Chapter Fifteen - The Safehouse (Kael's POV)

The forest swallowed us whole.

Branches clawed at my skin, roots threatened to trip me, the night thick with the sound of pursuit. The rogues’ howls echoed closer, sharp and unrelenting, each one a reminder that the hunter had not been their only weapon. This was a coordinated strike, and we were the prey.

Kael’s hand gripped mine as we ran, his Alpha strength pulling me forward when my lungs burned, when my legs screamed for rest. His wounds bled freely, crimson streaking his shirt, but he didn’t falter. He couldn’t. Not with me, not with the child.

“Almost there,” he growled, voice rough, eyes flashing wolf-bright.

I didn’t know what “there” meant, but I clung to the words as though they were lifelines. My wolf surged inside me, lending strength to each step, urging me onward. The bond thrummed between us, sharp with urgency, tangled with fear.

Behind us, the rogues’ snarls grew louder. The stench of them, feral, unwashed, tainted with bloodlust, soured the air. My instincts screamed that they were closing in.

Kael suddenly pulled me hard to the left, yanking me off the narrow path and down a steep incline. We slid through dirt and leaves, crashing to the bottom where a stream gurgled over rocks. My breath tore from my lungs, but Kael didn’t pause. He waded into the icy water, dragging me with him.

“The stream will mask our scent,” he whispered, his voice barely audible over the rush. “Stay low. Stay quiet.”

We moved through the water, every step an effort against the current, the cold seeping into my bones. My arms ached, my belly tightened protectively around the child, but I forced myself forward. I couldn’t falter, not now.

Minutes blurred into an eternity. Finally, Kael guided us out of the stream, up a narrow trail that twisted through dense underbrush. His movements slowed, careful, deliberate. He sniffed the air, listening. The howls had faded, replaced by silence heavy enough to crush my chest.

“We lost them,” I whispered, though doubt gnawed at me.

“For now,” he said grimly. His eyes scanned the shadows, wolf instincts sharp, before he finally met my gaze. “We need to move fast. I know a place.”

“Where?”

His jaw tightened. “An old pack contact. A man I trust, at least, more than most. It’s not far.”

Trust. The word sat uneasily in my chest. Kael trusted few, and for good reason. But what did it mean for me, for us, to step into another wolf’s territory when secrecy was our only shield?

We pressed on, exhaustion dragging at my body, but the bond urged me to keep pace. Hours passed in fragments, moonlight slanting through trees, Kael’s steady breathing beside me, the constant ache of my wolf straining against the need to run, fight, protect.

At last, the forest broke open. A small cabin sat tucked into a hollow, nearly invisible beneath a canopy of pine. Its windows were dark, its walls weathered, but smoke rose faintly from the chimney. Life.

Kael’s shoulders eased, if only slightly. “This is it.”

Before I could ask who lived here, the door creaked open. A man stepped into view, tall and broad, his wolf aura faint but undeniable. His hair was silver at the temples, his eyes wary, sharp.

“Kael Donovan,” he said, voice low and gravelly. “I wondered when trouble would drag you back to my doorstep.”

Kael straightened, his Alpha presence filling the clearing. “Darius.”

The man, Darius, let his gaze flick over me, lingering on the faint glow still humming at my fingertips, the tension in my posture, the curve of my stomach. His eyes narrowed, something like understanding flickering there.

“You brought her here.” His tone wasn’t surprise, it was accusation.

Kael didn’t flinch. “We need shelter.”

Darius’s lips thinned. For a moment, I thought he would refuse. Then he sighed, stepping back to open the door wider. “Inside. Before your shadows catch up to you.”

Relief was fleeting. The moment I crossed the threshold, the weight of his scrutiny pressed down like chains.

The cabin was modest, but sturdy, stone fireplace, wooden beams, shelves lined with jars of herbs and supplies. Safe. But not welcoming.

Kael guided me to a chair near the fire, his hand steady at my back. He crouched to examine the gash on his ribs, but I caught his wrist. “You’re bleeding.”

“I’ve bled worse,” he muttered, though his wince betrayed him.

Darius returned with a bowl of steaming water and cloths, setting them down with little ceremony. “You’ll ruin my floor if you don’t clean up.”

Kael shot him a look, but said nothing, stripping his shirt away to reveal the wounds, angry red lines already knitting shut with Alpha healing. Still, silver slowed the process. He hissed as I pressed the cloth to his side, the scent of blood thick in the air.

Darius leaned against the wall, arms crossed, his eyes never leaving us. “Rogues in these woods. Hunters too, by the smell of it. And you lead them here.”

“They were already here,” Kael growled. “We didn’t bring the fight, we survived it.”

Darius’s gaze shifted to me again, sharp and knowing. “Survived because of her.”

Heat prickled at my skin. My glow still lingered faintly, betraying me. I clenched my fists to hide it, but Darius’s smirk said he’d already seen enough.

“Kael Donovan, Alpha without a pack,” he said slowly. “And a woman carrying power that hums through the air like a storm. No wonder the rogues are restless. No wonder the Council stirs.”

Kael stiffened. “This isn’t your concern.”

Darius’s laugh was humorless. “Everything in these woods is my concern.” He pushed off the wall, stepping closer, his eyes locking on mine. “That child you carry will paint a target on every wolf between here and the mountains. You know that, don’t you?”

The words struck like blades. My hand instinctively cradled my belly. “I didn’t ask for this,” I whispered.

“No,” Darius agreed, softer now. “But fate doesn’t ask permission.”

Kael’s hand closed over mine, grounding me. His voice was low, fierce. “We’ll protect her. Both of them. Whatever it takes.”

For a moment, silence hung heavy, broken only by the crackle of fire. Then Darius sighed, the fight leaving his shoulders. “The basement has wards. Old, but strong. It’ll hold, for a while.”

Relief loosened the knot in my chest. “Thank you,” I murmured.

“Don’t thank me yet.” His gaze cut to Kael. “If you stay, you bring your war to my doorstep. And when it comes, I’ll choose my side.”

Kael’s eyes hardened. “Then choose wisely.”

Later, when Darius had retreated to another room, the weight of exhaustion finally dragged at me. I sat by the fire, Kael at my side, his bandaged wounds stark against his skin.

The bond hummed between us, quieter now, but no less insistent. I glanced at him, at the steel in his jaw, the storm in his eyes.

“We can’t run forever,” I whispered.

“No,” he agreed, his gaze fixed on the flames. “But we’ll run as long as we must. Until the time comes to fight.”

His hand found mine again, fingers warm, firm. The child stirred, responding to the bond that tied us all. For the first time that night, despite the danger pressing close, I let myself believe we might survive this.

The firelight painted Kael in gold and shadow, his eyes glowing faintly as he whispered, “Ours. Always.”

And though fear coiled in my chest, a part of me, wolf, woman, mother, wanted to believe him.