Elliot.My mom always told me to be weary of strangers. A rule I followed for the majority of my life because most strangers were out of actually get you.Until I met Damien in those woods.Now, I wander deeply into the woods while my heart ached badly against my chest with a man I knew nothing about.The forest stretched endlessly, shadows tangled in the branches above, the damp earth soft beneath my bare feet. I didn't know how long I'd been walking... only that the ache inside me hadn't stopped since I walked out of spying on Damien.It wasn’t just pain. It was hunger. A gnawing, hollow ache tearing through my insides, growing sharper with every step. My body felt... starved. My mind? Fractured. The wolf within paced restlessly, its presence like claws scraping against the edges of my mind, waiting for me to break."You can't be with him," the voice whispered again. Because it couldn't keep shut for even a minute.My hands curled into fists. "Shut the fuck up," I thought bitterl
Elliot.The scent of burning herbs clung thick in the air, mingling with the smoke curling from the dying fire.I was shocked I hadn't choked to death from it.My eyes were closed, my breathing as steady as it could be,yet inside, everything churned violently... the ache in my chest, the hunger gnawing at my ribs, the restless full of the wolf pacing along the edges of my mind."You can't win against me, Elliot."I knew Matthias told me to engage with it, know what it wanted, but that wasn't a decision that came easily.Instead, I tried to ignore it. The sound of the fire crackling softly was actually pleasant, so I focused on listening to that. After all, I was left with nothing but the silence and the pull of my bond.Damien.I couldn't stay without thinking about him no matter what. I felt him. And feeling him came with the ache all over again... the fear of being left behind. Of wondering if I'd ever be enough for him.Fuck it.What was even wrong with me?I clenched my fists aga
Damien."It doesn't even matter..."I tilted my head back, the glass of orange juice halfway to my lips when the sound pierced the quiet night.A howl. It wasn't just any howl. The haunting echo came from the direction of the woods, sharper than I've ever heard, and it thrummed through my bones. My wolf stirred instantly, a tremor of recognition vibrating through his entire being.The bond. Crash.Shit.The glass had slipped from my trembling fingers and shattered against the wooden porch. Glass shards sparkled in the moonlight as the juice seeped into the cracks between the planks, but I barely noticed that.That bond that chained Elliot and I was pulsing again, undeniably stronger than it had been in the past few days.He was okay."Damien?" Fiona’s voice broke the moment. She was still seated, her own cup untouched in her hands. Those green eyes narrowed at me with concern. "What's wrong?"That wasn't a question I had time to answer because I had already risen to my feet, lis
Damien.I had never felt a pain like this before.Fuck being boiled alive, fuck being splattered with acid, fuck having your chest ripped open by claws dipped in poison. This was a hundred times worse.It wasn't just the ache of the bond unravelling, and it did that faster than I could comprehend... it was way deeper. Something soul deep, as if someone had reached into my chest and ripped away a part of me, leaving nothing but hollow space in its place.That pain wasn't enough to let me let Elliot walk away. Not without a fight.I rushed after him as my mate... no, former mate... no, still mate... vanished deeper into the forest. My breathing was coming out in ragged bursts as I forced my now aching limbs to move, to follow. The only good news was the fact that the bond hadn't broken completely yet. It was fraying at the edges, yes, fragile and thin, but I could still feel him.Faintly. That had to be enough for now."Elliot!" My voice shattered the quiet of the woods as I ran. My
Damien.The woods was silent, but my mind was anything but.Each step I took felt heavier than the last, my boots sinking into the damp earth. Twigs snapped beneath my feet, the brittle sounds lost in the demeaning echoes of Elliot’s words, replaying over and over again like a horrible taunt."You're selfish...""You twist the truth until you're convinced you're doing the right thing...""The family you killed..."To numb the pain in my mind, I had to clench my fists hard so my nails... claws dug painfully into my palms.That ache was welcome... physical pain was simpler.Clear.This? This gnawing void inside me, the way the bond kept fraying at the edges but refused to fully break... that was unbearable.I always had a plan before. That I would leave before the whole mating stuff so it wouldn't affect me like this if Elliot was to ever find out the truth about me.A house to run to. A bed to sleep in. Running through the woods like the wild wolf I was.But now... there was nothing.
