Chapter 2 Taken By The Enemy

The cold hit me before I could even stand.

Two hands grabbed my upper arms and dragged me across the floor.

My knees scraped against the rough steps outside the lodge, tearing through my white dress I had spent weeks preparing.

Snow and freezing rain slashed against my face, blinding me, but the physical cold was nothing compared to the fire burning inside my chest.

My mate bond was gone. The empty space in my chest felt like a bleeding wound.

"Get up," one of the guards spat, shoving me forward into the mud.

It was Thomas a warrior whose broken leg I had set just three weeks ago.

He wouldn't look me in the eye. None of them would.

"Thomas, please," I choked out, wiping blood from my mouth.

"You know me. You know I didn't do this."

"The Alpha gave his order, Elara," Thomas said, his voice flat, though his hand trembled slightly on the hilt of his sword.

"Cross the river into the Hollow. If you step back over the line, we shoot."

They pushed me past the outer gates of Moonhaven.

Behind me, the doors slammed shut with a final thud. The iron locks clicked into place.

Just like that, twenty two years of my life, my home, my family, and my future were locked away behind those walls.

I took a shaky step forward into the dark forest.

The forest was a stretch of thick, ancient woods that divided the valley.

No wolf was allowed to shift here, and no blood was supposed to be spilled on its grounds.

It was just land, but tonight, under the freezing rain, it felt like a grave.

My bare feet slipped on wet pine leaves and sharp stones.

Every breath I took burned my lungs. My wrist, where the silver moon mark used to be, was red oozing blood onto my skirt.

Declan rejected me.

The words repeated in my head with every staggering step I took.

He hadn't even listened. He hadn't tried to search my eyes.

He had let Marcus drop those forged papers between us and believed them without a second thought.

I fell forward, my hands catching me on a rock.

Pain shot up my arms, but I couldn't find the strength to stand back up.

I lay there in the mud, shivering as the rain soaked through my clothes, freezing the tears on my cheeks.

Is this where I die? I thought, staring into the pitch dark forest.

Alone in the dark, branded a traitor?

A sudden rustle in the bushes made my breath catch in my throat.

I froze.

The wind shifted, blowing from the east. Through the scent of leaves and wet soil, a smell filled the air.

Step. Step. Step.

Footsteps crunched over the dead leaves.

I pushed myself up onto my elbows, my heart hammering against my ribs.

A tall figure stepped out from behind a tree, illuminated only by the faint glow of the moon filtering through the clouds.

My breath hitched.

He was massive. He wore a coat, splattered with mud, open at the collar to reveal a chest covered in scars.

His dark hair soaked with rain, and his features looked as if they had been by the moon goddess her self.

But it was his eyes that made my blood run cold.

They weren't brown or black.

They were a bright, glowing gold unsteady, wild, and pulsing with an unnatural heat.

Alpha Kane Blackwood.

The monster of Black Ridge. The Alpha of the Blood Fang Pack.

I tried to push myself backward, but my back hit the trunk of a tree.

I had no weapon, no pack, no wolf strength left to defend myself.

Kane stopped five feet away from me.

His nostrils flared as he inhaled deeply, drawing the night air into his lungs.

The moment my scent hit him, his golden eyes flashed violently. A dangerous rumble vibrated from his chest, a growl so deep it shook the ground beneath my hands.

"A Silver Moon wolf," Kane growled. His voice was rough.

"On neutral ground. Bleeding."

"Don't come near me," I gasped, trying to keep my voice steady despite my shaking jaw.

"I'm... I'm not a threat to you."

Kane took another slow step forward. He towered over me, his shadow blocking out what little light was left in the forest.

He looked down at my face, then at my bloody wrist, and finally at the torn white dress covered in mud.

"Elara Vance," he murmured, calling my name with a dangerous smoothness that sent a shiver down my spine.

"The Luna to be."

"Not anymore," I whispered bitterly, pulling my injured wrist close to my chest.

"Declan rejected me. I've been banished."

Kane stayed completely still for a long second. Then, a smirk cut across his sharp face, though his golden eyes remained deadly serious.

"Declan Ashford is a fool," Kane said softly.

He bent down, dropping to one knee in front of me.

