CHAPTER FOUR
710 Words
Devina’s POV
I woke up before the sun did. I planned to find my way back to my shelter. I couldn’t just leave it abandoned. Not that I’ve accepted this place as home, but still… I can’t just abandon everything.
Yes, you can. You and I both know there’s nothing to go back to.
“Shut up,” I muttered to myself, pushing out of the tent. I transformed mid-run, heading in the direction I remembered when I first came here.
Lukas’ POV
Every night I deal with the heat and warmth of not having her next to me.
I couldn’t sleep. I saw it in her eyes last night. Behind all those smiles, she was going to run. Her thoughts were mine too.
I got up hastily from my tent and headed straight to hers.
She wasn’t there.
She had no exact scent, so I couldn’t track her that way. But I knew where she’d go, the only place she really knew and trusted.
I turned into the forest, moving cautiously.
The woods at dawn were monstrous and deadly. A demon that ruins the innocence of daylight.
We can’t lose her, Wolfie growled inside me.
The air was heavy, the kind of dangerous that doesn’t need to be seen to be felt.
Devina’s POV
I’d rather be a fighter than a lover, I thought as I moved swiftly through the woods in search of that familiar place.
I’d been running for hours in the same direction. I was close. I could feel it.
Then something shifted in the air.
I froze, crouching low, three paws pressed to the ground, one raised in defense.
Blood. I smelled blood.
In a blur, a vamp appeared in front of me in all its disgusting glory, pale skin stretched thin, eyes hungry.
Vamps ruled the night until the sun rose, and dawn was still far off.
“There, there, little doggie,” he sneered. “We’re just trying to have some fun.”
My ears twitched. Three more bloodsucking vamps were perched in the trees waiting.
“I’m Caden,” he continued with a sly grin. “And I bet you’re a pretty sexy thing under all that fur.”
I bared my teeth. Ready.
I lunged, but he was faster. One moment in front of me, the next behind my tail. My wolf form was powerful, but heavy. It slowed me down.
You’ve grown soft under all that care, huh? I snapped at my inner wolf.
I forced myself to think. My steps had to be calculated.
Fuck. Lukas is here. I sensed him nearby. He’d caught up. I couldn’t let him fight this fight. This one was mine.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen blood,” I growled, letting my wolf take full control.
Lukas’ POV
I ran toward the pull of danger, praying she was safe.
The moment I reached the clearing, I blended into the woods.
They were circling her, taunting. I was about to step in.
But she sensed me. Her light blue eyes flashed, stormy and determined.
Then she moved. Calculated. Ruthless. She tore into them one by one, blood glistening on her skin under the faint light.
She wasn’t just royalty. She was a princess forged into a queen by experience.
It was all a blur.
Then, without a word, she ran again. And of course, I followed.
Devina’s POV
I ignored Lukas’ presence as he trailed behind. As long as he didn’t try to stop me, I was fine.
Finally I was here. Relief washed through me.
There was a stream nearby, so I padded over, washing the blood from my fur. Knowing full well his eyes were on me, I shifted back, naked, and walked deliberately, almost tauntingly, into my shelter.
I rummaged through my pile of clothes, pulling on a pair of old pants and a sweatshirt.
“If you’re done staring, you can come in,” I said casually.
He ducked and entered, crouching a little to fit.
I tossed him a blanket and sank onto my bed, lost in my thoughts.
The shelter was just one open space. When he settled in, the bed dipped under his weight. He sat close, but not too close.
Silence stretched between us.
- Writer