Elliot.When he finally leaves, would the cabin continue to feel this still?Or would I go back to my old routine of just doing whatever I wanted? Eating whatever I wanted? Damn it.The mind of quiet here wasn't peaceful in any way... just hollow. The crackling fire in the fireplace was the only sound, but even that wasn't enough to fill the horrible void gnawing at my chest. Fiona’s voice echoed faintly from outside. Cheerful. Excited. Did that girl not have a home she needed to be in? Hopefully somewhere far away from here.I was sitting slouched on the couch, my head tilted back against the cushion, eyes half lidded as I stared blankly at the wooden ceiling. The scent of burning pine lingered in the air, mixing with the damp earth seeping in from outside.But none of that truly registered. The ache in my chest was all I could feel... sharp, unrelenting. It was midmorning, and all I could think about was how much I missed him.Our bond was still there, stretched thin and frayed
Damien."...Asher."I could barely force the name of my half-brother through my lips. It felt wrong, bitter, like tasting blood after a fight.And yet, there he was.Standing on our porch like he belonged there, like he hadn't been a ghost haunting my worst nightmares for years now.He raised his hand slightly, fingers curling as a grin tugged at his lips. A sharp, knowing grin. The kind he always wore when he knew he had the upper hand in any situation. And I knew what was supposed to follow, so I expected a strike, a scratch with his claws, anything hostile enough.But all he did was start me down, calm and patient.Too calm.I didn't even notice when my hand found Elliot's wrist, tugging him behind me. Shielding him. He let out a quiet noise of protest, but I didn't care.I couldn't care.Not when Asher was here. Not when one man I'd spent a good quality of my time running from had just walked back into my world like he owned it."Asher," my voice came out lower this time, a dange
Damien.I told Elliot everything at that very moment.From the moment I was denied being an Alpha because I was what the pack called a bastard–since my mom wasn't his mate– to the night I stole the crystal, when I discovered Asher’s plan to use it against that human town in agreement with the elders.The words spilled out of my mouth like blood from a wound that had been festering far too long.When I spoke, my voice remained low, but the more I spoke, the harder it was to keep the bitterness from seeping through.Elliot didn’t interrupt. Not once. He stood there, leaning against the worn edge of the window frame, arms crossed, face carefully neutral. But I could feel it– how tightly wound Elliot was.The way the bond between us strained with every word, like a rope stretched to its limits, fraying but refusing to break.Goddess, I was tired.I felt as if I'd aged thirty years in the past few weeks. My body was heavy, and my mind was heavier.When I finished, the place was so sile
Damien.I crouched low, panting, with blood soaked into my fur. I couldn't help but glare at Asher, who stood tall and smug, those dark eyes of his gleaming with cruel satisfaction."Just leave us alone," I screamed into his mind, making sure my voice was kept steady despite the turmoil raging inside me.Asher's ears flicked back, his snarl rumbling like thunder. His response came immediately, and it wasn't pretty."You think I'd let you walk away with the power of that crystal embedded into you just because you don't want to fight? You're a coward, Damien. A bastard trying to play hero."Fucking hell.I was already frustrated by his stubbornness at this point."This isn't about being a coward or a hero, Asher. I just want to end this madness once and for all... I'll find a way to give you the crystal so we can leave, and it's done."Asher bared his teeth. "You don't get to decide when this ends, big brother. I didn't work my entire life for this pack just to hand it to you? To a bast
Damien."Take it, and leave us alone."Asher practically snatched the crystal from my hand once he saw it, holding it aloft, those jagged edges slicked with blood staining his fingers.The crystal had this kind of eerie glow from within catching the sunlight and bringing some sort of sinister shadows across his face.He laughed, a cruel thing, slicing through the murmurs of the gathered crowd."Look at him," Asher sneered, turning to the elders, the guards, the pack. "The bastard my father should have drowned the moment he crawled out of his whore of a mother."My breath hitched, fury burning within me at those words.My mother wasn't a whore. She was just a victim of circumstances.He had no right.I stained against the silver shackles digging into my wrists, the metal scorching my skin, but the pain was nothing compared to the rage simmering in my veins."You've always been nothing, Damien," Asher continued, his words dripping with enough venom to wound me. "A stain on this pack fro
Damien.One of the worst things that could happen to a person is the inability to move.I couldn't move.My body screamed at me to act, to hell, but the silver of the shackles continued to say every ounce of strength I had left. The room became a blur of chaos, the coppery taste of fresh blood mixing with the charred scent of burning torches.My mate... Elliot was a whirlwind of gold and fury, tearing through the guard with a savagery that made even my sick in the head brother stumble back a step.“Kill him!” Asher roared, his voice cracking in uncharacteristic panic. “Stop that beast!” The remaining guard hesitated, fumbling for his weapon as Elliot rounded on him. He didn't even stand a chance. A single swipe of massive claws opened him from collarbone to hip, and his scream of pain ended in a gurgle as he choked on his own blood while crumpling to the floor.This was a horrible place. The screaming elder, on the other hand, had pressed himself against the far wall, eyes wide wit
