Chapter 4 :The Shadow of the Pack

Kael

The forest pressed in around me as I ran, each step a reminder of the bond pulling at my chest. Her heartbeat. Her fear. Her heat. The mark beneath her skin glowed in my mind’s eye as if it were alive, and my wolf growled in hunger and frustration. She’s mine. Protect her.

Ronan fell into stride beside me, silent but steady. “You know Lucien will be furious,” he said quietly. “You can’t ignore him forever.”

“I know,” I muttered. My eyes scanned the ridge ahead. The Nightfall Pack lands spread beneath me, the home I had sworn to lead and protect. Rules. Politics. History. Everything I had built could be shaken by a single reckless choice.

“And?” Ronan prompted.

I swallowed hard. “And I can’t ignore her either.”

Ronan said nothing, letting me wrestle with the truth.

Lucien awaited me at the treeline, arms crossed, golden eyes sharp. “Kael,” he said, voice calm but edged with warning. “You brought her here?”

“She’s safe,” I said. “I haven’t let anyone else near her, and no one knows about her yet.”

Lucien’s jaw tightened. “Safe? Kael, she’s human, and the bond is already forming. The Blood Moon prophecy tied her to you, this isn’t a minor matter. A human marked by an Alpha is a beacon. Any pack could sense it. And once they do…”

“I protect her,” I said quietly, my voice firmer than I felt. “No one else touches her.”

Lucien’s eyes narrowed. “Do you understand what claiming a human could do to the Nightfall Pack? Alliances will shatter. Rivals will see weakness. The council will question your judgment. And if the bond overwhelms her before she’s ready… she could die.”

My wolf growled low in my chest. I knew he was right, but the thought of her anywhere near danger without me made my chest ache. “Then I control the bond. I keep her safe. That is my decision.”

Lucien exhaled sharply, frustration and caution in equal measure. “You’re reckless, Kael. But I suppose your stubbornness is the only thing keeping her alive right now. Just… do not let the pack or the council see her. If word spreads, the consequences could be catastrophic.”

I nodded, though my mind was far from the council’s fears. She was out there, miles away, and already a part of me. The bond demanded proximity, demanded recognition. And no rules, no politics, could undo what had already begun.

~~~~~~

Aria

The cabin was quiet. Too quiet. My hands trembled as I moved from the table to the window, the mark on my shoulder pulsing faintly beneath my fingers. Every pulse brought a heat that spread from my chest down to my stomach, leaving a trail of shivers in its wake.

Lucien had warned me before, his calm, commanding presence made the rules of the supernatural world clear without revealing everything. I knew packs existed, vaguely. That was all. But now… this bond, this pull I felt whenever I thought of Kael, was undeniable.

I pressed my hand against the mark, whispering his name. The warmth surged in response, and I staggered back, gasping. My heart raced uncontrollably, and the whispers returned, soft and teasing, crawling inside my head:

He is near. You are his. The fire burns.

I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to calm the sensations. I didn’t understand them. I didn’t understand him. And yet, every instinct in my body screamed that I had to be near him, that I couldn’t breathe fully without feeling him.

My mind drifted back to Lucien. Even knowing him, even trusting him as a guide in some small way, didn’t explain this. Not the bond, not the heat, not the whispers. Not the ache in my chest that made it impossible to sit still.

~~~~~~

Kael

Night fell over the Nightfall Pack lands, the shadows stretching across the lodge as if reaching for me. The council had dispersed, but their eyes lingered in my mind. Questions. Warnings. Expectations. And yet all I could think of was her, safe but alone, the bond connecting us across the distance.

Ronan stayed close, a silent reassurance. I could feel his steady calm, but it did little to quiet the fire inside me, the hunger to claim her, protect her, keep her from anything that could harm her. My wolf growled again, impatient, insistent: She is yours. Claim her.

I ran a hand through my hair, breathing out slowly. The bond was already taking more from me than I had anticipated. Each heartbeat, each pull of emotion from her, made it harder to maintain control. The mark beneath her skin pulsed like a living thing, glowing faintly, whispering her presence into me.

Lucien’s warning echoed again: You cannot let your wolf rule you. Not yet. The pack comes first.

I clenched my jaw. My pack could wait. She could not.

~~~~~~~

Aria

Sleep eluded me. Shadows danced along the walls, alive with whispers that brushed against my thoughts. Every pulse of the mark beneath my skin made my chest ache, made my stomach twist with a mixture of fear and longing.

I pressed my palm against it, trying to ground myself, to calm the heat that spread through my body. But the bond demanded attention. Kael’s presence was everywhere, even miles away. I could feel his tension, his struggle, his concern, and the connection made my pulse quicken, my breath catch, my skin burn.

I didn’t understand it. I barely understood him. And yet a part of me, a deeper, raw part, knew that he was everything I wanted and needed. That despite the danger, despite the unknown, despite not understanding packs or politics or what this bond meant fully, I would follow the pull wherever it led.

~~~~~~

Kael

I stood alone on the balcony of the lodge, the night stretching endlessly before me. The forest smelled of damp earth and growing shadows, a familiar comfort that felt alien tonight. Every instinct in me screamed danger, pull, desire. Aria was human. She wasn’t built for the bond, for the intensity, for the prophecy that now tethered us.

And yet, I could not stay away. Every pulse through the connection, every whisper of her presence, consumed me, drew me closer, made me ache to hold her, protect her, and claim her as mine.

I muttered under my breath. “I will not lose control. Not yet.”

But the truth was undeniable. The mark beneath her skin was awakening. The bond would not wait. And when the Blood Moon arrived… she would be mine, whether I could balance my duty to the Nightfall pack or not.