Chapter Fourteen - Blood on the Pines ( Kael & Aria )

The hunter’s finger curled on the trigger.

Time fractured into pieces, Kael’s growl vibrating the earth beneath my feet, my wolf clawing for release, the faint flutter of the child inside me. Danger pressed in on every side, choking the night air.

Kael moved first. One second he was at my side, the next he was a blur of muscle and shadow, launching toward the hunter with speed that blurred the lines between man and wolf. The crossbow bolt fired, slicing through the air with a deadly hiss.

“Kael!” I screamed, but he twisted mid-leap, the arrow grazing his shoulder instead of burying itself in his chest. He hit the hunter with bone-cracking force, sending both of them crashing to the ground.

The forest erupted in violence.

The hunter rolled, shockingly fast, and drove a silver dagger upward. Kael snarled, catching the man’s wrist before the blade could pierce flesh. They grappled, strength straining against skill, predator against predator.

I didn’t hesitate. My knife flashed in the moonlight as I sprinted forward, my wolf surging with borrowed power. The bond sang, Kael’s fury fueling mine, the glow in my hands flaring as I raised the blade.

The hunter saw me coming. He wrenched free of Kael’s grip and swung the crossbow like a club. Wood cracked against my ribs, the impact sending me stumbling back with a cry. Pain seared through me, but my wolf rose, furious, clawing for control. My glow brightened, flooding my veins like fire.

“Stay back!” Kael barked, his Alpha command crashing through me.

But I shoved it off, snarling. “Don’t you dare....”

The hunter lunged again, dagger gleaming. Kael met him head-on, their bodies colliding in a brutal dance of strength and blood. He slammed the man against a tree, bark splintering from the impact. The dagger fell, skittering across the ground, but the hunter twisted free with inhuman persistence, swinging a second hidden blade.

Silver kissed Kael’s skin, slicing a shallow line along his ribs. The Alpha’s growl shook the trees. His wolf surged, breaking through. His claws lengthened, teeth bared, eyes blazing silver-gray. The shift hovered beneath his skin, half-man, half-wolf, a terrifying glimpse of the beast within.

The hunter faltered, but only for a moment. “Monster,” he spat, spittle flying. “Your kind should be wiped clean.”

“Try me,” Kael snarled, his voice more wolf than man.

The fight turned savage. Kael’s claws raked, tearing fabric and flesh. The hunter countered with desperate strikes, one nearly sinking into Kael’s side before I intercepted, slamming my glowing hand into the man’s chest. Power surged, a pulse that knocked him backward like a thrown ragdoll. He hit the earth hard, the air rushing from his lungs.

I froze, staring at my hand. The glow dimmed, but the imprint of its power lingered in my bones. My wolf howled, exhilarated.

The hunter groaned, dragging himself up. Blood streaked his face, but his smile was vicious. “The rumors were true,” he rasped, eyes flicking to my stomach again. “That child’s no ordinary pup. Power like that....”

Kael’s snarl cut him off. “You’ll never speak of it again.”

He lunged, claws flashing, but the hunter twisted with desperate strength. His hand closed around the fallen dagger, blade glinting as he drove it upward, straight toward me.

Instinct took over. I raised my glowing hands, crossing them before me. The blade struck, and shattered. A burst of light exploded outward, sending the hunter flying once more, this time against a tree with bone, crunching force. His body crumpled, motionless.

Silence crashed over the clearing.

I staggered back, chest heaving, my hands trembling with the aftershock of power. The glow faded, but the memory of its force lingered, a thrumming energy tied to both me and the child.

Kael stood frozen for a heartbeat, blood dripping from his wounds, his chest rising and falling with violent breaths. Then his gaze snapped to me. Not to the hunter’s corpse. To me.

“What did you do?” he demanded, voice hoarse, torn between awe and fury.

I shook my head, still reeling. “I—I don’t know. It just, happened.”

The child stirred again, as if in answer.

Kael’s jaw tightened, his wolf hovering close to the surface. He stepped toward me, his eyes blazing with something fierce, something dangerous. “That wasn’t just you, Aria. That was the heir. Our heir. You felt it, didn’t you? The strength.”

I wrapped my arms around myself, suddenly cold despite the heat of battle. “Strength that just painted a target on us both.”

A twig snapped in the distance. My wolf tensed. Kael’s head snapped up, nostrils flaring. “More,” he hissed.

Adrenaline surged again. Shapes moved in the trees, shadows weaving between the trunks. Too many. Too fast. Rogues.

“They were waiting for him,” I realized, dread settling in my gut. “The hunter wasn’t alone.”

Kael grabbed my arm, pulling me close. His heat seared through me, the bond thrumming wildly. “We run,” he said, his command leaving no room for argument.

I wanted to protest, to stand and fight, but the bond screamed agreement. The child’s pulse echoed in my veins. Survival came first.

We fled into the forest, branches whipping against skin, the air thick with the stench of rogues closing in. Kael ran ahead, his body moving with lethal grace despite his wounds. I followed, my wolf lending speed, my glowing hands lighting faint trails in the dark.

Behind us, howls split the night.

Kael glanced back once, eyes wild. “They won’t stop now. Not until they have you.”

The truth burned. Every step, every heartbeat, was a countdown. The hunter had been a spark. Now the fire was coming.

And there was no hiding left.