Blood in the Shadows

The crack of the branch echoed too loud.

Kael’s body shifted instantly, every line of him snapping tight, golden eyes glowing in the dark. His wolf pressed close to the surface, claws begging to break skin.

I froze in the chapel aisle, my pulse pounding so hard I thought it would shake the walls. My wolf surged too, ears pricked, tail low, caught between fight and flight.

My throat went dry. My father? Kade? Bran? If anyone from Thornridge had followed me here…if they saw me with him….I was done for.

Another sound slid through the trees. It did not sound like a normal foot step, it wasn’t from a human. A rasping, guttural growl that curled like smoke through the clearing reached their ears.

Kael’s jaw tightened. “Its not the pack,” he muttered. “Rogues.”

A rogue.

The word licked fire down my spine.

Rogues weren’t just wolves without packs. They were broken animals. Wolves who had lost their sanity, their bonds, their reason. Wolves who killed because hunger was the only command left in them.

The sound came again, closer this time.

Kael stepped forward, half-blocking me with his body. His voice dropped into the command of an Alpha, sharp as steel. “Stay behind me.”

The bond jolted, tugging me closer to him, but my pride flared. “Don’t order me around.”

“Fine, then don’t get killed.” he snapped back.

The chapel windows rattled. A shadow blurred past one of the gaps. Then another.

Not one rogue. Two.

I swallowed hard. My wolf growled inside me, pushing at my skin.

“They’ll circle us,” I said quickly, training kicking in. “One to distract, while the other one s strikes.”

Kael’s eyes flicked to me, brief but burning. Approval? Recognition? It didn’t matter. He nodded once. “Then we better end them fast.”

The door slammed open.

A rogue lunged inside, eyes glowing feral red, jaws dripping foam. Its body was scarred, ribs showing beneath matted fur. The stench of rot and blood hit like a wave.

Kael moved before I could think. His coat hit the ground as he shifted mid-leap, bones snapping, muscles tearing, fur exploding across his body. His wolf was massive, black as the night with eyes like molten fire.

The rogue hit him, and the chapel shook with snarls.

The second rogue burst through a window,  sending glass shattering. It landed in front of me, teeth bared.

My wolf slammed against me, desperate to rise. I shifted halfway, claws breaking through my fingers, eyes glowing silver in the moonlight. My lips peeled back in a growl.

The rogue lunged. I dodged, slashing at its shoulder. Blood sprayed hot and thick. It howled and snapped back.

Kael’s wolf tore into the first rogue, throwing it against the far wall. The wood cracked. His growl rumbled like thunder. He was bigger, stronger, relentless.

But the second rogue was mine.

It lunged again, jaws aimed for my throat. I ducked low, rolled, and drove my claws up under its ribs. The bond surged at the same time, it sent power flaring hot through my veins, steadying my strike. The rogue shrieked, twisting, snapping its teeth inches from my face.

Kael’s wolf slammed into it from the side. His jaws clamped around its neck, shaking once, twice, until the snap of bone echoed. The rogue dropped, twitching, then went still.

The first rogue staggered to its feet, snarling. Its eyes glowed brighter, foam dripping from its mouth. It lunged for me this time.

Kael moved, but too slow…

I moved with speed that wasn’t mine, driven by the pull, it was like Kael was sending me his strength through our marks. My claws ripped across the rogue’s throat just as its teeth grazed my shoulder. Hot blood poured over my hand. The rogue collapsed, thrashing once, then silence swallowed the chapel.

I stood there, panting, blood slick on my claws, shoulder burning. My chest rose and fell too fast. The air reeked of death and iron.

Kael shifted back, to human again, blood streaking his jaw and chest. His golden eyes blazed as they locked on me.

“You shouldn’t have done that,” he growled.

“I saved your life,” I shot back.

“I didn’t need saving.”

The bond pulsed, sharp and hot, reminding us both that wasn’t true. I realized I was able to feel his emotions, his anger was palpable. He was angry that I had moved because he hadn’t been fast enough. That we were bound in ways we couldn’t deny.

Kael stepped closer, his eyes dark and furious. “You feel it too, don’t you? The way we fight together. The way the bond makes us stronger.”

I clenched my jaw, heart hammering. The memory of the strike burned in me, the way my body had moved, precise and unstoppable, because of him. Because of us.

“I won’t admit it,” I whispered.

“You already have,” he said.

The chapel fell into silence again. Two dead rogues lay at our feet. Blood soaked the broken floorboards. The air hummed with the bond, alive, electric.

But outside, the forest didn’t sound empty.

Kael’s gaze flicked to the shattered window. “Rogues don’t hunt alone. If there are two…”

“There could be more,” I finished, my stomach dropping.

For one heartbeat, our eyes locked. Enemies, mates, warriors, bound by something we both hated and couldn’t escape.

Kael’s voice dropped low. “Then we’d better survive long enough to decide what we are.”

Another branch cracked outside.

And this time, it wasn’t one. It was many.