Six

Olivia’s POV

I woke to movement.

Not the gentle kind that eased you from sleep, but the steady, relentless rhythm of someone covering ground quickly. My body shifted with each powerful stride, rocked against a solid chest that rose and fell with controlled breath. For one terrifying moment, instinct screamed that I had been captured again, that Damien’s men had dragged me back while I was weak.

I tried to move.

A firm arm tightened around me instantly.

“Do not thrash,” a deep voice said close to my ear. “You will fall.”

My eyes flew open.

Moonlight streaked through dense branches overhead as the forest rushed past us in blurred shadows. The stranger was running, fast and silent, his boots barely disturbing the earth beneath him despite the weight of me in his arms. His grip was secure, unyielding, as though dropping me was not an option he had even considered.

“You brought me deeper,” I said hoarsely, fear clawing its way back into my chest. “You said we were leaving.”

“We are,” he replied calmly. “Just not the way you think.”

I swallowed hard, my heart hammering violently. “You are taking me to your pack.”

“Yes.”

The single word settled heavily between us.

I had spent weeks running from one Alpha, and now I was being carried straight into the territory of another. Logic told me this was survival. Trauma told me this was just another cage with different walls.

“Put me down,” I said, forcing the words out despite my trembling. “I can walk.”

“No,” he replied without hesitation.

“I am not helpless,” I snapped.

He slowed slightly, his voice dropping lower. “You are injured, exhausted, and carrying a child that every predator in these woods can scent. Pride will get you killed.”

Anger flared through my fear. “You do not get to command me.”

He finally stopped.

The sudden stillness was jarring. He lowered me carefully to my feet but did not step away. His presence pressed in around me, overwhelming and absolute. When I looked up, his golden eyes were locked on mine, sharp and unyielding.

“I am not commanding you,” he said evenly. “I am informing you of reality. If you want to live, you will listen.”

I hated how reasonable he sounded.

I hated even more that he was right.

Before I could respond, a distant howl split the night.

My blood turned to ice.

“That was not a rogue,” I whispered. “That was a patrol call.”

His jaw tightened. “Damien’s men.”

“They are closer than you think,” I said urgently. “They tracked me for days. They do not stop.”

His lips curved faintly, not in fear but in something colder. “Neither do I.”

He bent and lifted me again without warning, resuming his pace through the forest as if the interruption had never happened. I clenched my jaw and held on, fighting the dizziness threatening to drag me under again.

Lights appeared ahead not torches, but lanterns mounted high, their glow marking the edge of a settlement hidden deep within the trees.

The air changed.

The land felt different here. Heavier. Charged. As though every root and stone recognized the man carrying me and bowed to his presence. Wolves emerged from the shadows, their eyes glowing as they tracked us silently, not hostile but alert.

Pack.

My pulse raced as we crossed an invisible boundary and entered the heart of it.

The stranger slowed at last, stepping into a wide clearing surrounded by massive wooden structures reinforced with iron and stone. Warriors straightened instantly at the sight of him, fists pressing to their chests in salute.

“Alpha,” they said in unison.

The word hit me like a physical blow.

Alpha.

Not just any Alpha. Their Alpha.

He did not slow or acknowledge them beyond a sharp nod. “Seal the borders,” he ordered. “Double patrols. Black Fang scouts are near.”

The pack stirred instantly, tension snapping through the air like a live wire. Orders were repeated and relayed as wolves shifted and warriors moved with disciplined urgency.

Only then did he carry me into the largest building at the center of the settlement.

Inside, warmth enveloped me. Firelight flickered across stone walls, illuminating weapons mounted with deliberate care. This was not a palace built for vanity. This was a fortress built for war.

He set me down on a wide bench near the hearth and stepped back just far enough to study me fully.

“What is your name?” he asked.

“Olivia,” I answered quietly.

“I know,” he said.

My stomach tightened. “How?”

“Your scent carries fear and defiance,” he replied. “Your name fits it.”

I did not know how to respond to that.

A woman entered quickly, her expression sharp and assessing. “Alpha, you are bleeding.”

“Not mine,” he said. “See to her.”

The woman turned to me, her gaze immediately softening when she took in my condition. “Come with me. Slowly.”

I hesitated, glancing back at him.

“You are safe here,” he said firmly. “No one will touch you without my permission.”

The words should have terrified me.

Instead, they steadied something inside my chest that had been cracking for far too long.

As the woman guided me away, voices erupted outside. Raised tones. Agitation. Fear.

“They found the rogue corpse,” someone shouted. “And blood leading toward our border.”

“They know she crossed,” another voice said. “Damien will not ignore this.”

I felt it then, deep in my bones.

The war I had been running from had not been avoided.

It had only changed location.

Behind me, the Alpha turned toward the door, his presence darkening the room as his voice cut through the noise.

“Then Damien has just made the worst mistake of his life.”