Chapter 3 THE CHASE

Ava's pulse roared in her ears.

The rogues had stopped attacking.

They crouched in the underbrush, their golden eyes locked onto something in the darkness beyond the trees. Their snarls had faded into uneasy growls, their bodies tense like they were waiting for a command.

Or a master.

Knox still had her wrist in a vice grip. "We need to go. Now."

Ava barely managed a nod. Every nerve in her body screamed at her to run, but she was frozen, her gaze locked on the shadow between the trees.

Then she saw it.

A figure. Tall, broad-shouldered, stepping out from the blackened forest like he belonged to it.

The air around him crackled.

His presence hit her like a shockwave.

Ava staggered back, her vision blurring for a split second. A pressure she couldn't explain coiled in her chest, something ancient, something wrong.

Whoever this man was, he wasn't like the rogues.

He was worse.

Knox swore under his breath. The silver-eyed wolves tensed. Even the rogues flinched as the man walked past them, his boots crunching softly against the forest floor.

He stopped just a few feet away.

Ava swallowed hard.

He was tall, his body lean but powerful beneath his dark clothes. His hair was black as ink, his eyes an unnatural shade of amber burning, like molten gold. The power rolling off him was suffocating.

Then he smiled. And it was the worst thing of all.

Because it wasn't a smirk, wasn't cruel or mocking.

It was knowing.

Like he'd been expecting her. Like he'd already won.

"Ava," he said, voice smooth as smoke. "I've been waiting for you."

Every muscle in her body locked.

She didn't know this man. She had never seen him before.

But he knew her.

Knox stepped in front of her, knife in hand. "Back off, Silas."

Silas.

The name sent a shiver down Ava's spine.

She knew that name.

Everyone did.

Silas wasn't just any Alpha. He was the leader of the Shadowborn.

The man responsible for wiping out entire packs. The man who had been hunting her.

And he was standing right in front of her.

Ava clenched her fists. Her body still hummed with that strange energy the same force that had thrown the rogue through the window.

Silas tilted his head. "Still figuring it out, aren't you?" His golden eyes flickered with something almost like amusement. "That power inside you."

Ava said nothing. She could barely breathe.

Silas smiled again. "You don't belong with them," he said, nodding at Knox and the silver-eyed wolves. "Come with me, and I'll tell you everything."

A cold dread curled in her stomach.

She had no reason to trust him.

But his words rang with a dangerous kind of truth.

Knox stepped forward. "She's not going anywhere with you."

Silas sighed. "Always the protector." He sounded almost bored. "You can't keep her from what she is, Knox. No one can."

His gaze flicked back to Ava. "You can feel it, can't you? The blood in your veins. The power waking up. You don't even know what you're capable of yet."

Ava's throat tightened.

Because he was right.

Something was waking up inside her.

But she didn't want him to be the one to show her what it was.

Silas studied her for a long moment. Then, without warning

He moved.

Faster than should have been possible.

One second, he was ten feet away. The next, he was right there.

Ava barely had time to react before Knox shoved her aside, meeting Silas mid-air with a clash of steel.

The fight exploded.

Silas and Knox blurred together, shadows twisting around them as they moved. Claws, fangs, steel everything collided at once, a deadly symphony of snarls and flashes of silver.

The silver-eyed wolves lunged at the rogues, and the clearing erupted into chaos.

Ava scrambled to her feet, heart hammering. She turned, ready to help Knox

Too late.

Silas tossed Knox aside like he weighed nothing. He crashed into a tree, groaning in pain.

Ava barely had time to scream before Silas was in front of her again.

His eyes burned into hers. "You can't run from this, Ava."

Then his hand shot out, grabbing her wrist.

The moment his skin touched hers

Pain.

Ava gasped, her knees buckling. A rush of white-hot agony surged through her veins, like fire and ice crashing together.

Flashes of something she couldn't understand filled her mind. A blood-red moon. A burning forest. A pair of silver eyes just like hers, full of rage and sorrow.

She choked on a breath, barely clinging to consciousness.

And then

Something snapped.

A force exploded outward.

Silas's grip shattered, and he was launched backward, crashing through the trees.

Ava staggered, panting, her vision swimming.

The clearing fell silent.

The rogues stared in shock. The silver-eyed wolves froze. Even Knox, still struggling to stand, looked stunned.

Silas lay motionless for a moment. Then, slowly, he sat up.

He touched his lip, where a thin trail of blood trickled down.

Then he laughed.

Low. Amused. Like he hadn't just been thrown halfway across the forest by a force Ava didn't even understand.

His golden eyes locked onto hers.

"Well," he murmured. "That was interesting."

Ava's breath came in short gasps. Her hands still buzzed with that strange energy, like something inside her had finally cracked open.

Silas pushed himself to his feet, brushing dust from his jacket. "We'll meet again, Ava."

And then

He was gone.

Disappearing into the trees like a phantom, the rogues vanishing with him.

The moment he was out of sight, Ava's knees buckled.

Knox caught her before she hit the ground.

"Easy," he murmured.

Ava tried to catch her breath, her mind still spinning.

What the hell had just happened?

She had just fought off Silas.

And somehow somehow she had won.

She looked up at Knox, her pulse still racing. "What did I just do?"

Knox's jaw was tight, his silver eyes unreadable.

"That," he said quietly, "is what we need to figure out."

The silver-eyed leader stepped forward, his gaze assessing her with something close to respect.

