I didn’t run and I didn’t turn around. I just grabbed my bag of groceries and walked out of the store like everything was fine.
But it wasn’t. I could feel them behind me, the two wolves, watching and following me. My heart was racing, but I kept walking. “One step at a time, Seraya. Don’t panic. Don’t look back.” I muttered to myself. The motel was only a few blocks away. If I could just get there on time.. I picked up my pace, walking faster and almost running. The footsteps behind me got louder. They weren’t trying to hide it anymore that they were following me. I reached the motel and went to my room. My hands shook as I pulled out the key. I was just about to open the door when a strong hand slammed into it, stopping me. I froze. “Going somewhere?” a deep voice said behind me. Shaking, I turned around slowly. The man in front of me stared back with piercing green eyes. He was tall and bulky, his broad shoulders stretching the fabric of his jacket. A weird smile tugged at his lips, and his eyebrows raised like he found the whole situation amusing. “Do you mind if we come in?” he asked, his voice smooth. I shook my head quickly, almost too fast. “I mind. Please, you can’t come in.” Behind him, the second man stood a few steps away, watching me. He was taller, wider and more intimidating. His face was stern, his jaw tight, and the way his muscles flexed under his shirt made it clear he didn’t joke with his gym lifestyle. I didn’t know who they were and I didn’t want to know but one thing was clear. They aren't people I want to mess with. Sorry, but I didn’t mean that as a question,” the one with green eyes said. Before I could react, he gently tried to shove me aside but I stood my ground, pressing my back to the door. I wasn’t going to let him in. But what chance did I have? I was just a weak, pregnant wolf and he knew it. He won. He pushed past me like I weighed nothing, stepping inside without hesitation. Then he turned, nodding toward me. “Come in,” he said like he owned the place. I stepped inside slowly, heart pounding. He dragged a chair away from the small table and sat down, crossing one leg over the other. “So… I’ll go straight to the point. Why is a pregnant and mated wolf hiding out in our small town?” I stared at him, silent. I had no intention of answering his questions. Damn the ability of other shifters to sense a pregnancy… or a bond. I thought I’d finally found peace here. A town full of humans, no pack, no rules. Just a place of quiet and peace. But I was wrong. So very wrong. “What do you want from me? And why did you follow me here?” I snapped, folding my arms tight across my chest. “I don’t think I’ve done anything wrong for you to come at me like this.” The green-eyed one leaned forward slightly, his smile fading. “Oh, you’ve done something wrong,” he said. “You might’ve just put our entire pack at risk.” I blinked, confused. “What?” He pointed to my neck. “From that mark, it’s pretty clear you’re mated to an Alpha and let’s not even talk about the fact that you’re carrying his pup.” His eyes narrowed. “If he finds out you’re here… do you really think he’ll take it easy on us?” “You don’t have to worry about that,” I said sharply. “Nothing like that is going to happen. He wouldn’t even come here or try to fight for me. I'm a hundred percent sure of that.” “Sorry,” he replied. “But we don’t have the luxury not to worry. And also, you need to come with us. You can’t stay here.” “I’m not going anywhere with anyone,” I hissed, stepping back and placing a protective hand over my stomach. “I’m staying right here.” “See, we mean no harm. But if we let you stay, you’ll bring danger to everyone here. This is for safety. No one’s going to hurt you.” “No! Stay away from me!” I almost screamed as the green-eyed man took a step toward me. He paused, hands raised, like he didn’t want to scare me off but the look in his eyes said he wasn’t backing off either. The second man still stood by the door. He hadn’t said a word since we got here. He just watched. Silent and unreadable and that somehow made the whole situation worse for me. “You can clearly see I’m not a threat,” I said, my voice shaking. “You’re overthinking this. My mate’s not coming. He never cared. He probably hasn’t even noticed I’m gone.” My voice cracked on the last word, but I kept going. “If you just leave me alone, I’ll disappear. You won’t even know I was here.” The green-eyed man sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “I get it, okay? I’m not heartless. But pack rules are pack rules. And this… this isn’t something we can ignore.” I shook my head, backing up until my shoulders hit the wall. “You don’t understand. That man, my so-called mate, doesn't want me. He made that clear over and over again. I ran to save myself.” He looked at me, face softening for a second. But then his jaw tensed again. “It doesn’t matter how he feels,” he said. “You’re still marked. You’re still carrying an Alpha’s child. That puts our pack in danger whether you like it or not.” “That’s not fair!” I shouted. “I finally found a place where I can breathe, just breathe, and you’re telling me I have to give that up because of him?” “Not because of him,” he snapped. “Because of what he’ll do if he finds out. You think an Alpha lets his mate and unborn child vanish without consequences? If he tracks you here, he could burn everything down. Including us.” I stared at him, heart racing, throat tight. “So what? You’re dragging me back to him?” “No,”.. “We’re not taking you to him. We’re taking you to our pack, not to him.” My eyes darted between them. “Why should I trust you when I don’t even know who you are?”A chill went down my spine as the truth sank in.“If demons are really here, then I need to leave,” I said suddenly. “Like now, that’s my cue. That’s my sign from the universe. I’m not staying one second longer in this cursed place.”I stood up quickly, dusting my pants off, and looked around like I was trying to find the fastest path out of the forest. I had no idea where I was going but I I knew that I needed to be far, far away from this madness.Kaden stood up too. “Seraya…”“No,” I said, shaking my head. “You said demons and that’s all I need to hear. You can keep this crazy pack and all the problems in it. I’m out.”Seraya, please…” Kaden called out softly again, and the sound of his voice made me stop walking. “You can’t leave,” he said again, and when I turned around slowly to face him, he added, “I need you, this pack needs you.”I stared at him with anger and disbelief. “I already told you, Kaden,” I said. “I’m not doing anything with you. I won’t be your mate again and I
