8

Dravina POV

They emerged without a sound, their golden eyes burning with sharp focus.

Their approach was precise, their movements smooth and lethal like predators who had done this a thousand times. I froze, my breath caught mid-inhale. How had I not sensed them sooner?

I cursed myself for letting my guard slip. The fleeting relief of escaping Cassian had dulled my instincts. I had been so consumed with survival, I’d forgotten that these unfamiliar woods held their own dangers.

And now I was surrounded.

There were too many. The moment I inhaled, I knew this wasn’t a random rogue ambush. The scent rolling off them spoke of rank, discipline, unity. These weren’t strays. They were pack wolves. And not just any pack Betas. Trained, loyal, and utterly ruthless.

Blue growled low in my mind, a warning, ready to rise, but I hushed her with a thought. There was no winning this fight. We were Delta at best. Outnumbered. Outmatched.

I sank to my knees, my fingers gripping the strap of my bag as though it might somehow protect me. Bowing my head, I exposed my throat submission, the universal language of wolves. I prayed they'd see I wasn’t a threat.

The circle of wolves shifted. They parted, making room. Dread pooled in my stomach as a dark, massive wolf stepped forward, his presence commanding the air itself.

The Alpha.

He moved with a quiet dominance that made my skin prickle. The weight of his stare pinned me where I knelt.

And then, just as fluidly, he shifted.

My breath caught again but for a different reason.

He was… breathtaking. Towering, broad-shouldered, with a frame that radiated control. Dark tousled hair framed a face that could have been carved from stone sharp jaw, straight nose, lips that looked carved from tension. But it was his eyes that rooted me to the spot. Piercing green, intense and unforgiving, as though he could see every secret buried in my soul.

For one irrational second, I forgot to be afraid.

But reality returned quickly. He wasn’t here to be admired. He was an Alpha. I was a trespasser.

And whatever judgment awaited me now, my escape hadn’t ended. It had only shifted.

His eyes scanned me, sharp and calculating, but when they landed on the mating mark at my neck, something dark passed over his expression.

My stomach twisted.

He knew what it meant.

“What is a mated wolf doing in my woods?” he asked, his voice low and cold, but it slithered over my skin like a storm wind unmistakably Alpha.

Panic surged in my chest. I had seconds to get this right. One wrong word and I was dead.

“I’m a widow,” I said softly, forcing my voice into something steady. “I was fleeing from rogues.”

He stared at me, unmoved. Doubt flickered across his sharp features.

“Where are you from?” he demanded, tone clipped.

My heart dropped.

This was the question I had feared most. If I told the truth if he knew I’d come from Firestone he’d send me back. No one dared cross Alpha Cassian. No one.

“I’ve never belonged to a pack,” I said, eyes locked on his. “I’m a lone wolf.”

The silence that followed was suffocating.

His gaze bore into me, dissecting every breath, every twitch. I held still, praying he’d believe the lie. But his jaw ticked. His eyes narrowed.

He didn’t believe me.

My pulse thundered in my ears. Then, unexpectedly, he turned away. For a second, hope sparked maybe he’d let it go. Maybe he’d let me go.

But the spark died the moment he spoke.

“Take her to the stronghold.”

No warmth. No leniency. Just cold command.

I stiffened as two Betas stepped forward and gripped my arms not rough, but firm enough to remind me I had no control.

I didn’t fight.

There was no point.

Thoughts spun wildly in my head. Would they hold me prisoner? Would they discover who I was? Would they send word to Cassian? If they knew the truth… would they return me to him?

This wasn’t the freedom I’d fought for. This was a different kind of captivity. One born not of chains, but suspicion and silence.

As they led me away from the trees and deeper into unknown territory, I felt the Alpha’s gaze boring into my back. Heavy. Inescapable.

The farther we walked, the heavier my legs became.

Each step dragged me away from the fleeting taste of liberty I had grasped just hours ago. The forest that had cradled my escape faded behind me.

I had fled one nightmare.

Now I had to wonder was I walking straight into another?