chapter 4
1375 Words
Chapter 4 – Shattered Bonds
Serena’s POV
The moonlight spilled across the floorboards of my small room, cold and silver, like it too had turned its back on me. My hands trembled as I shoved clothes into a worn satchel—only the bare essentials. Every rustle of fabric sounded deafening in the silence. My chest ached, my throat burned, but I refused to let myself cry again.
I had wasted enough tears.
Christopher’s voice still rang in my ears from earlier that night—You are not enough. I reject you.
Each word was a knife, lodged deep into my chest, twisted again and again every time I remembered the look in his eyes when he said it. Not just cold—detached, like I was nothing. Like the bond between us was a curse rather than a gift.
I couldn’t stay here. Not in this pack house that whispered behind closed doors. Not in these walls that suffocated me with reminders that I was unloved, unwanted. Cassandra’s perfect smirk haunted me too, those pity-laced daggers she called words.
My hands clenched around the strap of the bag. If I didn’t leave now, I never would.
I opened the door slowly, the hinges groaning softly. My heart thundered as I glanced both ways down the hall. Silent. Everyone asleep.
This is it, Serena. Just keep moving.
I padded down the stairs, holding my breath when the wood creaked beneath me. My pulse pounded in my ears. I wasn’t running toward freedom, not really—I was running away from the chains that had already broken me.
The cool night air hit my face when I stepped outside. For a moment, I just stood there, letting the wind sting my cheeks, swallowing down the lump in my throat. Then I moved—fast, slipping into the trees, the forest swallowing me whole.
Leaves crunched beneath my boots. My breath came in short bursts. Every step felt like ripping out another thread tying me to the only home I had ever known.
But I couldn’t stop. Not now. Not ever.
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Christopher’s POV
Something was wrong.
I’d tried burying myself in work—patrol schedules, border reports, anything—but the words on the page blurred, useless. My wolf paced in my head, restless, snarling, claws scraping.
She’s leaving.
The thought slammed into me like a blade. My chest tightened, heat flooding my veins. I pushed back from my desk so hard the chair skidded across the floor.
“No,” I muttered under my breath. “She wouldn’t—”
But I knew she would. I’d left her no choice.
My wolf roared, fury lashing inside me. You fool. You broke her. You pushed her away. MATE.
My jaw clenched. My hands shook. I didn’t even think—I was already moving, storming down the halls, out the doors, into the night.
And then I caught it—the faintest trace of her scent, sweet and wild, weaving between the trees. My blood burned. My wolf lunged forward, demanding I chase, demanding I stop her before she slipped too far from my reach.
She belongs to us. Even if you’re too stubborn to admit it.
I growled, running faster. My eyes burned gold in the darkness.
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Serena’s POV
The trees pressed closer around me, their shadows stretching long and twisted under the moonlight. My lungs screamed for air, but I kept running.
Freedom. Just a little further.
Then—footsteps. Heavy, fast, gaining.
“No,” I whispered, panic gripping me. I forced my legs to move faster, but it was useless. That scent—power, cedarwood, storm—wrapped around me before I even heard the growl.
“Serena!”
His voice cracked through the night like thunder.
I froze. My body betrayed me, every nerve lighting up at the sound of my name on his lips.
And then he was there—Alpha Christopher—towering, furious, eyes blazing molten gold. His chest heaved with each breath, his presence swallowing the forest whole.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he snarled.
I staggered back, clutching my bag tighter. “Leaving. What does it look like?”
His eyes narrowed, sharp as blades. “You think you can just walk away?”
I lifted my chin, though my knees trembled. “You made it clear I’m not wanted here. You rejected me, Christopher. What’s left for me to stay for?”
His growl rumbled deep in his chest, shaking the ground beneath me. In two strides, he was in front of me. His hand shot out, yanking the bag from my grip and tossing it to the dirt.
“Stop it—” I tried to back away, but his arm slammed against the tree beside my head, trapping me. His other hand caught my wrist, pinning me there.
Sparks ignited where his skin touched mine, shooting fire up my arm. My breath hitched, traitorous and raw.
“Don’t you dare walk away from me,” he ground out, voice low, dangerous. His face was inches from mine, his heat searing.
My heart hammered, confusion and anger tangling until I could barely breathe. “You don’t get to do this. You don’t get to reject me and then act like you own me.”
His eyes darkened, torn. “I don’t want to own you, Serena. I—” His voice broke off, jaw flexing as though he was fighting himself.
“Then let me go.” My words cracked, a plea wrapped in steel.
He didn’t move. His breath ghosted over my lips. My wolf screamed to close the space, to surrender, to melt into the bond that hummed like lightning between us.
Christopher’s gaze flickered to my mouth. His grip tightened on my wrist, pulling me closer. Sparks exploded down my spine. My lips parted on instinct.
And for a heartbeat, I thought he would. Kiss me. Claim me. Break and heal me all at once.
But then—he cursed under his breath, tearing himself away as though burned.
“You drive me insane,” he growled, pacing back, fists clenched. His voice was rough, desperate. “I can’t—I won’t—”
Tears burned my eyes. “You can’t have it both ways, Christopher. You don’t get to reject me and still keep me caged.”
His wolf snarled inside him, loud enough I almost felt it. His chest rose and fell, his conflict written in every tense line of his body.
I bent down, snatched my bag from the dirt. “You made your choice. Now let me make mine.”
And before he could stop me, I ran.
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Christopher’s POV
My wolf howled as she slipped from my grasp, claws raking at the walls inside me. I wanted to chase, to drag her back, to bury myself in the mate bond until neither of us could breathe without the other.
But pride. Guilt. Fear. They wrapped chains around my legs.
I stood there, panting, watching her disappear deeper into the forest.
You’re losing her, my wolf hissed. You already lost her.
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Serena’s POV
Branches whipped at my arms, my breath tearing from my chest. Tears streaked my cheeks, hot and unstoppable. I didn’t look back. I couldn’t.
I thought freedom waited just beyond the next line of trees.
But the air shifted.
A low growl slithered through the darkness. Then another. And another.
My steps faltered. My heart stuttered.
Shadows emerged from the trees—eyes glowing feral red, teeth bared, bodies hunched and wild. Rogues.
Five. Six. More. Surrounding me like vultures.
The leader stepped forward, his lips curling back in a snarl. “Well, well. What do we have here? A little Alpha’s reject, running all alone.”
My blood iced. My wolf whimpered inside me.
No. Not like this.
I stumbled back, clutching my bag like it could shield me. My voice cracked when I tried to sound strong. “Stay back.”
They laughed. Cruel. Hungry.
And in that moment, as the circle closed tighter, I realized the truth.
The moment I thought I was free… I had run straight into another kind of cage.
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