I stared at the strange monster lying on the forest floor, its body not moving. My heart was still racing, and my hands were shaking, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the creature.Was it really dead?Did I really just kill something like that?“It’s dead,” Kaden’s voice came from beside me.I jumped a little, scared. I hadn’t even noticed him standing up. He was now back in his human form, standing right next to me and completely naked.“Oh my god!” I quickly looked away and turned my back to him, my cheeks burning in embarrassment but eyes caught sight of his shoulder, making me stop. He was hurt.“You’re injured,” I said, still not looking at him.“It’s nothing,” he replied casually, like he wasn’t just thrown across a forest by a monster.“Nothing?” I turned my head slightly, still avoiding the rest of his body . “Kaden, I can literally see the inside of your shoulder. That’s not nothing and you need help.”I could see how deep the claw marks were. His skin was torn open, and I c
“What are you doing?!” I yelled, panicking.“Be quiet!” Kaden barked, tightening his hold on me. “Don’t move and don’t look back!”Why shouldn’t I look back? What was that? What was chasing us? I looked back, hearing the low growls coming from the shadows behind us. It wasn’t just one sound and it sounded like it was coming from different sources. Deep, snarling and animalistic noises that sent fear rushing through every part of my body.I clung to Kaden without even realizing it, too stunned and scrared to struggle anymore.Whatever was in those woods wasn’t and didn’t sound normal. I squinted my eyes again, thinking maybe I was just imagining things, maybe my fear was playing tricks on me but when I looked again, I saw that dark shapes were surrounding us. Big, scary shadows moving fast through the trees.I held onto Kaden’s shirt tightly, my fingers digging into the fabric as I pressed my face against his chest, too afraid to look. I wanted to ask him what was going on but befo
Kaden stood in front of me, crossing his arms. “Your friend is worried about you, Seraya. So let’s just go back,” he said again when he noticed I wasn’t moving.I narrowed my eyes at him. “Did Tess tell you I was here? Did she tell you I was planning to leave?” I asked, hoping, praying that he would say no.“I wouldn’t say she told me exactly,” Kaden replied with a small shrug. “But no one can lie under an Alpha’s command and also she didn’t do a great job hiding her emotions either. Her face said it all.”I sighed, heart sinking. “Whatever.”Bending down, I tried to gather the fruits from the ground and stuff them back into the torn bag, but they kept slipping out and rolling away. My fingers were shaking, and the more I tried, the more annoyed I became.I let out a deep, frustrated sigh. Then suddenly, I heard a chuckle from Kaden. I turned sharply to look at him. “Did you just laugh?” I asked, shocked.Kaden actually chuckled again, like he found something amusing.I stared at him
Tessy stared at me like I had lost my mind. “You can’t be serious,” she said slowly. “Seraya, where would you even go? Do you know how dangerous the outside world is for someone like you? Especially now that you’re pregnant?”I didn’t say anything. I just stared at the ground, thinking.“I get it, I really do. You’re tired and you’re hurt but running into the wild won’t solve it. This pack may be messed up, but it gives you shelter and safety.“What if you leave and things get worse?” she asked. “What if you end up in a place where people treat you even worse than here? What if you’re all alone and you go into labor in the woods? Or what if you’re found by people who want to hurt you and take your baby?”“I have to try and leave first. Whatever happens later, I’ll deal with it. I just can’t stay here and let myself fall apart. I don’t want to live in sadness for the rest of my life. I need to go. Tessy shook her head slowly. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Seraya,” she said, her
“Tessy…” I whispered, feeling my throat tighten as the body hugged me even tighter. I could her feel tears soaking into my shoulder. She was crying so hard, and it made me feel sad a little. “How could you just leave me like that, Seraya?” she cried out, still holding me close, her voice was shaking and I gently patted her back, trying to comfort her, but it felt a little awkward. So much time had passed since we last saw each other. Tessy wasn’t really my cousin by blood, but she had always been like family to me. After her parents died from fighting wars as both of them were warriors in the pack, everyone started treating her differently, as if being an orphan was something to be ashamed of. I couldn't remember how we became close but I knew that it was because of how she was treated by others. We had always been close. I used to visit her all the time and stay with her when she was feeling down. I gave her the title of my cousin so that no one would look down on her again. I wan