Damien.The first thing I registered was the cold.It pressed against my back, so damp and unforgiving, seeping into my bones like ice. My skin felt raw where it touched the stone, aching with each shallow breath I took. The erratic pounding of my heart was even worse since it came with a steady drumbeat of pain, while the sharp scent of blood hung thick in the air...Metallic and bitter.My blood.I forced my eyes open, blinking against the haze clouding my vision. Shadows danced along the damp stone walls, cast by a single torch burning low. The flame sputtered, struggling for life, barely able to illuminate the ancient cracks webbing across the ceiling.I knew this place.This had been my father's prized possession, capable of tearing into the minds of anyone stupid enough to allow themselves to be brought here.The Blackthorn dungeon. A place carved deep into the earth. I'd been here before... years ago... when I was just a boy foolish enough to challenge one of those silly eld
Elliot.Fuck that little piece of nature.And why did it have to be so loud that it echoed louder than it should have in the unnatural stillness of this place. "Who's there?" Another guard echoed the first one words.They emerged from the shadows almost instantly... the three of them, moving like wolves who'd caught a scent. Their hands rested on their weapons–daggers strapped to their belts, one with a blade half-drawn. Running would be useless right now.Fiona stopped short, standing tall beside me as the nearest guard, a broad-shouldered man with a scar cutting from his temple to his jaw narrowed his eyes. These werewolves always seemed to be injured."Luna Fiona?" His voice was rough with disbelief, head tilting as he looked her over, eyes lingering on her dirt-streaked clothes.The second guard, a bit younger, exchanged a glance with the third. "What the hell are you doing here? And who..." his eyes flicked to me, then moved back to Fiona like I wasn't worth his time. "... who
Elliot.The road stretched endlessly before us, winding through thick forests and valleys, while the silence between Fiona and I became even heavier with each tree we passed.It wasn't like I didn't want to talk to her.Heck, I had so many questions to ask her. I just didn't know how to start.My grip on the steering wheel was too tight, my knuckles becoming even paler as we sped toward what she said was the Blackthorn Pack's territory.Damien was out there. Alone. And he was running out of time. "You still haven't told me how we're getting past their defenses," I finally said, my voice a bit shaky as I kept my eyes fixed on the road.How had she let me drive in this state?Fiona shifted in her seat, arms crossed tightly over her chest. The paleness in her face was finally fully gone, her lips pressed together like she was trying to suppress something. "I'm... working on it," she muttered. "You're working on it?" My voice sharpened. "We're heading straight into enemy territory,
Elliot.I woke to the smell of stale air and sunlight flowing in from the window and onto my eyes.Damn!My body felt like lead, every limb weighed down as though I'd been running for miles. And my tongue?... it had this faint, unpleasant taste lingering on it.I was going to be sick.With each released breath, fragments of the night before surface, though incomplete.Damien...Damien had been with me. He had explained every single thing that happened to him though he did so distantly as if he feared just telling me would rub his sins on me.And then...The orange juice I think.I was coming out from the room and...I sat up too quickly, causing the world to tilt as my head spun. There a sharp ache pulsing at the back if my skull, like someone was hitting me with a hammer from within, but that wasn't enough to distract me from the fact that Damien wasn't here.I could feel that.But Fiona was. The red haired mate to Damien’s half brother was perched on the arm of a chair, arms crossed
Damien.I told Elliot everything at that very moment.From the moment I was denied being an Alpha because I was what the pack called a bastard–since my mom wasn't his mate– to the night I stole the crystal, when I discovered Asher’s plan to use it against that human town in agreement with the elders.The words spilled out of my mouth like blood from a wound that had been festering far too long.When I spoke, my voice remained low, but the more I spoke, the harder it was to keep the bitterness from seeping through.Elliot didn’t interrupt. Not once. He stood there, leaning against the worn edge of the window frame, arms crossed, face carefully neutral. But I could feel it– how tightly wound Elliot was.The way the bond between us strained with every word, like a rope stretched to its limits, fraying but refusing to break.Goddess, I was tired.I felt as if I'd aged thirty years in the past few weeks. My body was heavy, and my mind was heavier.When I finished, the place was so sile
Damien."...Asher."I could barely force the name of my half-brother through my lips. It felt wrong, bitter, like tasting blood after a fight.And yet, there he was.Standing on our porch like he belonged there, like he hadn't been a ghost haunting my worst nightmares for years now.He raised his hand slightly, fingers curling as a grin tugged at his lips. A sharp, knowing grin. The kind he always wore when he knew he had the upper hand in any situation. And I knew what was supposed to follow, so I expected a strike, a scratch with his claws, anything hostile enough.But all he did was start me down, calm and patient.Too calm.I didn't even notice when my hand found Elliot's wrist, tugging him behind me. Shielding him. He let out a quiet noise of protest, but I didn't care.I couldn't care.Not when Asher was here. Not when one man I'd spent a good quality of my time running from had just walked back into my world like he owned it."Asher," my voice came out lower this time, a dange