Alpha's POV
I had sent my people to assist in the ambush against those humans who were trying to seize this city. Right now I felt restless. I prowled the edge of the forest, paws digging into damp soil, chest heaving as though something unseen pressed on my ribs. The pack was busy helping the injured wolves; the land lay silent, but inside me everything burned alive.
I hadn't felt this way since my mother's death the hollow ache, the gnawing emptiness clawing through my ribs. But this wasn't grief. No. This was sharper; I could feel it. Something was calling me.
The pull dragged me toward the cliffs. I fought it at first, howling, snapping at the air. But no matter how hard I resisted, the urge only grew.
My wolf whined inside me, restless, needy, and aching. I couldn't remember the last time my instincts roared so loud. The moon bled red above the trees, a cursed omen, but I was unable to look away. It was as if the sky itself was crying to me.
I ran.
The forest blurred past, paws pounding earth, until the scent of blood hit me like fire. My pulse spiked; my wolf howled inside me. And there she was. Becky, the same girl from school, I had warned her to leave this city; she didn't belong here. Even at the banquet, I had seen her there, I swore under my breath. I tried using my teeth to drag her over the cliff, but I couldn't. Shifting now wasn't a choice; it was a necessity. With a wrench of pain and effort, I forced my human form, heart hammering, and grabbed her just before her fingers gave way.
"Hold on," I growled, muscles straining. Her head lolled against my chest; it seemed she had fainted. My arms shook, but I held her tight, inching back from the cliff's edge until solid ground swallowed our shadows.
When I finally set her down, the world felt impossibly still. My wolf snarled in the back of my mind, but my human side couldn't move, couldn't speak. She was still breathing, and for now… that was enough.
Becky POV
I heard howling. I thought the wolf came back to kill me. I hated this creature. My vision began to blur. I tried forcing myself to stay awake when I saw the big Black wolf that I had thought about. He was also there that day I had shot at the white wolf. Its dark eyes stared at me as my vision finally blurred and I slipped into unconsciousness.
I slowly opened my eyes. Was I dead? The pain in my shoulder told me I was still alive. I let out a shaky breath, relief flooding through me, even though every bone screamed in protest.
When I tried to sit up, a sharp pain from my leg pinned me back to the bed. I bit down on a groan.
My arm and leg were bandaged as I examined my body.
Just then, the door creaked open. A nurse in pale blue scrubs stepped in, her eyes widening when she saw me awake.
"You're finally conscious," she said with a small smile, moving quickly to check the machines beside me.
I swallowed, my throat dry. "How… how did I get here?"
She adjusted the drip in my arm before answering. "A young man brought you in last night. He said he found you collapsed near the road." Her brows drew together. "Do you have anyone we can call?"
I remembered seeing the dark eyes that made me feel safe before I fell unconscious. At that moment I thought he wanted to kill me, but why did he spare me? Same thing the other time, even when I saw it kill that man, even when I looked at it with hatred.
The nurse's words kept replaying in my head long after she left the room. A young man brought me here. He gave no name. Had questions to ask him.
I stared at the white ceiling, and an idea began to take root. It was dangerous but tempting. No one had come for me. Bella was dead too. If the man I worked for hadn't appeared by now, then maybe… perhaps he thought I was dead too.
A bitter laugh bubbled in my throat. Maybe this was my chance. My one clean escape.
The pain in my leg was a reminder I wasn't ready to run yet, but in my mind I was already packing my things, already planning the bus ticket out of this cursed city.
If I disappeared now, I could slip through the cracks like I'd never existed.
For two days I've been lying down in this same bed. I wondered if anyone would even notice my disappearance from school. Just then the nurse came to change my bandage and clean my wounds.
"Can I walk around the hospital?" I needed a breath of fresh air; I could feel myself becoming rusty. "Fine, let me get the wheelchair." She was the only friendly nurse around here, as the rest all wore a serious face, and she said the stranger that brought me here had also paid the bill.
The nurse agreed to let me take a little air, so I was wheeled down to the garden, the scent of damp earth and cut grass wrapping around me. For the first time since waking, I could breathe.
I thought I was alone until I noticed an old man sitting on a bench beneath a crooked tree. His skin looked like parchment, his beard long and silver. His eyes were sharp, as though he had seen countless things. I wondered how long he must have been sick.
He stared at me for so long, I shifted uncomfortably in the chair. "What is it?" I asked.
He shook his head slowly. "So it begins again…" His voice carried the weight of sorrow.
I frowned. "Do I know you?"
"No," he whispered. "But I know you. And him." His eyes darkened. "Children who should never have met or been born. Cursed mates. Just like before."
A chill ran down my spine. "What do you mean, before?"
He leaned forward, his voice dropping. "A century ago, two souls bound by fate found each other. Their love brought only ruin. Fire, blood, death. The bond was never meant to be reborn, yet here you are."
My pulse quickened. "You're wrong," I said, though even to my ears, it sounded weak.
"I don't know anyone like that." Why was this old man trying to scare me? This city was truly cursed. I hissed as I made to roll my wheelchair far from this old, weird man. The old man gave a hollow smile. "Run while you can, girl. Fate will not spare you. This bond… it destroys everything it touches."
I froze, fingers gripping the armrest of the chair. His words lingered like smoke. Before I could ask more, the nurse returned, fussing that it was too cold outside. The old man only gave me a long look before I was wheeled back in.
For the rest of the day, his words wouldn't leave me. Cursed… mates… ruin. They circled in my mind, refusing to let go.
That night, my body restless, I finally drifted into sleep. And I had that same dream that has been haunting me since childhood. I saw my mother. Her hand clasped mine as we ran through the woods, moonlight spilling over us. Her voice was urgent, echoing with fear and love.
"You are not like them. I will protect my daughter," she whispered, pulling me tighter.
But in the dream, the same voice that spoke, telling her she couldn't run, now chased me as the sound of evil laughter filled the woods. I woke drenched in sweat, her words echoing in my ears, leaving me to wonder if the old man's warning and my mother's promise were two halves of the same truth.
I remembered how my mom had told us to quickly leave the place I grew up in. I cried, saying I had made friends. That was when I lost my cousin, who my mom raised. He was like my brother. He got into a car accident the day I ran from home, not wanting us to move. When my mom brought him to get me from the police station that called her, they found me after she arrived and left him in the car, which later got hit by a trailer from nowhere. I remember how broken she had been. I was filled with guilt for months. Maybe if we had left, I wouldn't have lost my cousin.
The old man's words replayed in my head like a curse. History is about to repeat itself. Cursed, bringing only ruin.
Tears slipped down my eyes. I had always caused pain to everyone around me. Nobody genuinely liked me, and anytime a person started to be my friend, it was always trouble. For the first time since the cliff, I wasn't just afraid of dying. I was afraid of living in the wrong place and my presence causing harm to innocent people.
I turned my face to the wall, whispering to myself like a vow.
"This time, I'll leave before it's too late."