Five

Olivia’s POV

I did not realize how close I was to collapsing until my legs finally gave way beneath me. The terror, the pain, the exhaustion I had been suppressing for days all surged at once, leaving my body unable to obey me any longer. I would have fallen hard onto the forest floor if strong arms had not caught me at the last second, holding me upright with unyielding strength.

The stranger steadied me against his chest, his grip firm but controlled, as though he had already decided that I would not break here, not under his watch. His warmth seeped into me slowly, grounding me in a way I was unprepared for. I could feel the steady rise and fall of his breathing, calm and unwavering, so different from the chaos raging inside me.

“Breathe,” he said quietly, his voice deep and composed. “You are not dying tonight.”

I let out a shaky breath, my fingers clutching weakly at the front of his shirt as my body trembled. I wanted to believe him, but experience had taught me that safety was always temporary, always conditional. The forest had taught me that mercy came with a cost.

“You should not make promises you cannot keep,” I murmured hoarsely. “Men like him do not stop hunting.”

His hold on me tightened slightly, not in possession but in resolve. “Men like him do not cross my borders lightly.”

I forced myself to lift my head and look at him properly. Moonlight filtered through the trees, illuminating sharp features carved by authority and discipline. His golden eyes watched me with a focus that made my skin prickle, as though he were assessing far more than my injuries or my fear. There was power in him, the kind that did not need to announce itself to be obeyed.

“You killed the rogue without hesitation,” I said, my voice barely more than a whisper. “As if it was nothing.”

“It was nothing,” he replied calmly. “It was starving and reckless. That makes it dangerous but not worthy of fear.”

I swallowed hard, my gaze drifting back to the lifeless body on the forest floor. “It nearly killed me.”

His expression darkened slightly as he followed my gaze. “You are injured, exhausted, and carrying a scent that tells the world you are prey. That is why it came for you.”

I stiffened despite my weakness. “My scent?”

His eyes flicked back to me. “You are pregnant.”

The words struck me like a blow.

My hand moved instinctively to my stomach as panic surged through me. “How could you possibly know that?”

“I am an Alpha,” he answered evenly. “And your body is screaming it.”

A wave of fear washed over me, sharper than anything I had felt since my escape. I pulled back slightly, my heart pounding violently as memories of Damien’s cold command replayed in my mind.

“If you are going to tell me to get rid of it,” I said, my voice shaking with restrained hysteria, “then I would rather die in this forest.”

For the first time, his expression shifted with something unmistakable. Surprise, followed quickly by anger that did not seem directed at me.

“No one will touch you or that child under my authority,” he said firmly. “Not now. Not ever.”

I stared at him, disbelief flooding my senses. “You do not even know me.”

“I know enough,” he replied. “You are injured, hunted, and carrying a child whose existence someone wanted erased. That tells me more than any story you could tell.”

Silence stretched between us as the forest hummed softly around us. I had spent so long being treated as a problem, a mistake, a burden that his words felt unreal, like something pulled from a dream I did not deserve.

“My name is Olivia,” I said quietly. “I was once a member of the Black Fang Pack.”

His jaw tightened at the name. “Once.”

“I was accused of treason,” I continued, forcing the words out despite the shame burning my chest. “I was imprisoned. Beaten. Nearly killed. When I tried to escape, Damien ordered my execution and then decided it would be easier to destroy my child instead.”

Something dangerous flickered behind his eyes, dark and lethal. “And you ran.”

“I ran because staying meant death,” I said. “For both of us.”

He nodded once, slowly. “You crossed into my territory while being hunted by another Alpha. That makes this my problem now.”

The weight of his statement settled heavily over me. “I do not want to cause trouble for you or your pack.”

His lips curved faintly, not in amusement but in something sharper. “You did not cause this trouble. Damien did.”

He shifted, lifting me fully into his arms with effortless strength. I gasped softly, instinctively clinging to him as the sudden movement sent a wave of dizziness through me.

“What are you doing?” I asked weakly.

“Taking you somewhere you can survive the night,” he replied. “You can barely stand, and my borders are not safe for you in this condition.”

I hesitated, fear tightening my chest. “If I go with you, I may never be able to leave.”

He looked down at me, his gaze unwavering. “If you leave in your current state, you will not live long enough to regret it.”

The truth of his words left me silent.

As he carried me through the forest, I became acutely aware of how small I felt in his arms, not in a humiliating way, but in a way that made my body finally surrender to exhaustion. My head rested against his chest before I could stop myself, his steady heartbeat lulling my frayed nerves.

“Why are you helping me?” I asked quietly, my voice thick with fatigue.

“Because this land answers to me,” he said. “And anyone who spills innocent blood on it will answer to me as well.”

My eyes fluttered closed as darkness tugged at my consciousness. The last thing I felt before sleep claimed me was the strange certainty that I had stepped into something far more dangerous than running alone, and far more powerful than anything Damien had ever been.