Chapter 7 The Chase

Celeste ran.

Branches whipped against her skin, the wind roared in her ears, and still-she ran.

Her lungs burned, her legs screamed, but she didn't stop.

Couldn't stop.

Get away. Get away. Get away.

The words pounded through her skull like a war drum. She had to put distance between them. Between herself and the thing she had just seen.

Ronan Duskbane wasn't a man. He wasn't even just a Blood Alpha.

He was something else.

Something unnatural.

And she had bonded to him.

Celeste's stomach twisted.

No. No, she refused.

She didn't accept this.

She wasn't his.

She wasn't-

A sudden pulse of heat shot through her, so strong it made her stumble.

Celeste gasped, clutching her chest.

What the hell was that?

Her skin felt too hot, her blood too thick, like something was dragging at her from the inside out.

The mate bond.

She snarled, forcing herself forward.

Run faster. Get away.

She needed to find the village. She needed to-

The wind shifted.

Her wolf shuddered.

Celeste froze.

Silence.

The forest was silent.

Not a single sound. No birds, no wind-nothing.

Except for the deep, steady sound of breathing.

Right. Behind. Her.

Celeste's blood ran cold.

Slowly, so slowly, she turned her head.

Ronan stood barely five feet away.

Unmoved. Unrushed.

Waiting.

His arms were crossed, his dark shirt still ripped and bloodstained, his expression completely calm.

Like she had done exactly what he expected.

Celeste's chest heaved.

He had let her run.

And then he had caught her.

Effortlessly.

His eyes met hers red and glowing faintly in the dark.

"Are you finished?" he murmured.

Celeste's hands fisted. "Go to hell."

Ronan sighed. "I've already been there, little wolf. It's boring."

She wanted to scream. He was amused. Amused.

Like she was some rebellious pup throwing a tantrum.

Celeste lifted her chin. "You're not my mate."

Ronan's lips curled. "That's adorable."

Her jaw clenched. "I mean it."

"So do I." He took a slow step forward. "You feel it, Celeste."

She took a step back. "I don't feel anything."

His gaze flickered lower-right to the spot where her pulse thrummed wildly at her throat.

Liar.

The word wasn't spoken, but she heard it anyway.

Ronan took another step, closing the distance too easily.

Celeste's wolf stirred.

Wanting. Reaching.

She hated it.

Ronan's voice dropped. "I told you not to run."

Celeste swallowed hard. "And I told you-"

She moved.

Fast faster than any Beta had the right to be. She lunged, dagger flashing, aiming straight for his throat.

Ronan didn't move.

He let her come.

At the last second, he caught her wrist, twisting it effortlessly until the dagger fell from her grip.

Celeste gasped.

He pushed forward, pressing her back against a tree.

Her pulse spiked.

Ronan's breath brushed against her cheek. "Are you done now?"

Celeste's chest heaved.

No. She wasn't.

She did the only thing she could think of-she shifted.

She let the change rip through her, her bones cracking, her muscles tearing, her body folding into the shape of her wolf.

But something was wrong.

The shift wasn't smooth. It wasn't the way it should be.

Pain lanced through her skull. Her vision blurred.

Celeste collapsed to her knees.

What... what was happening?

Her wolf wasn't coming forward.

It was fighting her.

Celeste gasped for air.

She had shifted a thousand times before. She had never never struggled.

Her wolf wasn't listening.

And then-

Ronan knelt in front of her.

His red eyes burned.

"Your wolf won't come," he murmured.

Celeste's fingers dug into the dirt. "Why?"

His expression was dark. "Because you're not just a Beta."

A shudder ripped through her. "I don't-"

Ronan lifted a hand, fingers curling beneath her chin. He tilted her face up.

And then, so softly it was barely a whisper

"You're something else, Celeste."

She stared.

Her wolf shivered.

The air between them was too thick. Too charged.

She wanted to deny it.

Wanted to reject him.

But deep down, she knew the truth.

The mate bond was real. And something inside her was changing.

And Ronan knew exactly what it was.

She opened her mouth to demand answers, to fight back

A snarl echoed through the woods.

Celeste whipped her head around.

More wolves.

Not Crescent Pack. Not hunters.

Something else.

Something worse.

Ronan sighed.

He lifted a hand and touched her throat right over her pulse.

"Stay behind me, little wolf."

Celeste's breath caught.

And this time, she didn't argue.