CHAPTER THREE

Madeleine's POV

Immediately I heard the order, I ran as fast as my legs could carry me. Straight into the dark forest.

The forest floor tore at my bare feet, sharp stones digging into my skin, but I didn't stop. Could not stop. Every instinct shrieked at me to run, screaming past the pain blooming across my soles. I knew what happened to wolves who dared to defy an Alpha, especially one like Damon. Disobedience wasn't just frowned upon; it was corrected, painfully, permanently.

I swerved, memories of forgotten herbs rising to the surface. Earthroot, wild mint, moonpetal—each one a faint scent-masker, a minor distraction. I brushed against them, crushing them underfoot, hoping to scatter my own overwhelming terror scent, to confuse the hounds that would surely be unleashed. A futile effort, maybe, but I had to try.

Behind me, the low growls started, then the unmistakable cracking of bones, the tearing of muscle as bodies shifted. They were transforming, spreading out, forming a living net designed to ensnare me. My heart hammered against my ribs, a trapped bird desperate for freedom.

***

Ominiscient POV

“Did you notice anything else, Elias?” Damon’s voice was a low growl, even and laced with a deadly calm that sent shivers down my spine from where I imagined him, pacing the moonlit clearing.

Elias, Damon’s Beta, hesitated. “Only… her scent, Alpha. It changed. Right before you… before the rejection.”

“Changed how?” Damon demanded, his tone rising, snapping the calm.

“It wasn't just the bond, Alpha,” Elias pushed on, sounding wary, carefully choosing his words. “There was… something else underneath. A depth I haven't encountered in an Omega before. Something… unfamiliar.”

A long silence followed, heavy and suffocating. I pictured Damon, his eyes narrowed, piecing together information.

Then came the order, sharp and cold. “Every patrol. Search the territory. Before sunrise. I want her found.”

***

Madeleine’s POV

I heard it, felt it—the ripple of his command through the pack, a collective surge of energy focused solely on me. My legs burned, lungs screaming for air, but I kept running. My head swam with a desperate fear. I was not just being hunted; I was being hunted by an Alpha who understood there was something unusual about me, something that defied his carefully constructed hierarchy.

The ground rose abruptly, revealing the terrifying edge of a cliff. I veered sharply, my momentum making me stumble. Just as I regained my footing, a blur of fletching brushed past my ear, the whisper of its passage a chilling prelude of what was to come. An arrow. They were already using them.

Pain, sudden and searing, ripped through my left side. I cried out, a ragged gasp, as a second arrow found its mark. It wasn't deep, but it bit hard, embedding itself in my flesh. My legs buckled, threatening to give out completely. No. Had to keep going. I clamped a hand over the wound, ignoring the sticky warmth that gushed between my fingers, and forced myself forward, the world blurring at the edges.

The trees became sparser, then gave way entirely. Ahead, a narrow, unpaved road snaked through the darkness. Hope, fragile and desperate, blossomed in my chest. A road. It meant escape. It meant a chance.

I stumbled out onto the cracked asphalt, my legs finally giving way beneath me. The wound pulsed, a gaping maw consuming my strength. Black spots danced before my eyes, then devoured the remaining light. I crashed to the ground, the impact rattling my bones, and everything went dark.

A sudden, blinding light pierced the blackness, cutting through the haze of pain and exhaustion. Headlights. Twin beams of brilliant white. My eyes stung, trying to adjust. A heavy roar, deep and guttural, filled the air, growing louder, closer. Then, with a screech of tires, it stopped. The engine fell silent.

I tried to crawl, to drag myself away from whatever new horror awaited me, but my limbs refused to obey. My muscles screamed in protest, my blood loss making every movement a Herculean effort. I was so tired. So very, very tired.

A shadow fell over me, tall and imposing. I flinched, bracing for the inevitable. A hand, surprisingly gentle, brushed against my hair, sweeping it away from my neck. Then, a sudden intake of breath, a sharp, almost guttural sound as a nose buried itself in exposed skin. He was scenting me. His touch, light and delicate, belied the power I now sensed emanating from him.

His head snapped back. His eyes, even in the faint glow of the distant moon, widened just for a second. Surprise, then something else, something unreadable, flickered across them.

He pulled a small device from somewhere on his person and brought it to his lips. His voice, a low rumble, cut through the night. “We found her.”