You’re Not Safe Here
1189 Words
“You’re not safe here.”
Kieran’s voice was firm as he led Elena deeper into the forest, away from the clearing, away from the blood.
Elena limped beside him, holding her side. “You said your house was safe.”
“It was,” Kieran replied. “But now that others know you’re here, they’ll come. You’re human. They won’t understand.”
She stopped walking. “Then take me home.”
Kieran turned to her. His pale blue eyes burned in the moonlight. “I can’t. Not yet.”
“Why?” she asked.
“Because I need answers. And because…” His voice softened. “Because I can’t let you go.”
She swallowed hard. Her heart hammered. The forest around them felt heavy with silence.
The wolves followed closely behind, their bodies quiet and alert. Kieran looked over his shoulder once, then kept walking.
Soon they reached the edge of a small village. Wooden houses stood between the trees. Smoke rose from chimneys. Wolves in human form walked through the paths, some with weapons, others carrying baskets or leading real wolves on leashes.
Elena gasped. “What is this place?”
Kieran guided her gently. “It’s my pack. You’ll stay here. Just until I understand what’s happening.”
They passed people who stopped to stare. Whispers followed them. “She’s human.” “The Alpha brought a human here?” “Why is she still alive?”
Elena pulled her jacket tighter. She felt their eyes like knives.
A girl with long red hair stood at a doorway. Her eyes narrowed. “Kieran,” she called coldly.
He didn’t stop walking. “Not now, Mira.”
Mira’s eyes snapped at Elena. “You brought her here? Are you insane?”
Kieran growled low. “She’s under my protection.”
Mira’s mouth tightened, but she stepped back. Elena’s skin cringed.
They reached a stone house at the center of the village. Kieran opened the door and led her inside. The walls were lined with books and maps. A fire burned in the corner.
“You can rest here,” he said, guiding her to a small couch.
She sat down slowly. “They don’t like me.”
“They don’t trust you,” he corrected. “You’re different.”
Elena looked up at him. “Is that what this is about? Because I’m human?”
Kieran’s eyes met hers. “It’s more than that.”
He paced across the room. “I’ve seen humans before. Hunters, hikers, researchers. But none of them ever triggered the bond.”
She remembered the spark between them. The way his touch made her skin burn. She rubbed her fingers against her palm.
“It’s not possible, is it?” she whispered. “Humans and werewolves… you said it’s forbidden.”
He stopped walking. His back was tense. “It is. The elders made that law long ago. For a reason.”
“What reason?”
“They said it would destroy the balance. A bond that strong, between different worlds… it could tear everything apart.”
Elena stood. “Then break the bond. Take me back. Pretend it never happened.”
Kieran faced her. “I can’t.”
“Why not?” Her voice shook. “If you don’t want me here, if I’m in danger, just let me go!”
“I can’t!” he snapped. “Because every second you’re away from me, I feel like I’m dying!”
Elena flinched. His chest rose and fell fast.
He ran a hand through his hair. “This bond—it’s not just magic. It’s inside me. It’s inside you, too.”
“No.” She shook her head. “I’m not like you.”
“Maybe not,” he said. “But something’s changing. You felt it, didn’t you?”
She blinked. Her skin was hot. Her heart raced. Her hearing was sharper than before. She had smelled Kieran’s blood in the air before he even spoke. And earlier, in the woods, she’d known when the rogue wolves were near—without seeing them.
“I’m just scared,” she muttered. “That’s all. My senses are on edge.”
“No,” he said slowly. “It’s more.”
He walked closer. “Have you ever had dreams of running? Of howling?”
Elena’s breath caught. She remembered a nightmare from last week—she was running through trees on four legs. She thought it was just fear or stress.
Kieran saw her expression and nodded. “You’re not just human, Elena. There’s something else inside you. I can feel it.”
She took a step back. “You’re wrong.”
“I’m not.” His voice was low. “I need time to figure this out. Until then, stay inside this house. Don’t open the door for anyone but me.”
“What if they come?” she asked, her voice small.
“They won’t,” he said. “No one dares touch my mate.”
The word made her heart skip.
Mate.
It sounded strange. Wrong. And yet… part of her didn’t hate it.
Kieran turned to the door. “I’ll be back before sunrise. Lock the door behind me.”
He left.
Elena stood in the silence. Her thoughts were loud in her head. She walked to the small bathroom and stared at her face in the mirror.
She looked the same. Same eyes, same lips. But she felt different.
She touched her ear. She could hear wolves howling far away. She could smell the smoke from a fire three houses over.
Suddenly, her hand slipped from the counter. Pain shot through her palm. Blood dripped onto the floor.
“Ow,” she hissed.
She grabbed a cloth and pressed it against the cut.
As she stood there, her hand began to tingle. The cut—deep and red—started to close. Before her eyes, the skin sealed shut.
She dropped the cloth in shock.
Her heart thundered in her chest. “What… what the hell?”
Elena backed away from the mirror. She stumbled into the hallway. Her breath was fast. Her thoughts were spinning.
She wasn’t healing like a human.
She was healing like them.
She ran to the front door, but it was locked. She turned and leaned against it, trying to breathe.
Something was wrong with her.
Or maybe… something had always been there. Sleeping.
She clutched her stomach and walked back toward the living room. She needed answers. She needed Kieran.
Suddenly, her vision blurred. Her knees buckled.
She dropped to the floor.
Her hands clawed at the wooden floorboards.
Pain exploded through her spine.
Her nails lengthened.
Her eyes glowed gold.
She let out a scream—but it sounded more like a growl.
Elena curled into a ball, shaking, sweating. Her breathing turned shallow.
“No… no,” she whispered.
Something was happening.
Something inside her was waking up.
And she couldn’t stop it.
Elena’s body is beginning to shift—something buried deep within her is rising, and she doesn’t know if she can control it.
- Writer
