Chapter 3: Shadows in the Trees
827 Words
Lina pressed her back against the cabin door, listening to the silence that followed Zane’s disappearance. Too quiet. The kind of quiet that meant something was watching.
She forced herself to move. Grabbed her phone—still no signal, thanks to the damn forest—and paced the small living room. Her mind raced: mate, curse, pack, bond. Words that belonged in books, not her life. Yet the heat from his touch still lingered on her wrist like a brand of its own.
Minutes stretched into what felt like hours. She jumped when the door creaked open.
Zane stepped inside, snow dusting his shoulders, eyes scanning the room before settling on her. He looked… tense. More than before.
“What was it?” she asked, voice steadier than she felt.
“Scouts,” he said flatly. “From the rival pack. They smelled blood. My blood. And now they’ve smelled you.”
Her stomach dropped. “They know I’m here?”
“They know something happened. They don’t know what yet.” He locked the door behind him—three heavy bolts she’d never bothered with before. “But they will. Soon.”
Lina crossed her arms. “And what exactly do they want? To kill you? To kill… me?”
Zane’s jaw clenched. “To use you. If they figure out you’re my mate, they’ll do anything to take you. Hurt you. Force me to break the bond. Or worse—use you to trigger the curse completely.”
She stared at him. “This is insane.”
“I know.” For the first time, his voice cracked—just a little. “That’s why I should have left the second I healed. But I couldn’t.”
The pull. The bond. Whatever he called it, she felt it too. Like an invisible thread tugging at her chest every time he was near. It scared her. Excited her. Made her want to run and stay all at once.
She sank onto the couch. “So what now? I can’t just… pretend this didn’t happen.”
“You can’t.” He crouched in front of her, golden eyes level with hers. “But you can choose. Walk away. Forget me. Live your life. The bond will fade eventually—if you reject it hard enough.”
“Reject it?” She laughed bitterly. “You make it sound like returning a dress.”
“It’s not that simple.” His hand hovered near hers, not quite touching. “Rejecting a fated bond hurts. Both of us. But it’s possible. I’ve seen it done. The wolf inside… it never forgives. But it survives.”
Lina looked at him—really looked. The exhaustion in his face. The way his shoulders carried the weight of something ancient and heavy. He wasn’t lying. He was terrified. Not for himself. For her.
“And if I don’t reject it?” she asked quietly.
His gaze darkened. “Then you become part of my world. My pack. My Luna. And everything that comes with it—war, blood, the full moon every month trying to rip me apart. You’d have to leave this life. Your job. Your home. Everything.”
She swallowed. “And you’d… what? Protect me?”
“I’d die for you.” The words came out raw. “But I’d rather you live without me than die because of me.”
Silence stretched between them. Thick. Heavy.
Outside, the wind picked up again. Branches scraped the roof like claws.
Lina stood slowly. Walked to the window. Stared into the dark trees.
“I’m not good at running from things,” she said finally. “Never have been.”
Zane rose behind her. Close enough that she felt his heat at her back.
“Then we run together,” he murmured. “At least until the next full moon. I need time to figure out how to break the curse. And you… you need time to decide if this bond is worth the fight.”
She turned. Their faces inches apart.
His eyes searched hers. Desperate. Hopeful. Hungry.
Lina lifted her hand. Pressed her palm flat against his chest—right over his heart. It thundered under her fingers.
“I’m not promising anything,” she whispered. “But I’m not running away either. Not yet.”
Zane exhaled like he’d been holding his breath for years. His hand covered hers. Warm. Steady.
“Then we start tonight,” he said. “Pack a bag. We’re leaving Green Hollow before dawn. There’s a safe house—old cabin deeper in the mountains. No one knows it exists except me.”
Lina nodded once. Small. Terrified. But sure.
As she moved to grab clothes and essentials, Zane watched her every step. Like she was already his.
And maybe—just maybe—she was starting to believe it too.
Outside, the howls started again. Closer this time.
The hunt had begun.
- Writer
