Runaway

Maya's POV

The tears came in blinding, hot waves.

They blocked my view of the road ahead until everything turned into a blur of grey asphalt and dark green pines.

I gripped the steering wheel so tightly that my knuckles turned white while a broken sob tore from my throat.

*Fragile. Useless. An embarrassment*

The cruel words played on a loop in my mind. They matched the painful, uneven thudding of my failing heart.

"Why me?" I sniffled, pushing the gas pedal down harder.

As the engine of my old car screamed, I flew past the heavy iron pillars that marked the edge of the pack lands.

For the first time in eight long years, I did not slow down at the borders. I did not care about dangerous rogue wolves.

I did not care about territory laws.

I just needed to escape the cruelty of the people who were supposed to love me.

The neat lawns of the pack quickly changed to thick, wild woods as I drove deeper into the dark forest of unnamed territory.

Suddenly, the car dashboard flashed.

A clinic number blinked through the gloom. It was the direct line to the practice I shared with my friend.

With a shaking hand, I pushed the answer button.

"Listen to me!" Dr. Julian’s voice filled the car. He sounded frantic and out of breath.

"You ran out before I could finish. I know the news is terrifying, but you didn't let me explain. As your friend, and as a doctor, I'm telling you we have options."

"There's nothing left to explain, Julian," I sobbed, wiping my eyes with my sleeve while keeping one hand on the wheel.

"My heart is failing. I read the medical reports myself. I have three months. It's over."

"No, it isn't! Pay attention to me, not the charts," he urged, his voice cracking through the radio static.

"There is an experimental treatment," Julian rushed out. "It's a special procedure that can repair the dying heart tissue."

"Julian, it doesn't matter—"

"It does matter, Maya! Listen to me," he interrupted. "You need immediate, total rest. You have to get away from the heavy stress of an Alpha's pack power."

I squeezed the steering wheel as a fresh wave of tears blurred my vision.

"I can't just leave."

"If you stay there, the pressure will kill you in weeks," Julian snapped, his tone deadly serious.

"You have to leave Marcus right now. If you want to live, you cannot go back."

Leave them? Leave the husband who looked at me with pure disgust? Leave the son who had just wished for a new mother in front of a mocking crowd?

A bitter laugh escaped my lips through my tears.

"I'm already gone, Julian. I'll take the treat—"

My words were cut off as a violent, sickening impact shook the car. It yanked the steering wheel completely out of my hands.

The tires screamed as I slammed my foot onto the brakes. The car slid wildly across the road before coming to a hard, shaking stop in the middle of the empty path.

With my breath caught in my throat, my failing heart skipped a dangerous, painful beat.

But that didn't matter.

Because through the windshield, I saw someone lying on the road.

"Oh my god. I hit someone!" I screamed.

Panic made me forget how tired I was as I threw the door open and stumbled out into the damp forest air.

The sharp clicks of my heels and my ragged breathing dominated the night as I ran around to the front of the car.

I prayed my eyes were deceiving me.

But they weren't.

Lying in the dirt just a few inches from my front bumper was a woman.

She was terribly thin. Her torn, mud-stained clothes barely covered her frail body.

Even without a medical kit, I could tell the car had not caused her worst injuries.

She was covered from head to toe in deep purple bruises, ugly cuts, and old scars. She looked like she had been running for her life.

Someone had tortured her long before my car ever touched her.

"Oh god, no, no, no," I cried, dropping to my knees in the dirt.

Ignoring the sharp gravel cutting into my skin, I gently lifted her upper body and cradled her head in my lap.

She was so light, almost like skin and bones.

As a doctor, my hands automatically moved to check her neck for a pulse.

It was incredibly faint.

"I'm so sorry! Stay with me, please. I can get help—"

My voice trailed off as the woman's heavy eyelids fluttered open.

Her gaze was blurry and distant as she let out a weak, rattling breath.

Then her bloody, shaking hand rose to touch my arm.

Even through my panic, I could see she wasn't angry. She did not look at me with blame. She just looked tired. Deeply, completely exhausted.

Before her lips could form a single word, the last bit of light left her eyes. Her hand dropped limply into the dirt.

She was dead.

"No! Wake up! Please, wake up!" I cried.

I pressed my palms against her still chest and started CPR. I wished with everything I had that my own broken heart could pump life back into hers.

I knew no amount of cries would wake her up.

But I still tried. I kept trying until—

"What's going on...?" I mumbled as my breath hitched.

The air around me was growing thick and heavy. A terrifying pressure settled over the forest like a lead weight.

The temperature plummeted, turning my breath into white puffs of air.

Shock trapped the air in my lungs. I wanted to move, to run back to my car, but my limbs felt like lead.

And through the growing fog, I saw something I didn't want to see.

A wolf. Not just any wolf, but a massive black beast as large as a small house.

As it burst through the bushes, my heart seized in terror.

I couldn't even scream.

I remained frozen and watched the monster shift and its bones snapped. Its massive shape twisted violently until a towering man stood in the clearing.

He was lethal yet beautiful.

Even through my panic, I couldn't help but recognize the striking gold of his eyes.

Valen Alaric, The Lycan King.

Oh my God.

What kind of night was this?

My palms turned slick with sweat, yet Valen’s eyes didn't stay on me.

I should have been relieved.

But the moment his gaze locked onto the lifeless woman in my arms, the entire forest became suffocating.

"You..." the Lycan King growled.

The sound was so cold that goosebumps erupted across my arms.

Still, I watched the grief on his face twist into pure, blinding malice as he stared at me like I was a monster.

A cold sweat broke across my skin.

My vision blurred at the edges as my failing heart fluttered wildly against my ribs.

I wanted to speak. I wanted to tell him she had already been dying. That my car hadn't killed her.

But my jaw locked from the sheer pressure of his aura.

I was just a human, and the presence of the Lycan King felt like it was crushing the life out of me.

"You killed my wife."

As Valen Alaric took slow, menacing steps forward, he wasn't asking.

He was delivering a verdict.

I couldn't even try to speak. The hatred burning in his eyes paralyzed me completely.

Then he pointed a sharp, clawed finger at my face.

"You'll fucking pay!"