The size of him was overwhelming. Up close, I could smell the heat coming off his body, a scorching warmth that seemed to push away the freezing rain around us.

He reached out a large hand toward me.

"Don't touch me!" I flinched, pulling back.

Kane didn't pull his hand away. Instead, his fingers brushed gently against the side of my neck, right over my pulse point.

The moment his skin touched mine, a strange sensation snapped through the air.

It wasn't the sweet, gentle hum of the mate bond I had felt with Declan.

It was a electric pulse hot that shot straight down my core.

The searing pain in my chest instantly quieted down. The frantic pounding in my head slowed.

Kane froze. His golden eyes widened slightly as he stared down at me.

His ragged breathing suddenly smoothed out, his chest expanding as he took in a slow, deep breath.

For a second, the wild energy swirling around him settled into a terrifying stillness.

"What... what was that?" I breathed, staring up at him, wide eyed.

Kane didn't answer right away. He stared at his fingers, which were still lightly touching my throat, as if he couldn't quite believe what had just happened.

Then, his grip shifted. His hand wrapped firmly around the back of my neck, not enough to hurt, but enough to ensure I couldn't pull away.

"Your blood," Kane whispered, his voice dropping into a dark, rough murmur that made my skin prickle.

"Your scent. It stopped the noise."

"What noise?"

"The Rage," he said coldly.

He stood up in one fluid motion, dragging me effortlessly to my feet along with him.

My weak legs gave out immediately, but before I could fall back into the mud, Kane caught me.

He lifted me easily into his arms, pulling my frozen body flush against his warm chest.

"Put me down!" I gasped, my hands instinctively pushing against his chest.

"Where are you taking me?"

"You're coming with me to Fangrock," Kane said, his gold eyes locking onto mine with ruthless intent.

"No!" I struggled against his grip.

"My pack hates you!

Your pack will kill me the moment I step foot on your territory!"

"They won't touch a hair on your head," Kane said as he turned and began walking deeper into the dark trees toward the eastern ridge.

"Because as of tonight, Elara... you belong to me."

"I am not a piece of property!" I snapped, my heart hammering in my chest.

"I'm a healer!

I don't belong to anyone!"

"You belong to whoever keeps you alive," Kane replied quietly, his jaw tight.

"And right now, that's me."

We moved quickly through the forest, the trees passing us in a blur.

The further east we went, the steeper the trail became.

I could feel the strength leaving my body with every passing minute.

My head felt heavy, my vision blurring at the edges as the exhaustion of the rejection and the cold finally caught up to me.

I rested my head against Kane's shoulder, unable to fight the heaviness in my eyelids any longer.

"Why are you doing this?" I murmured weakly, my eyes fluttering shut.

"You don't even know me..."

Kane didn't reply for a long time.

Just as darkness threatened to pull me under completely, I felt his grip tighten around me, and his rough voice sounded right beside my ear.

"Because, little healer," Kane whispered, "you are the only thing keeping me from turning into a monster. And if Declan Ashford wants you back... he's going to have to bleed for you."

Before I could process his words, a loud.horn echoed through the night air ahead of us.

We had reached the gates of Fangrock pack.

The doors of the enemy fortress open. Standing at the entrance was a group of tall, heavily armed warriors, their weapons drawn, their eyes fixed on the woman resting in their Alpha's arms.

At the front of the group stood a tall, broad shouldered man with a scar running across his face. Rowan, the Blood Fang Beta.

"Alpha!" Rowan called out, his hand resting tightly on the hilt of his sword as he stepped forward to block the path.

"Who is that? Why are you carrying a Silver Moon wolf into our home?"

Kane didn't slow his pace.

He marched straight toward the gates, his glowing gold eyes locking onto his Beta with authority.

"Stand down, Rowan," Kane commanded, his voice cutting through the freezing wind.

"She's a spy!" Rowan shouted back, pointing his blade directly at my face.

"The Silver Moon Pack is our enemy!

Drop her, Kane, or the pack will tear her apart!"

Kane stopped right in front of his Beta.

He leaned in close, his face inches from Rowan's, his voice dropping into a deadly whisper.

"If anyone touches her," Kane said,

"I will rip their throat out myself."