Chapter 6 - Teeth and Fire

Eli

The night is sharp and cold when Jace shoves me out of the cabin again.

"Alpha wants you," he says, no further explanation, no emotion.

I'm too tired to argue. Against my throat, the mate bond pulses with each heartbeat, my body already claiming what I'm fighting not to want.

My feet crunch over the frost-hard ground as we cut through the trees.

Ahead, the pack's bonfire crackles. Wolves gather in a loose circle, whispers curling into the night air.

And at the center there's Ronan.

He stands bare-chested, tattoos slick with sweat, his eyes catching the firelight like molten gold. His nearness presses against me like a physical weight, suffocating and inescapable.

My wolf cowers in the depths of my chest, whimpering, while my human half locks every muscle in rebellion.

Jace shoves me forward and the crowd parts.

I stumble into the circle, knees bending instinctively as the Alpha's gaze pins me. My mouth goes dry.

"Run," Ronan says, voice low and lethal.

I freeze. "What?"

"Run." His eyes gleam. "I want to see if you're fast enough."

I don't move.

Something wild and hungry charges the atmosphere, making it dense as smoke and twice as suffocating.

Then I catch the subtle twitch of his fingers and the wolves around us growl, shifting slightly, hungry for the chase.

"No," I breathe. "I'm not-"

"RUN!"

His roar slams into me like a physical blow, my wolf yelping in my chest.

My legs move before my brain does, shoving me backward through the circle and into the trees.

Branches whip my face. Roots snag my feet. Behind me, I hear his pounding steps and low snarls.

He's not running flat out. He's playing with me.

I push harder, lungs burning.

The bond pulls at me even as I flee, hot and maddening, as if part of me wants him to catch me.

My feet slam against the forest floor, heart hammering so hard I can feel it in my throat. The trees blur past in a maze of black bark and skeletal branches. Every shadow could be him. Every sound could be death.

Or worse.

A growl splits the night somewhere to my left. Far too close.

I veer right, stumbling over a fallen log, bark scraping my palms as I catch myself. The forest seems to close in around me, branches reaching like gnarled fingers.

Then silence.

I stop, chest heaving, ears straining. Nothing but my own ragged breathing and the distant crackle of the dying bonfire.

Did I lose him?

A twig snaps behind me.

I spin around, but there's nothing there. Just darkness and the pale gleam of moonlight filtering through the canopy.

My wolf whimpers, pressing against my ribs like it's trying to hide deeper inside me. Every instinct screams that I'm being watched, hunted, played with.

"Come out!" I call, hating how my voice shakes. "Stop hiding!"

Silence.

Then a low chuckle drifts from the shadows, seeming to come from everywhere at once.

"Hiding?" Ronan's voice is silk and steel. "I'm not hiding, little pet. I'm savoring."

I bolt again, crashing through undergrowth, branches tearing at my clothes. Behind me, I hear nothing. No footsteps, no breathing, no pursuit.

That's somehow worse.

I reach a stream, shallow and ice-cold, and splash across without thinking. The freezing water shocks my system, but I don't stop. Can't stop.

On the other side, I pause again, scanning the treeline.

Still nothing.

Maybe I really did lose him. Maybe he got bored with his sick game.

A flash of movement in my peripheral vision makes me whip around, but it's just a branch swaying in the wind.

My nerves are shot. Every shadow looks like his silhouette. Every sound could be his approach.

I force myself to move slower now, trying to be quiet, trying to think. If I can make it deeper into the treeline maybe I can-

"You smell terrified."

His voice comes from directly above me.

I look up and see nothing but branches and stars, but I know he's there. Watching. Waiting.

"What do you want?" I whisper.

"Everything." The word seems to echo from the trees themselves. "Your fear. Your defiance. Your submission. All of it."

I back away slowly, trying not to make any sudden movements.

"Why are you doing this?"

"Because you need to understand." His voice moves, circling me like a predator.

"You can run from me, fight me, hate me all you want. But in the end, you'll always come back to me. The bond ensures it."

"The bond is something you created," I spit, still backing away. "It doesn't mean anything."

A low, dangerous laugh. "Is that what you tell yourself when you wake up hard, dreaming of my teeth in your throat?"

Heat floods my face, and I hate that he's right.

"You're sick."

"I'm honest." A pause. "Keep running, little wolf. I do so enjoy the chase."

The forest goes quiet again, but this time I don't wait. I turn and run, crashing through the undergrowth like a wild thing.

Behind me, I hear nothing.

And that terrifies me more than any growl ever could.