Teeth In The Dark

LYRA'S POV

I don't look back.

Looking back means slowing down. Slowing down means his hands on me. I won't give him that chance.

The woods blur into black and silver. My legs grow heavier by the second, but fear is stronger than exhaustion. It drowns out the pain in my chest and the ache spreading through my muscles.

Behind me, there's nothing. No branches snapping under a predator's weight. That's worse.

A man like Kael Varga doesn't lose his prey. He's letting me run. Giving me hope before he takes it away.

I hate how sure I am of that.

He could have caught me at the cliff if he'd wanted to. Instead, he watched me go.

A twig snaps to my left.

My head whips toward the sound, but I don't stop. I veer right, weaving between two thick pines.

Another snap. Behind me this time. Too close.

"You're fast."

His voice drifts through the dark, calm, like we're on an evening walk.

"Faster than the last stray I caught."

A chill races down my spine. I keep my mouth shut. Words aren't going to save me.

The ground slopes downward. My stomach tightens. The trees thin, giving way to steep rock walls on either side. Moonlight barely reaches the narrow path ahead.

A ravine. I see it too late. I twist, trying to turn back.

My boot lands on loose rock. It rolls beneath my weight. Pain shoots through my ankle as I hit the ground, the impact knocking the air from my lungs.

For one terrifying second, I can't move.

No. Not here.

Ignoring the pain, I force myself up. My ankle screams the second I put weight on it, but I push through it, limping toward the narrow opening.

Too late. Kael steps out of the dark.

***************

KAEL'S POV:

She stands in front of me like she's already decided she's out of options. She's not wrong.

Let her go, some part of me says. She's a stray who broke the law. Hand her over and let the pack deal with it.

But my wolf isn't listening. It hasn't stopped pulling toward her since the gate, and the closer I get, the harder it pulls. I hate how much I want to ignore every rule I've ever enforced, just to keep her standing in front of me a little longer.

The moonlight catches her face as I step closer. She looks smaller like this. Cornered. I know I'm the reason.

"You're hurt," I say, my eyes dropping to her ankle.

"I'm fine."

"You're limping."

She lifts her chin, refusing to let me see how badly it hurts.

"Still running."

The corner of my mouth twitches. A ghost of a smile.

"Fair."

I take another step. She presses herself against the cold rock wall behind her, like there's somewhere left to go. There isn't. The ravine goes silent. Even the insects have stopped.

I stop a foot away. Close enough to catch her scent, fear, and underneath it, something that's been driving me out of my mind since the gate.

I lift one hand, slowly. She flinches before she can stop herself.

I notice. I don't grab her.

Instead, I rest my palm against the rock beside her head, trapping her without ever touching her. My other hand rises just as slowly, brushing the edge of her hood back. A loose strand of hair slips free. My fingers graze her temple.

Warm. Careful.

This is exactly what you shouldn't be doing, I tell myself. I don't move my hand away.

"Why are you running from me, Lyra?" I ask, quieter now. The teasing is gone.

She forces herself to meet my eyes.

"Because you're going to lock me up."

"Maybe."

My thumb brushes her jaw. Barely enough to feel.

"Or maybe I'm going to figure out why my wolf won't stop calling your name."

Her breath catches.

"Don't," she whispers.

"Don't what?"

"Don't say it like that."

For a moment, neither of us moves. I lean in slightly, close enough that I feel her breath against my skin.

I don't know what I'm about to do. That should scare me more than it does.

A howl shatters the silence. Then another. Much closer this time.

I turn toward the mouth of the ravine. Whatever was in my face a second ago is gone. My shoulders square. My eyes harden.

The Alpha is back, and so is the part of me that knows exactly what happens if my pack finds her first.

"Pack."

It isn't a question.

She reacts first, ducking under my arm, trying to slip past me.

I catch her wrist. Not hard. Just enough to stop her.

"Change of plans," I mutter, my eyes on the sounds getting closer. "Looks like we're not doing this alone."

Before she can protest, I pull her against my chest and turn, putting myself between her and whatever's coming through the trees.

I'm annoyed  at my pack, at the timing, and mostly at myself for how easily I let my guard down.

She's spent the whole night running from me. Now I'm standing between her and my own pack. I don't know how to explain that to her. I'm not sure I can explain it to myself.