Chapter 89 - No more Running

Rae didn’t look back.

Branches tore at her fur as she tore through the woods, paws slamming into the earth, lungs heaving. Tara’s body moved with battered grace, low to the ground, fast but faltering. Every stride burned.

Behind her, the mate bond pulsed with tension. Kai was surrounded. Exhausted. Every instinct told her to go back, to return to her mate, but she pushed on as he requested.

*"He’ll be fine, we’ll meet back at the cabin, he’ll be fine,"* she chanted in her head.

Exhaustion after their long day of training was sapping her energy too quickly. She couldn’t keep up at this pace. She leapt over a fallen log and heard the snap of a twig a heartbeat behind her.

The scent was foreign. Unique. And the energy brimming off the wolf gaining on her felt only of aggression and determination.

*"One got past Kai?"*

This wasn’t good but there was no time to think. The paws shadowing her were gaining speed. She knew she’d have to face her pursuer. But their erratic movements and pace meant she’d have little time to turn and take the advantage.

This was a seasoned soldier in his prime, not some amateur fighter already low on reserves like herself.

*"Think… think, dammit,”* she shouted at herself.

A low growl rolled from the trees behind her.

Then snap. A memory cracked through the fog of her panic.

*“Use what you’ve got. You’re smaller, faster, sharper. Be smart. Hit where it hurts and move before they see it coming.”*

Kai’s voice rang clear, like he’d whispered it straight into her head.

Her ears twitched. Up ahead, a narrow, hollowed out log curved slightly off the path. Barely large enough for a fox, let alone a full-grown wolf. But she could make it. She fucking hoped so.

Tara skidded left, paws slicing up dirt as she barrelled toward the log, momentum barely on her side.

She ducked low and sprang through the narrow opening. A sharp edge of bark scraped her foreleg as she pushed through. Nothing serious, but enough to sting. She landed hard and kept moving, barely registering the warmth that bloomed against her fur.

Behind her, the heavy pawfalls faltered. He hadn’t expected the turn.

*"Take that you cocky bastard!"*

She launched through the log like a bullet, her fur brushing the inner bark, heart hammering. A slash of sunlight blinked past her eyes as she shot out the other side and pivoted fast. Her claws carved into the earth, anchoring her as she turned to face him.

Blood now streaked her foreleg. The gash from the log slowed her just enough to remind her she couldn’t keep running forever.

No more running.
Not from this wolf.
Not from her past.

She wouldn’t be prey anymore.

The enemy wolf burst through the treeline. Large. Slate-grey. Eyes cold as ice. He faltered, clearly thrown by the sight of her standing there, turned toward him, waiting. Not the panicked prey he’d expected. Not a mouse in a trap. But a wolf ready to bite.

Rae growled low, shoulders squared. She shifted her weight to her haunches, letting Tara’s instincts guide their stance. He was bigger. Stronger. But she had resolve. And rage. Not just for him, but for every shadow that had ever hunted her.

He crept forward, clearly just as determined.

One step. Two. Then he pounced.

Rae dodged left, fast, just enough to let his jaw graze empty air, and snapped at his exposed flank. Teeth met flesh.

He snarled and turned, but she was already circling, not giving him time to recover.

He came at her again, this time head-on, and she met him low. Pain exploded in her shoulder as his brute strength collided with her smaller frame, but she used it, turning his strength against him,slamming them both into the ground.

They rolled, a tangle of fur and snapping fangs, and in the chaos, Rae caught his scent. Sharply acrid, undercut with the smell of rusty metal.

Sirran military. Unmistakable.

The same stench that had clung to the wolves who tore through her family’s estate. It hit her like a flashfire.

Not just an enemy. One of them. He was one of them. Sent to hunt her.

The grey wolf growled low, muscles coiling in preparation for his neck strike. Rae met him head on.

He was bigger. But slower. She darted in before he could strike, slashing at his flank. Her teeth grazed his leg, just enough to make him flinch. He turned too wide and the opening was too big to miss.

She dashed behind, sank her fangs into the soft skin above his leg, then darted back.

Again. A second bite. A third. He bled in streaks. But so did she.

Her foreleg throbbed from where she’d clipped the log earlier. Her chest burned. Each movement slowed. One stumble, then another. He noticed.

He growled, lips curling in premature confidence. She tried to feint again, darting low to bite his hock, but this time he anticipated her. His paw slammed down, glancing off her shoulder and knocking her off balance.

She recovered, barely, as the wind left her chest. Then he lunged.

Rae twisted mid-air, managing to graze his flank with her teeth, but her footing slipped. She landed hard, paws skidding through pine needles.

He was on her in a second, jaws snapping near her throat. She kicked up violently, throwing him off. But not far enough. He came again. Fast.

They collided in a tangle of limbs and snarls. His weight crushed into her side, forcing out a strangled whimper. She clawed his underbelly, trying to push free, but exhaustion was dulling her movements.

She was slowing. Her lungs burned. And he was still coming.

Panic clawed at her chest. His snapping jaws inched closer to her throat...

A snarl suddenly echoed through the trees.

Not hers. Not his.

Another wolf burst through the treeline. Large. Dark. Bloody.

Rae froze. *"Was that?"*

The newcomer wasn’t there to join the fight. He was running. Limping. His back leg mangled, dragging behind him, flinging blood in his wake.

He bolted past Rae, then stumbled, tripped, and rolled hard into the dirt.

A second later, Pax burst through the dense undergrowth. His muzzle soaked in red. Shoulders heaving. Eyes locked on his fleeing target. He didn’t even look at Rae. He was pure instinct now. Rage. Protection. Purpose.

He pounced on the fleeing wolf, sank his teeth into his neck, and ripped. A sickening crunch followed before the body went still.

Relief surged through Rae. He was alive. Bloody, but alive But her threat hadn’t vanished. The grey wolf was still on her. Closer now. Teeth flashing.

Kai turned to look at Rae. His pulsing instinct to protect clawing at his mind. He could see the distance. It wasn't much, but enough to know it would take him seconds to get to her. Seconds that she didn't have.

A deep welling rose in his chest as he took in the impossible situation. A force surging through him like a storm.

*“STOP!”* He bellowed it like a horn through their bond. The sound rang out like a desperate howl through Pax. The shout rippled through the clearing like a tremor.

The Sirran wolf halted, as though the sound had traveled straight through his bones. Only for a breath. But it was a hesitation no trained soldier should’ve made.

Rae didn’t understand it at first. Not until she saw the way the Sirran’s muscles seized. Just for a second. But it was enough. She moved. Her body reacted before her mind could catch up. Her teeth found flesh. Her jaws closed around his exposed neck and she bit down. Hard.

She felt it tear as the sensation of warm metallic blood flooded her mouth and pooled on to her chest. Her chest heaved as she felt him shudder above her but she held on tight, desperate not to lose the advantage she had been given until he went still, collapsing on top of her like dead weight.

Then there was stillness as she tried to remeber how to breathe.