Chapter 5

SONG OF THE CHAPTER : Monster by Imagine Dragons

IVARA'S POV:

The morning smells like ash and gasoline, the remnants of last night’s chaos clinging to everything. Smoke curls from the edges of burned tires where hunters tried and failed to claim our wolves.

My wolf growls beneath my ribs, restless, furious, demanding motion. I can’t ignore it, but I must. I must pretend everything is normal, even though nothing feels normal anymore.

Rumors are already spreading. I hear snatches of whispers as I walk past the Voss pack’s gathering hall: Did you see her last night? The Alpha was like a wolf with her… Is she really his mate?

My hands curl into fists, nails digging into my palms. I will not give them anything to talk about. I am Kael’s daughter. I am Voss royalty. And I am not his mate.

Yet, the pull nags at me, relentless, teasing. My wolf trembles beneath my skin, urging me to feel what I refuse to name.

I slip into the garage before anyone can corner me, trying to lose myself in the smell of oil and the hum of motorcycles. My fingers brush against the metal, tracing the curves of my favorite bike, and I push it out of the stand.

Tires screech as I kick off, spinning in tight circles. The motion centers me, but it can’t chase away the thought of him; the way he cornered me under the moonlight, his voice low, claiming me, even as he said he despised me.

I hate that I can remember it with such clarity. I hate the way my pulse races and yet, I can’t stop thinking about him.

Later, I wander the neutral grounds, Finn’s bar again, hoping for anonymity, though I know that illusion is fleeting. The Dravens are there, scattered in small groups. I can sense him before I see him, ice-blue eyes tracking me, predatory, alive with unspoken need. My wolf bristles at the proximity, torn between defiance and something darker.

“Voss,” he mutters when our eyes meet across the room. Not a greeting, not a warning, just… recognition. The word rolls off his tongue like gravel, and I shiver despite myself.

“I didn’t come here for you,” I reply, voice sharp, green eyes blazing. I scan the room for potential threats, pretending to ignore him, but every nerve is alert, every instinct screaming that he is here, and he is watching.

He steps closer, the air around him thick with the pull of the bond, heat and threat wrapped together like a knife against my spine. “You think you can avoid me?” he asks, voice low, teasing, dangerous. “You can’t. Not now, not ever.”

I grit my teeth, refusing to meet his gaze fully. “Watch me,” I snap, though my pulse betrays me. My wolf growls, frustrated, and I shove it down, trying to assert control.

But the control is fleeting.

A human biker, drunk and obnoxious, stumbles near, too close to my space. He grins, trying to corner me, hand brushing against my arm. My reflex is sharp, instinctive with my muscles tensing, ready to push him away but before I can act, Ronan is there.

Superman thinks I can't protect myself, lol.

His hand clamps down on the man’s chest, spinning him around like he weighs nothing, eyes flashing. “Touch her again and see how fast death finds you,” he growls. The biker stumbles backward, cursing, eyes wide with fear.

My wolf trembles beneath my skin, roaring, but I fight the heat rising in me. I can feel it... the bond but I refuse to give in. “I don’t need your protection,” I hiss, voice low, venom-laced. “I can handle myself.”

He tilts his head, gaze locked on mine. “Clearly,” he says, smirk faint, teasing, dangerous. “But you don’t have to. Not with me around.”

Cocky ass nigga...

I clench my fists, forcing my pulse to slow. The air between us is electric, every inch charged with fire, desire, hate, and something I don’t want to name. My wolf whines beneath my ribs, confused, frustrated, aching for him even as my pride insists I fight.

“You’re insufferable,” I mutter, trying to step away, but he mirrors me, moving closer without breaking the tension. We are inches apart, our breath mingling and eyes locked.

“You love it,” he says softly, voice teasing, but edged with danger. “You love the fire between us.”

I want to spit in his face. I want to kick him off the planet and yet… I feel my body betray me, heat coiling in my stomach, pulse hammering against my ribs. My wolf growls, whining, shivering.

“I don’t,” I manage, teeth clenched, forcing words through the coil of tension and need. “I… I don’t care about you.”

He laughs softly, almost a growl, and the sound makes my ears burn. “We’ll see about that,” he murmurs. His hand hovers near mine, dangerous, tempting. The pull, the bond, the heat, it claws at my insides. My wolf trembles beneath my skin, begging, desperate, confused.

I push back, forcing movement, spinning away before the temptation can claim me. I need space, I need air, I need freedom from this… this inferno. My boots scrape the floor as I stalk toward the exit, heart pounding, wolf howling beneath my skin.

But he doesn’t let me go. The bond drags him like gravity, relentless, unyielding q e stupidly unstoppable. I can feel his presence closing in, pulse echoing through the bond, drawing me toward him even as I resist.

By the time I reach the outskirts of the bar, I’m breathing hard, body tense. The moon is high, pale silver slicing through clouds, illuminating the gravel beneath my boots. I spin, ready to bolt, but the world narrows.

Ronan stands there, waiting, chest heaving, wolf snarling beneath his skin. Every inch of him radiates dominance, need, and threat. My pulse hammers in my ears. My wolf trembles, shivering, torn between pride, hate, and something else and something I cannot name.

“You can’t run,” he growls, voice low, vibrating against my bones. The bond thrums, a living thing between us, demanding, insistent, scorching.

“I don’t belong to you,” I spit, venom lacing every syllable. “I never will.”

He steps closer, wolf and human, Alpha and predator, presence overwhelming, impossible to resist. “You’re mine,” he breathes, voice rough, magnetic, impossible. “Whether you like it or not. Even though I despise you.”

My wolf shivers beneath my skin, trembling, whining, confused. My chest tightens. Heart hammering, lungs aching, pulse on fire, I realize something terrifying. He doesn’t just want me. He needs me and the bond… the bond doesn’t care what I think.

“I-” I start, throat tight, words failing. My pride clashes with the undeniable truth, every instinct screaming, every fiber of me rebelling.

He steps closer still, until the space between us is nothing. Our eyes locked, the pull, the heat, the fire; it’s all-consuming.

And then, a sharp, piercing sound, a gunshot in the distance, a motorcycle screeching, shatters the moment. Both of us freeze, instincts snapping, wolf howling. The world shifts, chaos demanding attention, and yet the bond, the fire, the electricity between us refuses to die.

Ronan doesn’t let go. His hand hovers, almost touching mine, fingers tense, predatory. His gaze is unrelenting, burning into mine. The bond pulls tighter, clawing, insistent, refusing to be ignored.

“You can’t escape it,” he growls, low and dangerous. “Not now. Not ever.”

My wolf trembles beneath my skin, shivering, whining, aching, desperate. I want to deny it, fight it or even spit in his face but my body betrays me. Every nerve, every instinct, every trembling wolf inside me screams that he is right.

And in that moment, I realize something I cannot admit; not to him, not to myself. The war between us has only just begun and it’s already winning.