"Well," he said, crossing his arms. "Looks like we're taking you with us after all."

Ava barely had the strength to argue.

Because for the first time since this nightmare started...

She was terrified of herself.

Ava's breathing was ragged.

Her body still hummed with the raw energy that had thrown Silas across the clearing.

What the hell was that?

She glanced down at her hands. They were trembling, faint tingles of power still pulsing beneath her skin. Whatever had happened wasn't just a rush of adrenaline it was something else.

Something dangerous.

Knox kept a steady grip on her arm, watching her with wary eyes. "Can you stand?"

Ava swallowed hard, forcing herself to nod. She pushed up, her legs unsteady but holding.

The silver-eyed leader studied her with something close to amusement. "Impressive. Not many people survive a face-off with Silas."

Ava clenched her fists. "Not many people throw him through a damn forest, either."

The man chuckled, but there was a sharpness to his gaze, like he was piecing something together.

Knox straightened beside her. "We need to leave before he comes back."

Ava's stomach twisted. Would he come back?

The way Silas had smiled at her before disappearing like he'd just confirmed something made her skin crawl.

He wasn't done with her.

Not even close.

The silver-eyed wolves seemed to sense the urgency. Their leader nodded once. "Agreed. We'll take you somewhere safe."

Ava crossed her arms. "And where exactly is that?"

The man smirked. "Our pack's sanctuary. You'll be protected there."

Ava's chest tightened.

Protected.

She had barely wrapped her head around the fact that werewolves existed, let alone that she was one. And now she was supposed to trust a pack she had never met?

She looked at Knox, searching for any sign of hesitation.

He met her gaze, then gave her a short nod. "It's safer than staying out here."

Safer.

But safe?

She wasn't sure anything was safe anymore.

Ava exhaled sharply, running a hand through her tangled hair. "Fine. But if you try anything "

The leader chuckled. "Relax, Moonborne. If I wanted you dead, I wouldn't have killed that rogue for you."

Ava stiffened.

Moonborne.

That wasn't the first time she'd heard that word.

Silas had said something similar You don't even know what you are.

A cold prickle ran down her spine.

She wanted answers. But right now, she wanted to get out of these woods more.

Knox seemed to sense her hesitation. He touched her arm lightly. "Come on."

She nodded once, reluctantly.

Then they ran.

The forest blurred around them as they moved.

Ava didn't know how long they ran, only that the shadows thinned, the trees opening into a vast stretch of untouched wilderness.

No roads. No signs of civilization. Just the raw, endless sprawl of nature.

A hidden sanctuary.

The silver-eyed wolves led them through a narrow trail, weaving between thick pines and jagged rock formations. Their movements were eerily silent, like ghosts slipping through the night.

Finally, after what felt like miles, they reached it.

Ava's breath caught.

A valley stretched below them, nestled between towering cliffs. A settlement lay at its heart wooden cabins built into the earth, fires flickering against the night, wolves moving like shadows between them.

It wasn't just a pack.

It was a fortress.

Knox glanced at her. "Welcome to the last place the Shadowborn would dare step foot."

Ava swallowed hard.

She really hoped he was right.

The moment they entered the settlement, all eyes were on her.

Wolves in human form lingered near the fires, sharpening blades or speaking in low murmurs. Some were fully shifted, silver pelts gleaming in the moonlight as they prowled along the ridge.

And every single one of them turned as she passed.

Ava felt their eyes on her. Not just curiosity something deeper.

Recognition.

She didn't understand it.

But she damn sure felt it.

Knox stayed close, his presence a steady weight at her side. The silver-eyed leader led them toward the largest cabin, where a pair of guards waited at the door.

One of them nodded. "He's inside."

The leader turned to Ava. "Our Alpha wants to meet you."

Ava's heart skipped.

Another Alpha. Another leader who probably had their own plans for her.

She clenched her fists. "If this is some kind of trap "

The leader just smirked. "Trust me. He's been waiting for you."

That didn't make her feel any better.

But she wasn't about to run. Not after everything that had happened tonight.

Knox gave her a reassuring look before nodding toward the door. "Let's go."

Ava took a breath, squared her shoulders

And stepped inside.

The cabin was dimly lit, the scent of wood smoke thick in the air.

A man stood near the fire.

His back was to her, hands clasped behind him, shoulders tense with a quiet kind of authority.

Even before he turned, Ava felt his power. It didn't roll off him the way Silas's had dark and suffocating. This was something different. Controlled. Measured.

Then he turned.

And Ava's breath hitched.

His face was sharp, chiseled with years of battle. Dark stubble shadowed his jaw, streaks of silver threading through his ink-black hair. But it was his eyes that stopped her.

Silver.

Just like hers.

Just like the others in the pack.

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

Then the man exhaled softly. His expression was unreadable, but there was something else beneath it something Ava couldn't name.

Like he already knew her.

Like he'd been waiting for this moment.

Finally, he spoke.

"Ava."

Her name sounded different in his voice.

He studied her for a long moment, then let out a quiet chuckle. "You really do have your father's eyes."

Ava's breath caught.

Her father.

A sharp pressure clenched her chest. She had spent years pushing his memory away, drowning in the ache of losing him.

But hearing a stranger say his name like they knew him made it all crash back.

Ava's jaw tightened. "Who the hell are you?"

The man gave her a small, knowing smile.

Then, in a voice calm and certain, he said:

"My name is Elias."

His silver eyes burned into hers.

"And I knew your father better than anyone."