Chapter Thirteen —
Narrator's POV:
The forest had gone still.
The kind of still that makes your heart forget how to beat.
Smoke curled low over torn earth and blood, licking at the roots of broken trees that leaned like wounded soldiers. The air stank of iron and death — but beneath it all, Hazel felt it.
Him.
Watching. Waiting.
Caleb.
Every instinct screamed to run. To disappear back into the dark. But her body — traitorous, trembling — refused to move.
He stood a few feet away, chest heaving, golden eyes burning through the mist. His claws were still slick with blood — not his — and the faint glow of his wolf shimmered under his skin. Adam was too close to the surface, pacing, hungry.
Hazel wanted to hate him.
To remember his voice when he called her prisoner.
To remember that he was part of the pack that slaughtered her family.
But all she saw was the Alpha who'd stepped between her and death — the one who'd taken a blade meant for her, tearing through enemies like protecting her was the only thing keeping him alive.
"You shouldn't have followed me," she rasped, her throat raw. "Just leave me the fuck alone."
Caleb's gaze snapped to hers, fury and restraint tangled behind his eyes.
"You shouldn't have run."
The silence that followed wasn't empty. It throbbed — with everything unsaid.
I hate you.
I can't stop thinking about you.
You should be dead.
You saved me.
Then, Flora's voice — soft, haunting — slid into Hazel's thoughts.
He's bound to you, Hazel. The bond's calling for balance. You can't ignore it anymore.
Hazel flinched. "Stop," she hissed under her breath, clutching her temples.
Caleb's jaw tightened. "Stop what?"
"Nothing. Not you, I mean."
He didn't buy it.
He took a step forward.
The mate bond snapped taut — an invisible, electric thread pulling at their spines. Hazel felt it, deep in her bones, in her heartbeat syncing with his, in the heat crawling up her neck.
She prayed he couldn't smell her arousal.
"Hazel," he said quietly — her name low, rough, and dangerously close to a plea.
That was her first mistake.
Because when she looked up — the world tilted.
Caleb closed the distance in a blur, fingers brushing her chin before his lips crashed against hers.
The world burned white.
It wasn't the forest anymore — it was memory.
Blinding, golden light.
Two figures in a field of ash. Red fur. Red eyes.
A voice that wasn't hers — but felt like it.
"Selene bless our bond," the Red Wolf whispered, pressing her forehead to the man's. "Even if death takes us."
Hazel gasped, stumbling backward as the vision shattered. Caleb caught her before she hit the ground.
The second their skin touched, fire roared through their veins.
The air vibrated with power — ancient, holy, terrifying.
"Hazel—" his voice cracked on her name.
She could feel his heartbeat, wild and uneven against her palm. Their faces were too close — the space between them humming with everything they shouldn't want.
"I don't know what this is," she whispered.
"Yes, you do." His voice was raw. "You feel it too."
Her throat tightened. "I feel trapped."
He caught her wrist — gentle but unyielding.
"You're not my prisoner, Hazel."
She let out a bitter laugh. "Could've fooled me."
"Then run." His eyes gleamed, wolf-bright. "Right now. If you really want to go — run."
She froze.
The challenge hung heavy in the air, electric and dangerous.
But her legs didn't move.
Flora didn't let her.
Because you don't want to, her wolf whispered. Not this time.
Caleb's eyes softened. The Alpha fell away — and for the first time, there was just a man. A broken one.
His thumb brushed her cheek. The world held its breath.
Hazel's pulse roared in her ears as he leaned closer — too close — his breath ghosting over her lips.
Then the bond flared.
Violent. Blinding.
The ground trembled beneath them.
Light ripped across the sky — flashes of fire, war, Selene's tears — before it all died out.
They tore apart, gasping. The forest was dark again.
Caleb's eyes searched hers. "What did you see?"
Hazel shook her head. "Nothing I can explain."
"Then don't explain." His voice was quiet. "Just… don't lie to me."
She glared at him. "And you'll start being honest with me when?"
He didn't answer.
Then came the howls — far but growing closer.
Blackmoor patrols. His men.
Hazel stiffened. "You'll drag me back, won't you?"
Caleb's jaw flexed. "If I wanted to drag you, you wouldn't still be standing."
"Then what do you want, Caleb?" she demanded. "Me chained? Marked? Dead?"
His eyes darkened. "Alive," he said finally. "I just want you alive."
And for one heartbeat — one reckless, traitorous heartbeat — she believed him.
Hazel stepped forward, grabbed his collar, and pulled him down into a kiss that burned.
Caleb didn't hesitate — his arms locked around her waist, lifting her effortlessly as her legs wrapped around him—
Her arousal was visible and so was his. He sniffed the air and growled his eyes turning dark. He rested her back on the tree and continued kissing. Both their eyes were closed. He was very hard by now. He ground his dick through her pants where her pussy was supposed to be and she moaned loudly. He continued. They were both enjoying it.
Helene's voice sliced through the haze.
Love, I don't think this was what you intended when you jumped into his arms, right?
Hazel blinked, breathless. He was still pounding her and she kept gasping as she couldn't focus. She traced my arms around his neck then she struck — a sharp hit to his neck. He groaned, half-growled or tried to, and went still.
The night swallowed him before she could read his expression.
Neither of them noticed the shadow lurking beyond the trees — ancient, cold, and smiling.
Helena had felt the bond awaken.
And she was pleased.
---
Hazel's POV:
By the time I stopped running, dawn was bleeding through the trees. My arms shook. My chest burned. But I was alive.
Barely.
Flora's voice returned, softer now.
You survived the Hunters.
"Yeah," I muttered. "But at what cost?"
"You were never meant to be the hunted," she whispered. "You just haven't remembered what you are yet."
I closed my thoughts and opened my eyes, and she was gone for now. Just the forest. Just me.
And the terrifying truth that the deeper I ran — the closer I got to the part of myself the world wanted buried.