Chapter Two
1320 Words
Elena's POV
The wall shook so hard dust fell from the ceiling. I stumbled backward with a gasp as another violent slam hit the side of the house. The wooden walls groaned loudly like they were about to split apart completely.
Outside, wolves howled through the storm. Not even one or two a whole pack. Fear wrapped tightly around my chest so fast I could barely breathe. Nobody in the room moved, even the debt collectors looked terrified now.
One of them slowly stepped away from the broken doorway. “Alpha…” he whispered nervously. “They shouldn’t be this close.”
Kael didn’t answer him. His cold eyes stayed fixed on the darkness outside. Then another loud growl echoed near the house. My hands shook badly.
“What’s happening?” I whispered.
Still nobody answered me and that made everything worse.
The collector suddenly looked at Kael. “You said she was hidden.”
“She was.” He responded. “They followed us.”
Nothing about tonight felt real anymore. Wolves weren't supposed to look at people like that.
Another crash exploded against the wall. The window beside me shattered instantly. I screamed and dropped to the floor as freezing rain and broken glass scattered everywhere.
Something massive moved outside the broken window. Golden eyes flashed in the darkness and there was a wolf
But not a normal one. It was really huge. Its black fur dripped with rain while its sharp teeth showed beneath curled lips. The creature growled low in its throat while staring directly at me.
The wolf suddenly lunged forward and Kael moved instantly.
One second he stood near the door. The next second he slammed into the wolf so violently both of them crashed through the broken window into the storm outside. I froze in shock.
Dad grabbed my arm roughly. “Upstairs. Now.”
“No!” I pulled away immediately. “What is going on?!”
“Elena please”
Another terrifying sound interrupted him. Rain continued pouring outside while everybody inside the house stayed frozen. My breathing felt uneven.
Kael stepped back through the broken window. Rain soaked his dark clothes completely, and blood dripped from one of his hands onto the wooden floor.
Kael looked too calm for someone who just killed a wolf. Like killing something that huge meant absolutely nothing to him.
One of the collectors swallowed nervously. “Is it dead?”
Kael wiped blood from his knuckles slowly.
“Yes.”
The way he said it made chills spread across my skin. Father looked terrified now. Like he already knew exactly what Kael was capable of.
I stared at the blood on Kael’s hand.
“You killed it?”
His icy eyes lifted toward me.
“It would’ve killed you.”
The answer came too fast. Like my life mattered to him for some reason.
“You don’t get to act like you care,” I snapped angrily.
Dad flinched and one of the collectors looked shocked I spoke to him like that but Kael only stared at me.
Then another howl echoed through the storm. More wolves.
The collectors panicked immediately.
“We need to leave.”
“No,” Kael said coldly.
The room went silent again.
“let’s leave now,” one collector argued nervously. “We’re not dying for some girl.”
Kael slowly looked at him and suddenly the room felt colder somehow.
“You’ll leave,” Kael said quietly, “when I say you can.”
Nobody argued after that. Father sat down heavily on one of the chairs, rubbing his shaking hands together.
I suddenly hated him again. The pain inside my chest returned immediately when I remembered he sold me to pay his debts like I mean nothing to him.
No matter how scared he looked now, that truth wouldn’t change. Kael walked toward the fireplace calmly before stopping near me. I immediately stepped backward.
His eyes dropped briefly to the small cut on my finger from earlier.
The tiny blood stain still marked the dress in my lap. Something strange flashed across his face again. That same weird look from before.
I frowned.
“What?”
His gaze lifted slowly back to mine.
“Nothing.”
Like every word cost him something. Another growl echoed outside. The wolves were circling the house now. I could hear them moving through the storm. The collectors looked ready to run.
One finally whispered, “Why are they after her?”
My stomach twisted sharply again. Kael’s expression hardened instantly.
“They know what she is.”
Fear spread slowly through my body. Everybody in the room understood something I didn't and I hated being the only one left in the dark.
Kael looked at me for a long moment. Then he said something that made my blood run cold.
“ You were never safe here.”
Dad looked away guiltily. There was something they weren’t telling me. And somehow everyone in this room knew it except me.
Anger rushed through me instantly.
“I’m tired of people talking around me!” I shouted. “Somebody tell me what’s happening!”
The storm outside roared loudly. I wanted to scream but instead I looked at Father.
“You sold me because of this, didn’t you?”
His face twisted painfully.
“Elena”
Another loud howl echoed directly outside the house. The wolves were closer now. One of the collectors peeked through the broken window before stumbling backward in panic.
“There are too many.”
Kael finally moved again.
“We leave now.”
“No,” I snapped immediately.
Then he looked at me.
“You stay here, you die.”
“You keep saying that without explaining anything!”
“Because explanations won’t matter if you’re dead.”
The bluntness of his voice shocked me silent for a second. Then anger returned twice as hard.
“I don’t care! I’m not going with you!”
Kael stepped closer slowly. Every instinct inside me screamed to move back but I refused. Even though he was terrifying and even though my heart raced every time he looked at me.
I refused to act afraid of him.
“You think I’m a monster,” he said quietly.
“I know you are.”
The room became very still. Father looked nervous again. The collectors avoided looking at Kael completely. But Kael himself barely reacted. Instead he leaned slightly closer.
“You don’t know anything about me, Elena.”
Hearing my name in his deep voice sent weird chills through me.
“Then tell me,” I challenged.
For one second, I thought he actually would. But then his expression closed off again.
“No.”
I rolled my eyes angrily. “Of course not.”
Another violent crash hit the house suddenly. This time the front wall cracked loudly. Everybody jumped. A low growl echoed from outside. The wolves were surrounding us completely now. Fear spread through the room instantly.
One collector grabbed his weapon shakily. “We’re trapped.”
Kael looked completely calm. Which honestly made him scarier.
“How many are out there?” Father whispered.
Kael listened silently for a moment then his expression darkened.
“Too many.”
A voice suddenly echoed from outside.
“Give us the girl.”
My entire body froze. I didn't know if I should be scared that a wolf was talking or if they were asking for me. The collectors stared toward the door in horror. Father looked like he might collapse. But Kael’s face became deadly.
Slowly, he reached for the silver dagger beneath his coat again. Then he looked directly at me and the next words he said shattered every tiny piece of safety I had left.
“They found you faster than I expected.”
Before I could ask what that meant the front door exploded inward.
- Writer
