Chapter Seven
513 Words
The forest was too quiet.
Kai walked the perimeter of the pack’s eastern border, Nia a few paces behind him. She’d insisted on coming—something about “ward reinforcement” that he hadn’t bothered arguing with. The sooner the borders were secure, the sooner he could stop babysitting a witch.
A twig snapped.
Nia froze.
Kai’s head whipped toward the sound, his wolf surging to the surface. The air smelled wrong—burnt ozone and rotting leaves.
Then the shadows moved.
Not a spectral wolf this time. Something worse.
A Reaper.
A twisted creature of old magic, half-spirit, half-beast, its elongated limbs clawing at the earth as it lunged from the trees. Its maw split open, revealing rows of needle-thin teeth, and it screeched—a sound that raked nails down Kai’s spine.
Nia reacted first.
Her hands shot up, a guttural chant tearing from her lips. The ground trembled as roots erupted, tangling around the Reaper’s legs.
Kai didn’t wait. He shifted mid-stride, his bones cracking, fur rippling over skin as he slammed into the creature. Claws met shadow-flesh, tearing through it like smoke, but the thing didn’t bleed. It laughed.
Nia’s voice rose, sharp and commanding. A whip of lightning crackled from her fingertips, striking the Reaper square in the chest. It howled, its form flickering—
Kai lunged again.
This time, his jaws closed around its throat.
The Reaper dissolved into black mist, its final scream echoing through the trees before vanishing entirely.
Silence.
Kai shifted back, his breath ragged. “What the hell was that?”
Nia’s hands were still shaking. “A Reaper. They’re soul-eaters. Someone sent it.”
Kai’s blood ran cold.
Then hot.
“This is your coven’s fault,” he snarled.
Nia’s eyes flashed. “My fault?”
“Your magic. Your curses.” He advanced on her, fury boiling over. “This started when you—”
“When I what?” Nia shoved him back, her voice a whip. “When a demon wolf tried to kill me at our wedding? Or when your pack’s curse started eating you alive? Tell me, Alpha—who’s really to blame here?”
Kai’s growl was lethal.
But Nia didn’t back down. “You think I want this? I have a life. A home. A business. Now I’m stuck in your territory, fighting your battles, while you act like I’m the enemy!”
The words hung between them, sharp as knives.
Then—
A rustle in the bushes.
Kai turned.
Three pack members stood at the tree line, eyes wide.
Shit.
He could already hear their whispers.
“Since when do we trust witches?”
“She saved him—”
“The Alpha’s bond is making him weak.”
Nia turned to look at the wolves. Her jaw clenched, but she said nothing. Just turned and walked away, her shoulders stiff with fury.
Kai let her go.
Because the truth was worse than the pack’s doubt.
The bond was changing him.
And he didn’t know how to stop it.
- Writer
