Chapter 11

The man's hand was warm, surprisingly gentle, despite his overwhelming presence. As I gripped it, a wave of electricity surged through me, jolting my already frayed nerves. His eyes never left mine, and for a split second, I saw something flicker behind that dangerous glow—something almost human.

But it was gone before I could make sense of it.

"We need to move," he said, his voice low but urgent. He glanced out the door, scanning the darkness outside. "The pack won't be far behind. They'll regroup."

"Who... who are you?" I stammered, trying to pull my hand back, but his grip tightened just enough to hold me in place. Not painfully, but enough to remind me that escape wasn't an option.

"My name is Kael," he replied without looking at me, still focused on the woods outside. "I was sent to protect you."

"Protect me?" The absurdity of it struck me as I stood there in the middle of this dark, abandoned cabin with a stranger who had just driven off a wolf twice my size. "Who sent you? And why?"

Kael finally looked back at me, his expression unreadable. "I’ll explain everything later, but right now we don’t have time. We need to leave before Alpha Primo realizes you’re not where he expected."

Alpha Primo. That name again. The one who had been hunting me and Emily. A shiver ran down my spine, and I instinctively took a step toward the door, glancing behind Kael into the thick forest. I could feel them—out there somewhere. Waiting.

"You knew they were coming," I said quietly, more to myself than to him. "You knew they’d find me."

Kael nodded, stepping aside to let me through the doorway, but he didn’t let go of my hand. He pulled me gently but firmly out of the cabin and back into the cold, damp night air. "I’ve been tracking them since you and Emily entered the woods. I’m sorry it took me so long to get here."

Emily. The thought of her sent a surge of panic through me. "Emily! I have to go back for her. She—"

Kael stopped abruptly, his face hardening. "You can’t. She made her choice to lead them away. Going back now would only put her sacrifice in vain."

"No!" I yanked my hand from his grasp, my voice rising. "I can’t just leave her out there! She’s my friend, and she—"

"She knew the risk," Kael cut me off, his voice firm but not unkind. "Emily did what she had to do so you could survive. If you go back now, you’ll be putting both of your lives at risk. Alpha Primo doesn’t show mercy. Not to anyone."

His words struck me like a blow, leaving me breathless. I stared at him, my heart pounding in my chest. I wanted to argue, to scream that I wouldn’t leave Emily behind, but deep down, I knew he was right. Emily had made that decision to protect me. I had to honor it.

Tears stung the back of my eyes, but I blinked them away, swallowing the lump in my throat. "Where are we going?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

Kael relaxed slightly, his hand finding mine again. "Somewhere safe," he said. "A place where Alpha Primo can’t reach you."

I didn’t believe him. I didn’t believe that any place could truly be safe from the man—if you could call him a man—who had been hunting me. But at this point, I didn’t have much of a choice. I was too exhausted, too scared to think of anything else. Kael was my only option.

We moved quickly through the forest, the shadows swallowing us whole as the moonlight filtered through the trees. My ankle ached with every step, but I didn’t dare slow down. Kael’s grip on my hand was steady, guiding me over roots and rocks, through thick brush and narrow paths that seemed to wind endlessly into the night.

"How do you know Alpha Primo?" I asked after what felt like hours of walking in silence. "Why is he after me?"

Kael hesitated, glancing back at me with a look I couldn’t quite place. "It’s not just you he’s after," he said quietly. "Alpha Primo… he’s after the unborn child you carry."

My heart skipped a beat, and I instinctively pressed a hand to my stomach. "What? Why? How do you know about that?"

Kael’s jaw tightened. "There are things you don’t know, Luna. Things about who you are and why you’re so important. The child you carry is more than just a baby. It’s the key to stopping Alpha Primo and his pack from taking control of everything."

I stared at him in disbelief. "You’re not making any sense. What does my baby have to do with this? I’m just—"

"You’re not just anything," Kael interrupted, his voice stern but tinged with an emotion I couldn’t identify. "You’re a Luna. The one destined to challenge the Alpha’s reign. Your child… it’s a symbol of that challenge, a threat to his power. That’s why he wants you. That’s why he’s hunting you."

The weight of his words pressed down on me like a suffocating blanket. Luna. Alpha. Reign. None of this made sense. How could I be a threat to anyone, much less someone as powerful and terrifying as Alpha Primo?

"I don’t understand," I whispered, my voice shaking. "I’m no one special. I’m just—"

"You’re more special than you think," Kael said softly, his eyes meeting mine. "And that’s why I’m here. To protect you. To make sure you and your child survive."

I didn’t know what to say. My mind was spinning, overwhelmed by the weight of everything Kael had just told me. Was this really my life now? Was I truly someone destined to challenge an Alpha’s reign? And what would that mean for my baby?

Before I could process any of it, Kael stopped suddenly, pulling me back against a tree as he crouched low, his eyes scanning the forest around us.

"Stay quiet," he whispered, his voice barely audible. "They’re close."

I swallowed hard, my heart racing as I crouched down beside him, every muscle in my body tense. I strained my ears, trying to hear whatever he had heard, but all I could make out was the faint rustling of leaves in the wind.

Then I heard it—a low growl, somewhere in the distance, growing closer.

"They’re here," Kael muttered, his eyes narrowing as he rose to his feet. "Stay behind me. No matter what happens."

I didn’t argue. My legs felt like jelly as I clung to the tree for support, watching as Kael’s body seemed to shift, his muscles tensing, his eyes glowing brighter in the darkness. I could feel the air around him change, growing heavy with power.

And then, from the shadows, they appeared.

Two wolves, their eyes glowing with the same eerie yellow light as the one in the cabin, emerged from the trees, their teeth bared, low growls rumbling from deep within their chests. They were massive, their fur bristling as they stalked toward us, their eyes locked on me.

Kael stepped forward, placing himself between me and the wolves. "Go back to Primo," he said, his voice cold and commanding. "Tell him he won’t have her. Not tonight."

The wolves snarled in response, inching closer. I could see their muscles tensing, preparing to strike.

And then, with a roar that shook the forest, Kael transformed.

His body shifted and expanded, fur sprouting where skin had been, his bones cracking and reshaping into something entirely inhuman. In seconds, the man who had been standing in front of me was gone, replaced by a massive black wolf, larger than any of the others, his eyes blazing with power.

The two wolves hesitated, their growls faltering as they faced Kael’s new form.

But then, with a vicious snarl, they lunged.