Hunted by the Alpha King

Four

Willow panted as she cut through the trees, aware of the heavy footsteps behind her. Ronan was much closer to her than she thought he should be. She had seen his father stop him from going after her. A much-appreciated head starts on their chase.

She had almost gone into shock when the change overtook her body. Her mother and father told her that it felt like every bone and muscle was tearing and breaking whenever they change. But Willow didn’t feel that pain. Instead, she felt a sense of freedom. Like the two parts of her were coming together finally. Fur rippled onto her skin so effortlessly and her bones shifted into position quickly. There was no pain, no tearing, and no breaking. She felt the beast within her rejoicing at finally being let free. Her eyesight changed, heightened, and changed to black and white. She could smell every scent within a thirty-foot radius, even the delicious smell of musk and leather from her mate. Her change was a phenomenon she shouldn’t be able to experience without a bite. But she was too terrified to let Ronan Black be that close to her.

I can’t believe my mate is Ronan Black! Even she had heard of him! Her father had told her horror stories of the dismembered rogue wolves that he had found in the woods. Ronan had been walking the perimeter of the pack boundaries when the bodies appeared. He never asked the alpha permission, just took care of the rogues on his own. And always won. He always got his target.

Her steps faltered when she realized that she was now a rogue. She needed to break her bond with the Alpha to make it official. Or else they would be able to find her wherever she was. It wouldn’t matter how far she had run, she would show up on their radar. She continued to cut through the trees, along the path that her father had trained her to go in the middle of the night. Her wolf could smell the water of the nearby river. This would be her only chance to successfully get away from Ronan.

But what if she didn't listen to her parents? What if she just stopped and let Ronan catch her? All her life her parents had been training her to leave. Their only explanation was that she would be hunted. That if someone learned about her wolf then she would be chased by all of the wolf packs across the nation, across the world. But they never explained why. She could slow her steps, forgo her parent’s plan and stay. Surely with a mate like Ronan, she would be safe. He was the greatest fighter and tracker that anyone had ever seen. Other packs contract him whenever they’re having problems with rogues or other packs. He was the one who sought peace among the packs. Could he be that bad? Bad enough to leave her family and pack? If Ronan was her mate then surely the pack would have to start including her. The Alpha would welcome her into his family.

Then he would punish her and her parents for attempting to get away from him. Her father would be punished worse than her mother.

Willow heard the echoes of his thoughts. Their connection is surprisingly strong without the bite and mating necessary to cement their bond. Her parents were in danger from her mate! That must be why they were planning on leaving when she ran for it. They knew that they would be used for information to find her. But her father had explicitly told her to not tell them her plans. All he told her was to leave the pack, find water, and mask her scent. Past that she was completely on her own. She would need to navigate the real world and try and find her way north. Her natural inclination was to listen to her parents and run as far north as possible. But Ronan was following her closer than she thought possible. He was right behind her! She would never make it north, with fewer places to hide.

She cut south suddenly, forgoing her parent's plans, to find the river. A sense of urgency caused her footfalls to be quicker and more powerful. I, Willow Richards, hereby renounce ownership of the Blackmoon Pack. Willow yelped when there was a tearing sensation in her heart. She had never been a full-fledged member since the Alpha hated her family, but she still felt as if something was being taken from her soul. Now she was utterly alone. Alone and hunted.

.The river was rushing past just ahead of her. She could hear the power behind the water. Ideally, she would try to cross at a less dangerous area of the water. She ran north along the riverbank, waiting until the waters were calm enough that she wouldn’t be swept away. She would need to focus her energy to mask her scent. It was something she had never done in wolf form. But with Ronan so close to her she would have to hide until he moved on. Her white fur was like a beacon in the moonlight and dark forest. About thirty feet ahead of her she saw a shallow pool in the river. Perfect for crossing. She focused her energy on preparing to mask herself. When she felt ready she quickly cut across the water, sending out a blast of energy to hide her scent in the middle of the river. The energy caused her power to wane, shifting her back into her human form.

With Ronan so close behind her, she rushed behind a large tree next to the river bed. She turned and watched as the large black wolf jumped to the middle of the river and stopped. His coal eyes shifted around the trees. Willow held her breath and never moved from her position, even though she wanted to dig deep into the ground to hide.

He must’ve depended more on his sense of smell than his eyesight because Ronan didn’t move from his spot in the water. Mate! His wolf cried to her mind. She instantly shut off her mind, filling it with the sound of static from a radio. It was a trick her father taught her just in case he was able to speak to her. But her father didn’t think he would be able to until Ronan had bitten her. Willow grasped the tree as hard as she could to stop herself from moving closer to him. She wanted to be with him. Her wolf wanted to be bitten. She wanted to be mounted and mated. Her inner beast was calling towards his, their souls desperate for one another.

In her mind, she knew that he would be able to take away all of her pain. He would fulfill her loneliness and protect her. She wouldn’t feel out of place. Her place would be with him, close to him. They would share their life. Their hopes and dreams. It would be like the fairytale stories that her mother had read her when she was a child.

Willow bit her lip to keep from calling out to him. She could feel her nails ripping from her fingers her grip on the tree was so intense. One word and her future would be decided.

“You need to run as far as you can. You will be hunted all of your life.” Her father’s words ran through her head. She didn’t fully understand what it meant but she trusted her father. So with her wolf crying towards her mate, she held her place. Ignoring the pain settling in her stomach and hands.

She watched the black wolf throw his head back and howl. The sound was so heartbreaking that tears streamed down her face. She clasped a hand over her mouth as a sob broke free. Pain tore through her chest and she realized it was the pain she was causing him. She had done this to her mate. It took everything in her power to stay put, she just wanted to step out of the tree and approach him. Turn his pain into something sweeter. If he would still take her. Tears streamed down her face, turning cold once the night air hit.

“Forgive me, please,” she whispered. The black wolf’s head snapped in her direction, but he didn’t move like he didn’t believe she was there. It was then that she realized he could no longer sense her presence because she was a rogue. “I love you,” her wolf whispered to him. Willow couldn’t believe the intense connection their wolves had. No one had ever had that sort of connection from the start. How was she supposed to survive without him?

Her wolf tried to call her mate. The inner beast wanted her to yell and call Ronan to claim her. Willow bit down on her lip drawing blood. She watched the black wolf sniffing the air, searching for her. The moonlight illuminated his fur and made it look glossy. I bet it would be silky to touch, a voice inside her whispered with such longing tears streamed down her face.

I can’t be with him, Willow responded.

Why because your “parents” said so?

They said I’m in danger. That I will be hunted and that I need to leave.

That’s because they’re the only ones who know what having me as your wolf means. The voice responded.

You’re my wolf? A breeze swept through the forest, brushing against Willow’s naked body. A shiver ran down her back as she waited for her wolf to respond, or for Ronan to find her.