken window.
I had seconds.
"Do it," I breathed.
Kane was on me instantly. His hands framed my face, his forehead pressed to mine. "It'll hurt," he whispered. "But I'll be with you. I promise."
Then his mouth crashed onto mine.
It wasn't a kiss. It was a claim. Fire shot through my veins. My bones felt like they were breaking and remaking themselves. I screamed into his mouth, but he didn't let go.
The pain was blinding. The last thing I heard before everything went black was Kane's voice in my head.
"Run with me, Lena."
And then I was falling.
- Writer
