Lena's heart pounded as Kael's truck tore through the night, the engine's rumble barely drowning out her thoughts. She clutched the door handle, her knuckles white, the bite mark on her neck pulsing under a borrowed hoodie.
Crestwood was a blur outside, neon signs fading, trees swallowing the road and she hated how it felt like running. From her life, her choices, him. Kael had barged into her friend's apartment, all sharp jaw and gold eyes, saying she was hunted. Zane, rogues, his pack, she didn't want to believe it, but the claw marks, the glowing bite, and that thing in her apartment screamed he wasn't lying.
"Where are you taking me?" she demanded, her voice sharp despite the tremor in it. She glared at him, his profile stark in the dashboard's glow—black hair messy, hands tight on the wheel like he was strangling it.
"A safehouse," Kael said, his voice low, clipped.
"Off pack land. No one knows it but me."
"Safe," she muttered, bitterness coating the word. "Like when you bit me? Or when my door got smashed in?" She touched her neck, the mark hot under her fingers, and her stomach twisted. That faint glow last night, it wasn't normal. Neither was he.
His eyes flicked to her, gold sparking in the dark, and she felt it again—that pull, like a thread stitched between them. It made her want to scream. "I'm keeping you alive, Lena," he said, softer now, but it carried weight.
"Zane's coming for you. My pack's cracking.
You stay in Crestwood, you're dead."
"Zane," she repeated, the name sour on her tongue. He'd mentioned him before—a rival, someone who wanted her gone. "Why me? I'm nobody. I'm not your... whatever you think I am."
"You're my mate," he said, and the words hit like a punch, raw and certain. "The mark proves it. My scent's on you now, Lena. It's why they're hunting you."
She laughed, sharp and jagged, leaning toward him. "Your mate? I'm a barista, Kael, not a werewolf. You don't get to ruin my life because your wolf's got a crush." Her voice broke, and she hated it. Hated how his words dug into her, how part of her wondered if he was right.
He slowed the truck, turning onto a dirt path swallowed by pines. "You felt it," he said, not looking at her. "When we kissed, when I marked you. It's not a crush. It's fate. And it's dangerous."
"Dangerous?" She shoved a hand through her hair, frustration boiling. "You're dangerous! You show up, turn my world upside down, and expect me to play along? I didn't ask for this!"
The truck stopped outside a rundown shack, half-hidden by overgrowth. Boards covered one window, the roof sagged, and the door looked like it'd fall off its hinges. Lena's stomach sank. Safehouse? It screamed horror movie. Kael cut the engine, the silence deafening, and turned to her, his eyes intense, almost pleading.
"I don't expect you to like it," he said. "But you're not safe in Crestwood. Not with Zane's wolves out there, not with my pack turning on me. This place, it's off the grid. Stay here, let me handle it."
"Handle it?" She yanked the door open, jumping out, the cold biting her skin. "You can't even handle yourself! You bit me, Kael, without asking. Now I'm glowing like a damn nightlight, and you want me to hide in your creepy shed?"
He was out in a flash, rounding the truck, his height looming but his hands raised, like she was a spooked animal. "It's not about the bite," he growled, frustration cracking his calm. "It's about you, Lena. Something's after you, rogues, Zane, maybe worse. The mark's a beacon, yeah, but it's also mine. It says I'll die before I let them touch you."
Her breath caught, his words hitting harder than she wanted. Those gold eyes, fierce and raw, made her chest ache, but she shoved it down. "I don't need your protection," she said, stepping back. "I need my life back. Take me to a bus station, let me leave."
"You leave, they track you," he said, voice dropping, urgent. "The mark's on you now, my scent, my claim. Zane's wolves won't stop.
Neither will the rogues. You're tied to me, Lena, whether you hate it or not."
"Tied to you?" She laughed again, but it was brittle, her hands shaking. "I'm not your property, Kael. I'm not staying here, playing damsel for your wolf fantasies." She turned, starting for the road, her sneakers crunching gravel.
"Lena, don't." He grabbed her arm, gentle but firm, pulling her back. She spun, shoving at his chest, but it was like pushing a wall. His heat, his scent—pine, leather, wild, flooded her, and the bond sparked, warm and dizzying. Her neck throbbed, and for a second, she saw it, his wolf, gold eyes, howling for her.
"Let go," she whispered, but her voice wavered, caught between anger and something else. His grip softened, but he didn't release, his thumb brushing her wrist, sending shivers through her.
"I can't lose you," he said, barely audible, his eyes searching hers. "One night, Lena. Stay one night. Then we'll figure it out."
She wanted to fight, to run, but his voice, his touch, chipped at her walls. The bite mark pulsed, like it agreed with him, and she hated it, hated how part of her wanted to stay. "One night," she muttered, pulling free, her scarf slipping to show the mark. "But don't touch me again."
He nodded, relief flashing across his face, but his eyes stayed sharp, scanning the trees.
Lena followed his gaze, her skin prickling. The forest was too still, the air heavy, like it was holding its breath. She hugged her arms, the hoodie suddenly thin against the cold.
Kael led her to the shack, kicking the door open to reveal a dusty room. Cot, table, a single lantern flickering to life. It smelled of mold and neglect, but it was shelter. Barely.
Lena stayed near the door, watching him check the windows, his movements tense, like he expected trouble.
"What's out there?" she asked, her voice quieter now, fear creeping in.
He didn't answer right away, his back to her as he tested a lock. "Wolves," he said finally. "Not mine.'"
Before she could press, a howl ripped through the night—low, guttural, answered by another, then a third. They weren't random, not lonely.
They were close, circling, a chorus that made her blood freeze. Kael spun, his eyes glowing gold, claws flexing as he grabbed her arm, pulling her from the door.
"Get back," he growled, his voice half-human, half-beast.
The howls tightened around them, a net of hunger and hate.