Chapter 1 - Shadow Chasing.
486 Words
Sienna Blackwood ran through the dense forest, her bare feet silent against the damp earth. The full moon bathed the towering trees in silver light, casting long shadows that stretched like clawed fingers across the ground. Her heart pounded against her ribs not from exhaustion, but from fear.
They were close.
She could hear them now. Heavy paws pounding against the forest floor, twigs snapping under their weight. The howls that tore through the night sent chills down her spine. The Blackfang Pack was hunting her.
Sienna had spent years hiding her scent, moving from town to town, never staying long enough to be noticed. But she had slipped up tonight. A single moment of weakness, a misstep that had led her straight into their territory.
“Find the rogue. Alpha’s orders.”
The deep, growling voice sent her pulse racing. They were near. Too near.
She ducked behind a thick oak, pressing her back against the rough bark. Her wolf was restless beneath her skin, urging her to fight, but she clenched her jaw. No. She couldn’t afford to shift, not now. If she did, they would see.
They would know.
A branch snapped just a few feet away. She held her breath as a massive wolf prowled into view, its dark fur blending into the night. Its golden eyes glowed as it sniffed the air, searching.
“She’s close,” the wolf growled, its voice laced with the power of the Alpha’s command.
Sienna knew who he was, Darius, Beta of the Blackfang Pack. If the Beta was here, then that meant…
A presence shifted in the darkness. And then she saw him.
Kieran Nightbane.
Alpha of the Blackfangs. A legend and a nightmare wrapped in one.
He stepped into the clearing, towering over the others, his mere presence commanding absolute silence. His onyx-black hair was slightly tousled, as though he had just shifted back into human form, and his sharp jawline was shadowed with stubble. But it was his eyes, silver like molten steel—that locked onto hers through the darkness.
A shiver ran down her spine.
He didn’t speak. He didn’t have to. The power that radiated from him was suffocating. Sienna had heard stories of him, how he had conquered rival packs, how his enemies never lived long enough to tell their tales. He was ruthless. Unforgiving. And now, his gaze was locked on her.
His nostrils flared, and his eyes darkened.
“Mine.”
The word was barely more than a growl, but it hit Sienna like a thunderclap.
No. No, no, no. This couldn’t be happening.
She turned on her heel and ran.
She didn’t care that she was outnumbered. She didn’t care that the Alpha himself was after her.
All that mattered was escaping.
Because if Kieran Nightbane found out what she really was, what she was hiding he wouldn’t just claim her.
He would destroy her.
- Writer
