Chapter 6 – The Chase Begins

Ayla’s POV

The forest is quieter this morning, as if everything is holding its breath, watching me flee from this miserable pack.

I ignore the feeling and keep moving.

I’ve only taken the basics—the clothes on my back and the money I saved from working at the coffee shop. It isn’t much, but at least it’ll keep me going until I can find a safe place outside this pack.

I sigh. At least I won’t die out there—not quickly, anyway. The cold doesn’t bite the same way anymore, not after last night’s shift.

Tala is quiet this morning, which worries me and somehow makes me feel even more anxious. It’s as if she’s waiting for something to happen.

The thought of having the triplets as my mates—and them finding out about our bond—keeps looping in my mind. I need to reach the boundary before they wake and realize what’s happened.

“You’re loud,” Tala mutters. “It’s annoying.”

I frown in surprise at her tone. “I didn’t say anything.”

“You didn’t have to,” she says. “You’ve had the same thought pacing through your mind for the last ten minutes.”

I exhale and keep pushing forward; the boundary isn’t far now.

“I shouldn’t have gone there,” I mutter.

“You don’t say,” Tala replies. “That part was obvious the moment you did it.”

I stop briefly. “I didn’t go inside.”

“Hmm,” Tala hums. “You just hovered outside like a very committed stalker. So much better than not going inside.”

My jaw tightens. “I wasn’t—”

“You were,” she cuts in, amused. “You stopped, you stayed, and that counts.”

I look away, irritation rising, but it doesn’t stick, because she’s right.

That pull wasn’t something I could ignore. It was as if my body had a mind of its own, and I couldn’t control it.

“I don’t want them,” I snap, my heart skipping a hurtful beat.

“Mm,” Tala replies. “That sounds very convincing. Say it again—maybe it’ll stick. Maybe then I’ll believe you.”

“I mean it,” I growl.

“Of course you do,” she says. “Right now, in this exact moment. It’s very passionate. I can feel all the love you have for them.”

My chest tightens. “I hate them,” I snarl.

That one lands, making Tala pause.

“They humiliated me,” I add, anger fueling my insides. “They made me feel like I’m nothing.”

Tala keeps quiet. She has no snippy remark this time.

“I’m not going back,” I say. “I’m not accepting this... this bond with them…”

Tala exhales softly. “Bold plan.”

I frown. “Why do you keep saying that?”

“Because you’re trying to argue with something that doesn’t care about your opinion or feelings,” she says.

I shake my head, moving again. “I can still try.”

“Oh, absolutely,” she taunts. “Fight fate. That’s very dramatic—I support it.”

That almost earns a glare, but instead I decide not to entertain her remarks and keep going.

“They’re coming,” she suddenly says.

I stop, my heart rate spiking as fear fills my veins.

“What?” I stutter. “You... you can’t be serious. They’re never up this early.”

“Well, you did walk up to their doors,” Tala says, sharper now. “What did you think would happen? They’d send you a thank-you note?”

My stomach drops as panic creeps in, cold and quick. “No—are they close?”

“Not yet,” she says. “But you didn’t exactly make it a challenge.”

I turn, scanning the trees; everything feels tighter now.

“I need to move quicker,” I say. “I need to reach the boundary before—”

“You need to stop and take a moment to think,” Tala interrupts. “Running blindly isn’t a personality trait for a wolf.”

My hands curl into fists. “They’ll find me anyway; it doesn’t matter what I do.”

“Probably,” she says. “The question you should be asking is—do you want to collapse dramatically into their arms or make them work for it?”

The question catches me off guard, and I hesitate.

“What’s the difference?” I ask, eyebrows narrowing in annoyance.

“Control,” she says simply. “You don’t stop them. You decide when they catch up.”

That hits, and I go still.

“Ayla, just remember one thing: you’re not prey,” she adds. “Stop acting like you’re something that needs to be chased. It’s just going to draw instinct out of them, and—”

I swallow, knowing where her thoughts are going, and I’m not ready to be marked or mated with them.

“I don’t know how to do this,” I say.

“Then improvise,” Tala exclaims. “You’re still alive, so clearly you’re not terrible at it.”

A flicker of memory—fire, screams, and blood—flashes before my eyes, but before it escalates, I shake it off. I don’t have time to be trapped in it.

Tala is right; I’ve been through worse. This should be a breeze compared to what I’ve survived.

I take a deep breath and straighten my shoulders.

“Okay,” I say. “I’ll face them…”

“There she is,” Tala smiles. “I was starting to worry you’d spiral dramatically for a while.”

I move again, slower this time. The forest shifts when I pay attention—less like a trap, more like space. For a moment, I almost believe I can stay ahead.

“Stop!” Tala yells.

I freeze. “What? What’s going on?”

“They’re here,” she whispers, as if they could hear her.

My stomach drops to my shoes—I’m not ready to confront them yet. “Already?” I almost whimper.

“They move fast,” Tala says dryly. “Try not to take it personally.”

“How far?”

“Close enough that you should already be moving smarter,” she says.

I feel them before I can scent them. Their auras stretch far and wide, as if trying to stop me. It isn’t a suffocating wrap, but it’s not gentle either.

“They feel different this morning,” I say, confused.

“They’ve stopped playing,” Tala says quietly.

A chill runs through me. “They know it’s me.”

“Oh, they absolutely know,” she replies. “You basically left them a scented invitation to your room last night.”

My pulse spikes, and my first instinct is to run—every part of me screams to do it, but

Tala’s words linger in my mind: I’m not prey.

“No more running,” I say, moving toward the treeline.

“Well, look at that,” Tala muses. “This is true character development. I’m impressed…”

I almost smile at her witty remark. I’m getting used to her cheeky personality.

I find a hiding spot behind a tree, looking down the hill. I know they’re close; I can feel their dominant auras growing stronger.

“They’re not slowing down,” I whisper.

“No,” Tala says. “They came to stop you…”

If only they knew I wasn’t going to bend to their will or be easily persuaded...

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