Loving You Was A Mistake

CHAPTER FIVE

Morning tried to rise, but the night clung stubbornly to the city. The sky was dull and heavy, clouds hanging low like they might fall apart at any moment. Rain slowed to a steady drip, sliding down broken buildings and washing blood into the gutters. Arielle Vale and Kael Thorn moved through the empty streets, both of them exhausted, wounded, and wired with the awareness that safety did not exist anymore. Every step hurt. Every breath burned. Still, they kept going.

They reached an abandoned train station near the industrial edge of the city. The building was old and half-collapsed, metal beams rusted, walls cracked and stained. The doors hung crooked on their hinges. It was the kind of place people forgot about, which made it useful. Kael paused before entering, listening, head tilted slightly. Arielle waited, gun raised, fingers stiff. After a moment, he nodded once. Clear for now.

Inside, the air smelled like rust, mold, and something sour that had soaked into the concrete years ago. Arielle shoved a piece of metal through the door handles to jam them shut. The sound echoed too loudly in the empty station. Once the door was secured, her legs finally gave out. She slid down the wall and sat hard on the floor, chest heaving. The adrenaline that had carried her through the fights drained away, leaving pain behind. Her arm throbbed. Her leg burned. Her ribs ached every time she breathed.

Kael stayed standing, pacing slowly, eyes scanning every corner. He looked just as bad. Blood dried in dark streaks across his skin. Cuts lined his arms and shoulders. His breathing was heavy, controlled, like he was forcing himself not to shift again. The silence pressed down on them, thick and uncomfortable. It felt strange after hours of nonstop violence.

We should be dead, Arielle muttered. Her voice sounded rough, like it did not belong to her. Kael glanced at her, then back toward the shadows. Probably, he said. That earned a short laugh from her. It died quickly.

She pushed herself up enough to lean against the wall. You should leave, she said suddenly. Go back to your pack before this gets worse. Kael stopped pacing. He turned slowly, eyes narrowing. And you should go back to your Court, he replied. His tone was flat. Neither of them believed what they were saying. If they split up, they would be hunted down faster. Together, at least they stood a chance.

Kael crouched in front of her. Let me see your arm. Arielle hesitated, then extended it. The cut was deep and ugly. Kael tore fabric from his shirt and wrapped it around her arm carefully. His hands were steady, warmer than she expected. She watched him work, aware of how close he was, aware of her pulse picking up for no good reason. She hated it. Feelings were a weakness. They got people killed.

Before she could pull away, a sound echoed through the station. Footsteps. Slow. Deliberate. Kael was on his feet instantly, body tense. Arielle grabbed her gun and stood, heart hammering. The footsteps stopped, and a calm voice followed.

Arielle Vale, the voice said. We need to talk.

Her stomach twisted. She knew that voice. Lucien. A Court enforcer. Powerful. Dangerous. Always smiling when he was about to ruin someone’s life. He stepped into the open, hands raised slightly, dressed too clean for the night they had survived. His eyes flicked to Kael, interest flashing across his face.

You are causing problems, Arielle, Lucien said lightly. The Council is not pleased. Kael growled low in his chest. Lucien smiled wider. A wolf protector. How unexpected.

Say what you came to say, Arielle snapped.

Lucien’s smile faded. There is a war coming, he said. Bigger than you think. Wolves, vampires, hunters. All of it. And you are standing in the wrong place. You have something we want.

I have nothing, Arielle said.

Lucien tilted his head. You have each other. That is enough.

The walls exploded inward before she could answer. Wolves burst through one side of the station, claws out, eyes wild. At the same time, vampires dropped from the upper levels. Chaos hit instantly. Kael shifted mid-stride, crashing into the nearest wolf. Arielle fired, shots echoing painfully through the enclosed space. Lucien vanished into the mess, moving too fast to track.

The fight was close and brutal. No room to dodge. No space to breathe. Arielle felt herself slammed into a pillar. She fired blindly, hitting something solid. Kael tore through enemies with savage force, roars shaking dust from the ceiling. Blood sprayed across old tiles. Glass shattered. The station rang with screams and growls.

Arielle’s vision blurred as something struck her head. She stumbled but stayed upright. Another vampire lunged. She shot it point blank. Her ears rang. Pain screamed through her body, but she kept moving. Survival demanded it. Kael crashed into a wolf that had grabbed her, ripping it away with a snarl that was more animal than human.

When the noise finally died, the station was ruined. Bodies covered the floor. Blood pooled in dark patches. Arielle leaned against a wall, gasping. Kael stood nearby, chest heaving, eyes scanning for threats. Lucien was gone.

They will not stop now, Kael said.

I know, Arielle replied.

Kael hesitated, then spoke again. There is an old rule, he said. Vampires and wolves are not meant to bond. When they do, it makes them stronger. Harder to control.

Arielle swallowed. She felt it. The pull. The connection she could not explain. Then we keep moving, she said. We do not let them decide what we are.

Kael nodded.

They left the station together as the sky slowly brightened. The city waited, broken and dangerous. Enemies waited too. But so did answers. Chapter five ended with them walking into the gray morning, hunted, wounded, and bound by something neither of them could undo.