Chapter 2: Run With Me
601 Words
The forest was dead silent.
Kane grabbed my wrist and pulled me through the trees. His grip was iron, but not painful. Just... unbreakable. The shadows screamed behind us, but they didn't follow. Not with him here.
"Let go of me!" I tried to yank my arm back. "Who are you?"
He stopped so fast I crashed into his back. He turned, and those silver eyes pinned me in place. "Kane. And you're the i***t who just doomed us all."
"Excuse me?" I glared up at him. "I didn't ask to be chased by shadow monsters!"
"No. You just touched a stone you shouldn't have." His gaze dropped to my hand, then back to my face. "You have no idea what you've done."
"Then tell me!" I shouted. Fear was making me reckless. "Instead of dragging me through the woods!"
Something changed in his expression. A flicker of... something. Pity? "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
"Try me."
He leaned down until we were eye to eye. "Fine. You're not human, Lena. Not fully. And that stone? It was a seal. A prison. And you just broke it."
I laughed. It sounded hysterical even to me. "I'm not human? That's your big reveal?"
"You think I'm joking?" His voice was deadly quiet. "Look at your hand."
I looked down. The hand that touched the stone was glowing. Faint silver lines, like veins, pulsed under my skin.
I stumbled back. "What... what's happening to me?"
"You're waking up." He grabbed my arm again before I could fall. "And they can sense it. Every cursed thing in this forest is coming for you now."
"Why?" My voice broke. "Why me?"
"Because of what you are. Because of what I am." His jaw was tight. "And because that stone was the only thing keeping the Shadow King locked away. Until you freed him."
The ground trembled. A howl, deeper and older than anything I'd heard before, rolled through the trees.
Kane cursed. "We need to move. Now."
"I'm not going anywhere with you until you explain!" I dug my heels in.
He looked at me like I was the dumbest person alive. "You want to die here? Because that's what's about to happen."
"I'm the reason you're still breathing," he growled. His voice was low, dangerous. "And you're the reason my pack is about to go to war."
My heart slammed against my ribs. "Pack? What are you talking about?"
"The stone you touched wasn't cursed, Lena." He stepped closer. I stepped back until my spine hit a tree. "It was a prison. You broke the seal. You woke them."
"Who?" My voice shook.
"The Shadow King. And his army." His jaw clenched. "You have two choices. Come with me now, or die here when they find you again. And they will find you."
I swallowed hard. "Why would you help me?"
For a second, something flickered in his eyes. Something almost... pained. Then it was gone.
"Because you're my mate," he said flatly. "And because if you die, my whole species dies with you."
Mate? The word hit me like ice water.
Before I could respond, a howl ripped through the forest. Not a wolf. Something worse. Something ancient.
Kane cursed. "Too late." He grabbed me again and threw me over his shoulder like I weighed nothing. "Hold on."
Then he ran. Faster than any human should. The trees blurred past us.
"Put me down!" I hit his back, but it was like punching stone.
"Not until we're safe," he snarled. "And Lena? We're not safe yet."
The howling got closer.
- Writer
