Chapter 4

Mira’s POV

It rained hard in the woods. Wet branches whipped my face, and my shoes were cakes in mud. I had been running for hours. My legs burned, my lungs screamed, and the stolen cloak hung heavy on my shoulders. Heavy with rain water. 

I looked over my shoulder and listened before the splatter of water on leaves and the occasional thunderclaps. I heard footsteps from far away. 

They were getting closer. 

I had tried everything to get them off my back. But they stayed on my track. They were a large band of hunters. They had horses and dogs. I couldn't face them alone. 

Katie snarled suddenly.

Don't rest. Keep moving.

"I can't. I'm tired."

You want us to die?

"I'm fucking exhausted."

I came upon a sloppy part on the wet ground. It was too sudden for me to regain my balance. I stumbled and fell forward. My knee hit a root, and I went down hard into wet leaves. Mud filled my mouth. I spat and tried to push up.

My arms shook and collapsed again. Rain pounded my back, and cold seeped into my bones. I was freezing. I was tired. 

But the hunters were coming.

Hooves thundered closer, and voices were loud and clear.

“See the fresh track she's close." 

“Omega bitch. Where are you?" One called out and others laughed. 

I was lucky I tripped when I did. They would have seen me by now. 

I crawled forward toward a faint glow ahead. There was a mounted flag in the distance. Was that a border? The closest pack to Shadow Bridge is Lunar Veil. I wasn't sure I would be welcome there. 

I had no idea what to do. 

I crawled forward, hopping the growing sound would just fade. But it didn't. The hunters have caught up with me this time. 

This was it. I was done. Katie mumbled. 

It's not them. 

"Not who?"

The hunters. 

Boots hit the ground close to the border and it came closer. 

.

“Intruders on our border! Fall into formation."

I lifted my head and saw them. They were ten wolves in black tactical gear with rifles slung across their backs and swords at their hips. 

Then I saw their leader. He was tall and huge with long black hair plastered to his shoulders by the rain. 

His green eyes held mine in a powerful gaze. The moment our eyes locked, time slowed. Everything faded to the background. . .

He crossed the distance between us in three strides and dropped to one knee beside me. 

I tried to speak, but nothing came out.

"Who are you?" He asked, he could see I was shaken to speak.

His hand reached for my arm. The moment his fingers brushed my skin, the moment my cold kain met his warm touch, the world exploded.

Heat surged through me. It was warm and gentle.

The bond snapped into place, powerful and unbreakable. 

"Mate!" I yelled. 

The word rolled off his lips as well. “Mate!"

He froze with his hand still on my shoulder, and his eyes wide as they searched my face. I stared back with my heart slamming against shattered ribs. I couldn't believe my soul was tied with someone else so quickly. 

No. Not again. Not another Alpha. Not after Jax.

He blinked once, then his jaw tightened.

“Get her up,” he ordered the patrollers. 

Two of them stepped forward, but he changed his mind and waved them back.

“Don't worry, I'll handle her." 

He slid one arm under my knees and the other behind my back. He lifted me like I weighed nothing.

I gasped as pain flared in my ribs, but his touch soothed it and muted it. It felt like the bond was already working. It was healing and calming, the way it used to do when Jax and I were bonded. 

I hated it. I wanted to shove him away, scream, and run. He cradled me against his chest. Rain dripped from his hair onto my face. His scent filled my nose. 

Katie growled, but I ignored her. As much as I didn't like this situation, I was happy to be safe. 

"They are coming," I muttered cautiously. 

"Who?" 

I stayed mute, unsure what to tell him. 

"Scan the area," the big alpha said. "Let me know what comes up." 

“We have company, sir,” one warrior reported seconds later. “There are six hunters. All of them armed to the teeth. They’re tracking her.”

Darius’s arms tightened around me. “Let them get close I'll handle them.”

I looked up into his eyes and wondered what he meant by that. Surely, he didn't plan to take on the men by himself. 

He looked down at me and whispered, " Don't worry, you're safe here."

It was as if he could figure out my thoughts. 

Behind us, the bounty hunters burst from behind the trees.

“There she is!”

Their crossbows took aim at us, and bolts whistled.

Darius ducked and my body was crushed to his chest. His scent went way deeper into my nostrils. 

He turned and handed me to one of the warrior. “Hold her. Protect her with your life.”

The warrior nodded, took me away from the flying arrows.

The big alpha turned and lunged at the hunters. He was so damn fast. I have seen alpha wolves run, but this one moved with lightning speed. 

The hunters were not prepared for him. He moved fast. In a blink, he was among them. He cut down the first hunter with his claws slashing his next. 

The second hunter swung a sword. The big alpha caught the blade in his bare hand, twisted, and bone snapped. The hunter screamed. 

The big alpha drove his fist into the throat and the hunter dropped dead.

Another hunter fired a crossbow. The big alpha sidestepped. The bolt struck a tree. The alpha grabbed the hunter by the throat, lifted him, and slammed him into the ground. The neck broke right away. 

The fourth came from the side with a dagger raised.

The alpha spun and drove an elbow into his face. The skull caved, and the hunter's body fell backward.

The last two hesitated. The alpha didn’t.

He lunged with claws extended. With one swipe, he cut open a throat, and blood sprayed like water from a tap. 

The last hunter turned to run. The big alpha caught him by the hair, yanked him back, and slammed his face into a tree trunk. He did it again and again until the body went limp.

"Whew, that felt good," the big alpha said as he cracked his knuckles. Blood stains were all over his face, his hands, and his clothes. My mouth hung open as I watched him. He had just wiped out six hunters like it was nothing. What the hell? 

He snapped his fingers at his warriors. 

“Clean it up. Leave no traces.”

Then he walked back to me. The warrior holding me handed me over.

The big alpha took me again in his strong and steady arms. I didn't mind that he was all bloody. I felt safe in his arms. 

I stared up at him, at the way rain ran down his face and mixed with blood.

He looked down at me with green eyes. I noticed the lack of emotion in those eyes. 

“You’re safe now.”

I swallowed.. “Please who are you?”

“Darius Ironfang. Alpha King of Lunar Veil.”

My heart stuttered. Another Alpha King? Moon goddess, why me? I knew Lunar Veil was one of the most powerful kingdoms in this region. 

What would Darius do with me? A shrill spread over my skin. I had a feeling I had just gotten into bigger trouble.