Aurelia stumbled through the forest, sweat and blood mixing with the damp earth beneath her feet. Her lungs screamed for air, but the bond pulsing at her collarbone refused to let her slow down. Each step carried her closer to Kane whether she wanted it or not.
The moon's crimson glow illuminated something terrifying: the marks on the trees. Symbols etched into bark with precision, glowing faintly in the night. Mafia sigils, she realized, an unholy signature of Kane's empire spreading into the wilderness. Her mind raced. The forest wasn't just a place of survival anymore. It was a territory mapped, controlled, owned.
And she was trespassing.
"You can't run forever." Kane's voice came from behind her, low, deliberate, slicing through the night like a blade. She whipped around, teeth bared, claws ready but he wasn't there. Only shadows whispered. And yet, she felt him. The Alpha's presence pressed into her chest, demanding attention, forcing her to acknowledge the invisible tether that yanked her forward.
Aurelia's hands trembled. She had survived death before, but this this was something else. Something insidious. Kane wasn't just hunting her. He was claiming her. His empire, his power, his bloodline, all wrapped around her like chains she couldn't see but could feel.
"Why do you torment me?" she hissed, voice breaking with rage and frustration. "I don't belong to you!"
"Belonging is irrelevant," Kane replied, stepping into view, sharp and commanding even in the moonlight. "You are mine, by blood and fate. You may resist… but resistance is futile."
Aurelia's pulse spiked, and the bond flared brighter than ever. Heat seared along her skin, and a low hum vibrated in her chest. Something primal, ancestral, awakened. She fell to her knees, clutching her chest.
"I don't… I can't…" she whispered, her voice trembling.
Kane knelt before her, his silver eyes softening just enough to make her stomach knot in confusion. "You can, little wolf. But you will learn. And the lessons won't be gentle."
A rustle behind them made her snap her head toward the sound. A figure stepped into the clearing not Kane, not an enemy, but Sophie. Her friend, ally, someone who had survived alongside her for weeks. Relief surged, quickly replaced by suspicion. "How… how did you get here?" Aurelia asked, breathless.
Sophie's eyes flicked to Kane. "I followed you. I don't trust him."
Aurelia's gaze narrowed at Kane. "I don't trust you either."
He smiled faintly, amused by her defiance. "And yet, you follow the pull."
The forest grew colder, shadows twisting unnaturally. Kane's tie to the mafia empire revealed itself in subtle ways: symbols etched into trees, whispers of surveillance, and unseen eyes tracking every movement. The Crimson Moon wasn't just a light in the sky; it was a marker, a signal that the world she thought she knew wolves, packs, survival was now part of a larger, darker game.
"You're hiding something," Aurelia spat. "The forest, the empire, you…"
"I'm the truth you've been running from," Kane interrupted, stepping closer. Each movement deliberate, the distance closing despite her every instinct to flee. "And the truth… will change you."
Aurelia's claws twitched involuntarily. Rage, fear, and desire collided in a storm. She wanted to strike, to flee, to survive yet the bond pulled stronger. Her chest burned, her heart thundered, and the Crimson Moon's glow reflected the chaos in her soul.
"You marked me," she whispered, realization dawning. "You… made me yours."
"Yes," Kane admitted, voice low, eyes blazing. "And the mark isn't just a symbol. It's a tether, a bond forged in blood and destiny. You cannot escape it. You will feel it, now and forever."
Aurelia staggered backward, chest heaving. The world tilted. She felt the pulse in her veins, the whisper of Kane's presence, the weight of a thousand secrets pressing against her mind. She wasn't just being hunted. She was being claimed.
A sudden rustle erupted from the forest, louder, faster. Figures emerged not just hunters, but other wolves, creatures bound to Kane's empire, loyal to him, trained to eliminate anyone daring to defy him. Aurelia froze, realizing she was surrounded.
Kane's hand shot out, catching her shoulder effortlessly. "Don't move," he whispered, and the command in his voice left no room for argument.
She felt a flicker of panic, a surge of adrenaline. "I… I can fight," she said, voice tight.
"You can survive," he corrected, his gaze locking with hers. "But not without me. And not against them."
The bond flared again, blinding heat spreading through her chest. The forest seemed to bend, shadows twisting unnaturally. She realized, with a shiver, that Kane's influence wasn't limited to her. It radiated outward, touching everything, controlling everything yet always tethered to her.
Aurelia swallowed hard. Her defiance, her independence, everything she had relied on… was slipping.
"You're mine," Kane murmured, brushing a loose strand of hair from her face, his thumb grazing her cheek. "And soon… you'll understand why."
Aurelia's breath caught. Rage warred with something dangerous a pull, magnetic and irresistible. She wanted to hate him, flee him, destroy him but every instinct told her she couldn't.
The forest erupted in movement. Another figure emerged from the shadows tall, masked, dangerous. Not part of Kane's known empire. Someone else had been watching. Someone else had survived the massacre.
Aurelia's green eyes widened. She realized, with a surge of dread and adrenaline: the game wasn't just between her and Kane. The forest, the empire, the Crimson Moon all of it was alive. Watching. Hunting.
And she was in the center of it.
The masked figure stepped closer, and Kane's hand on her shoulder tightened slightly. The bond pulsed violently. Aurelia's survival, her choices, and the empire's secrets were about to collide in ways she couldn't imagine.