Everything suddenly felt awkward. I couldn’t hold Lucian’s gaze for more than a second.
“Where did he come from? Had he been standing outside this whole time? And why did he say that to me? I didn’t understand any of it.” My cheeks burned with heat, and I hated that I couldn’t even lift my hands to cover my face. So I just looked away, staring at anything else but him. He didn’t say anything else either. Just turned around and walked out of the room like it was nothing. “Well… that was weird,” I muttered under my breath as soon as he left. I cleared my throat and turned back to Kellan, only to find him staring at me, again. What was it with these men and their intense stares? It was seriously uncomfortable. I glanced at him quickly and groaned inwardly. He really was a beautiful man. But Lucian? He was something else entirely. I wouldn’t call him “beautiful.” He was… more. Kellan’s green eyes were softer though, and the buzz cut on his head suited his perfect round face. His lips were small and he had perfectly arranged teeth. Honestly, he was too beautiful. It was kind of annoying. “When will I get to leave?” I asked, needing to shift my attention before I started drooling. Truth be told, I was starved. And not just for food. My chest tightened painfully as a memory flashed through my mind. What I saw right before I ran away from the pack. I shoved it down. “You should be more concerned about healing than leaving,” Kellan said as he stood up. His tone was calm but firm. “I’m sorry, but you’ll have to remain here until you’re fully healed. After that, we’ll decide what happens next.” I narrowed my eyes. “Just tell me now. I hate suspense. What’s the plan? What do you plan to do with me?” “You don’t get to make demands here,” he said, a bit loud this time. “This is a pack. We have rules. And right now, you follow them. First step? Get stronger. Then we’ll talk.” “So yeah, before I leave, I’d like to know your name.” He said, tilting his head slightly. “You already know mine and the Alpha’s. It’d be nice to call you something other than ‘the runaway wolf.’” “I don’t think I want to share my name with you.” I replied, my tone blunt. I was still angry that he didn’t give me any straight answers about what would happen to me now that I was stuck in their pack. “Feisty. That’s cute.” He muttered with a small smile. “Anyways, that’s fine. I’ll find out your name another day. No biggie.” I rolled my eyes. I was done talking. “Please, I need to sleep. Can you leave?” “Sure. You definitely need to rest. I also have some things to handle,” he said, taking a step back. “The doctor will be back to check on you soon. If you need anything, just press the button beside your bed. It’s connected to my room, the Alpha’s, and the doctor’s. Someone out of the three of us will come.” He paused, then added, “Do you want me to tell the nurse to bring you something? Maybe porridge?” “No, I’m good. I’m not hungry. I just want to sleep,” I muttered, still looking away from him. “Alright then. Rest well,” he said softly, then turned and walked out. Minutes after Kellan left, I was still wide awake, restless and now terribly hungry. I should’ve just said yes to the porridge when he offered, but of course, my pride said no. And now here I was, stomach growling like a wild wolf. I tried to shift a little, just to get more comfortable, but that was a bad idea. The sharp pain that shot through my ribs was unbearable. I gasped, grabbing the sheets and trying to breathe through it. It took a few minutes for the pain to settle. I knew better now, not to try that again. After what felt like forever of just staring at the ceiling and regretting every decision I’d made, I finally drifted off to sleep but I woke up again in the middle of the night, my bladder screaming for release. “I can hold it till morning,” I whispered to myself, trying to turn to one side. “I should be able to hold it.” But the pressure only got worse. I shifted uncomfortably, trying to distract myself, but it wasn’t working. No matter what I did, the need only grew stronger. “Should I press the button?” I asked myself, staring at the small device beside the bed. “But it’s late… What if they’re all asleep? I’d be disturbing them.” I sighed, chewing on my bottom lip. But as the pain in my bladder grew stronger and the fear of wetting myself took over, I reached out and pressed the button without a second thought. I waited impatiently, hoping someone would show up, anyone but Kellan or Lucian. The last thing I needed was one of them seeing me in this situation. It would be too awkward, too embarrassing to ask them for help just to get to the bathroom. I pressed the button again, the urge getting worse by the second. My bladder was screaming, and I was starting to panic. What if no one came? What if I actually ended up wetting myself? Just as I was about to cry from frustration, the door creaked open. “Thank the moon goddess,” I muttered under my breath, ready to beg for help. But the room was dark, the only light reflecting inside was from the hallway so I couldn’t make out who it was right away, not until the figure stepped closer… and my heart dropped. It wasn’t a nurse. It wasn’t the doctor and It wasn’t Kellan. It was Lucian. “Shit. This was definitely not what I had planned.” I froze, face burning. “Of all people, why him?”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