CHAPTER THREE

DARIUS’S POV

The battlefield was still breathing when the rogues scattered.

Broken growls echoed in the distance, fading into the trees. The air stank of blood and iron, smoke curling off the ground where fire still ate the grass. My men were gasping, some on their knees, some dragging the wounded to safety. The night should have felt like victory. But it didn’t.

I couldn’t hear Rowan barking orders. I couldn’t hear the cries of my men. All I could hear was my own heartbeat, thundering in my ears.

Because she had run.

My mate.

The one the Moon Goddess tied to me with a bond so sharp it burned my chest. She had looked me in the eyes, snarled in my face, and ran back to the very wolves we had fought to the death.

It felt like being ripped in half.

“No,” I growled, staggering forward, blood still dripping from my chest. “She doesn’t get to leave.”

“Alpha.” Rowan’s voice came from behind me, tight with concern. “You’re bleeding out. We need to fall back. The rogues are regrouping, we…”

I spun on him, my teeth bared. “I don’t care.”

Rowan’s eyes widened. He wasn’t used to hearing that tone from me. I had always been the one who planned, who held steady no matter the storm. But tonight…tonight the storm was inside me.

“She’s mine,” I said. The words came out hoarse, broken, but filled with fire. “Do you hear me, Rowan? She’s mine.”

I didn’t wait for his reply. My body was already moving, my legs pushing me toward the line of trees where she had vanished.

“Alpha!” Rowan’s voice rang sharp. “Darius, wait…”

But I didn’t wait.

The forest swallowed me in seconds.

Her scent was everywhere, wild and sharp, like rain hitting stone. My chest heaved as I pushed through the branches, ignoring the sting of bark against my wounds. Every step was agony. Every breath cut like knives. But I didn’t stop.

“Wait.”I roared, though I didn’t know her name yet. My voice echoed through the trees, carrying my desperation. “Stop!”

Somewhere ahead, I heard the snap of branches, the pounding of feet. She was fast. Too fast.

The bond pulled me like a chain, dragging me through the darkness. My wolf, half-dead for years, was awake now, clawing inside me, howling for her. For our mate. For the one thing that could save us.

I couldn’t let her go.

Not when she was the only one who could free me.

Not when I had spent years waiting for this moment.

I crashed through the underbrush, my breath ragged. “Don’t run from me!” I shouted, my voice raw. “I won’t hurt you!”

Her reply was sharp, furious, and close. “Stay away from me!”

The sound of her voice hit me like lightning. For the first time, I had a name for the storm raging inside me. Not just mate. Her.

I pushed harder.

I caught a glimpse of her through the trees, her dark hair flashing in the moonlight, her shoulders tense as she sprinted. She was fast, but she wasn’t faster than the bond.

With a snarl, I lunged, my body screaming in protest as I closed the distance. My hand shot out, catching her wrist.

She twisted like fire, claws flashing, teeth bared. “Let me go!” she spat, her voice trembling with rage and something deeper.

“Never,” I snarled, yanking her toward me. We crashed together, my arms wrapping around her before she could slash me again. She thrashed like a wild animal, kicking, clawing, fighting with every ounce of strength in her body.

“Get off me!” she screamed. “I’d rather die than be touched by you!”

Her words gutted me. But I didn’t let go.

“Listen to me,” I growled, my chest heaving. My blood smeared against her arms as I tightened my grip. “You’re mine. Do you hear me? Mine.”

Her eyes flared, hate burning so bright it almost knocked me back. “I am not yours! I will never be yours!”

The words were knives, sharp and merciless.

But still, the bond throbbed in my chest, steady and sure, refusing to be denied.

I pressed my forehead against hers, panting, desperate. “You can fight me. You can hate me. But you can’t deny it. The Goddess bound us. You feel it, I know you do.”

For a second, her body faltered in my arms. Just for a second. I felt the shiver run through her, the way her breath caught, the way her claws trembled against my chest.

Then she shoved against me with all her strength, her voice raw with fury. “I don’t care what the Goddess wants! I don’t care about fate! I choose my own chains and it won’t be you!”

Her words were fire in my veins.

I caught her wrists again before she could claw me, holding her tight against me. “You don’t get to choose. Neither of us does.”

She glared up at me, her eyes wet, though no tears fell. “I’ll tear this bond apart with my own hands if I have to.”

My heart twisted. She hated me that much.

And still, I couldn’t let go.

Branches snapped behind us. Rowan burst into the clearing, sword drawn, his eyes wide as he took in the scene.

“Alpha!” His voice was sharp, urgent. “What are you doing?”

I didn’t look at him. My grip on her tightened as she writhed in my arms, her claws digging into my skin.

“She’s mine,” I said again, my voice low, dangerous, shaking.

Rowan’s face went pale. His lips parted, but no words came at first. Finally, he shook his head. “Alpha…she’s a rogue.”

“I don’t care.” My voice cracked.

Rowan stepped closer, his tone hardening. “The pack will. They’ll never accept her. Bringing her back will tear everything apart. You know this.”

“I don’t care!” I roared, my voice shaking the trees.

Aria jerked in my arms, her voice sharp with fury. “You think you can just drag me into your pack? That you can force me into your world because of some bond?”

Her words hit harder than Rowan’s. My jaw clenched. My chest burned.

“I’m not your enemy,” I rasped, looking into her blazing eyes. “I’m not the person who hurt you. I don’t know what you’ve lost. But I’m not him.”

Her glare didn’t soften. “You’re all the same.”

The silence between us was thick, broken only by her ragged breathing, by Rowan’s restless shifting.

Rowan finally spoke, his voice low. “Darius…if you bring her back, you risk everything. Your pack is already whispering about your weakness. They’ll see this as betrayal. As proof that you’ve lost your way.”

I turned to him slowly, my voice steel. “Without her, I’ve already lost. Don’t you see it, Rowan? She’s the only one who can save me. Save us.”

Rowan’s jaw clenched. He didn’t argue. He knew I was right.

I looked back at her, my mate, still fighting, still snarling, still trying to tear herself free of me.

Her voice cracked when she spoke again. “You’ll regret this. Every moment you keep me, you’ll regret it.”

I swallowed hard, my grip unrelenting. “Maybe. But I’d regret losing you more.”

Her breath hitched. She went still for half a heartbeat, her eyes searching mine. Then, with a snarl, she shoved her head forward, slamming it against mine. Pain exploded across my skull, stars bursting in my vision.

Rowan cursed, stepping forward, but I lifted my head again, still holding her. Blood dripped down my brow, hot and thick, but I didn’t let her go.

“She’s coming with us,” I said, my voice steady despite the tremor in my body.

Rowan shook his head, his eyes dark. “Then may the Goddess have mercy on us all.”

Aria thrashed again, her voice raw with hate. “I’ll never be yours. Do you hear me? Never!”

I pulled her against my chest, ignoring the pain, ignoring the blood, ignoring the despair curling in my gut.

“Maybe not today,” I whispered, low enough that only she could hear. “But you’re mine. And I’ll prove it. Even if it kills me.”

Her growl tore through the night, sharp and defiant.

But I didn’t let go.

Not when she was the only chance I had left.

Not when the bond screamed her name with every breath I took.

Not when I finally had hope, even if it came wrapped in hate.