CHAPTER 3

Darius POV

The biting tang of silver mixed with the lingering smell of blood. As I faced the Council's trackers, my wolf roared deep in my chest, his restless energy pulsing through my veins. With each side ready to attack, the tension crackled like a live wire.

With his bow pointed at Maya, the leader growled, "Stand down, Alpha. The Council owns this rogue."

With a deep growl, I took a step forward. "She is no one's property."

Maya stood beside me, her eyes blazing and her blade in hand. “Let me guess,” she said, her tone biting. “You’re here to ‘save’ the world from little old me?”

A smirk curved the leader's lips. "You should’ve stayed hidden, rogue. Now you’ll die like the rest of your kind.”

With a speech full of threats of violence, I bared my teeth. "If you touch her, you'll wish to die long before I'm done with you."

The leader's laugh was irritating and brimming with conceit.“Brave words for a wolf outnumbered ten to one.”

Maya gave me a defiant grin as she looked at me. "Do you think they are worth the trouble?"

I stared back at her, experiencing the ferocity of combat in her untamed eyes. "They're not."

The fight broke forth in a flurry of snarls, flashing steel, and the lethal whistle of arrows. Before he could react, I transformed mid-leap and sank my claws into the first tracker. Maya gilded with deadly accuracy, her blade a streak of silver, a force of nature.

"Behind you!" I yelled as I sprang to stop a wolf that was pursuing her.

Her blade sliced through the air as she spun. Breathless, she yelled, "I had him."

I scowled and slammed another assailant into a tree, saying, "You're welcome."

She shot back, her voice tinged with adrenaline and a hint of laughter, "Don't get used to it."

Before the final tracker fell, minutes seemed to drag for forever. As the leader fought for breath, I stood above him, pushing my claws to his throat.

"Who sent you?" With a threatening growl in my voice, I demanded.

When he coughed, his lips were stained with blood. "The Council... Elder Vane. He wants the girl.

Maya stepped forward, her blade solid even though her palm trembled slightly. "Why?"

Although the tracker's laugh was feeble, it was malicious. “You’re more valuable than you know, rogue. You’re the key… to everything.”

Her face was unreadable as her knuckles whitened on her blade's hilt. "What does that mean?"

He didn't respond. Unwilling to allow his words to erode her further already brittle barriers, I quickly stopped him.

The fight aftermath settled like a thick fog, and the woodland was eerily quiet. As Maya gazed at the carnage n, her shoulders were stiff, and her breathing was shallow.

"You're trembling," I whispered as I moved closer.

She yelled, "I'm fine," but her voice faltered.

"You don't have to be."

Her eyes flashed with vulnerability and rage as she turned to face me. "Why did you care?"

I said in a gruff voice, "I don't know. But I do."

After a brief moment of softening, she turned away. "This changes nothing"

"Perhaps not," I responded in a firm voice. "But that doesn't mean I'm going to stop."

We covered our tracks and disposed of the dead as best we could. As we returned to the forest's edge, the night was thick with unsaid tension.

Maya strode forward, her shoulders rigid and her steps deliberate. I caught up to her and took a firm but gentle hold on her arm.

"Talk to me," I said.

Her voice was no more than a whisper as she shook her head. "I have nothing to say,"

"Bullshit." I blocked her route by moving ahead of her.“You’re not just another rogue. What aren’t you telling me?”

Her chuckle was hollow and sad. "If I did, you wouldn't believe me."

"Try me," I urged in a demanding tone.

Her eyes searched mine as she looked at me for a long time. "I can't tell you yet."

"Then when?"

"When it's safe," she stated firmly. "And we're not at all safe."

As we made camp for the night, our animosity was evident. Her face was covered in flickering shadows as the fire crackled quietly. She sat with her knees bent, gazing into the fire as though it had the answers to questions she could not express.

I broke the silence by saying, "You're thinking too hard."

She raised her head, her eyes keen. "Alpha, is that your professional opinion?"

"It's my observation," I grinned.

Despite rolling her eyes, she remained silent.

There was a long pause before I spoke again. “What he said… about you being the key. Do you know what he meant?”

She clenched her jaw. "Perhaps. Perhaps not.”

"Maya," I uttered softly. "I must know if you are in danger."

She looked up at me, her face reserved. "I have always been in danger. This is nothing new.”

I scowled. "Now things are different. You're not by yourself.

Her laughter was harsh and devoid of humor. "I've always been by myself. Even when I wasn't.

"Not anymore," I firmly stated.

Her eyes briefly softened before she averted her gaze. "“You don’t know what you’re getting into.”

“Maybe not,” I said. “But I’m not going anywhere.”

I drew nearer to her, the distance between us getting smaller as the fire burnt lower. I leaned out and brushed a lock of hair away from her face, causing her breathing to catch.

"You're annoying me," she whispered.

"So are you," I shot back, a sneer forming on my lips.

Before she could answer, I leaned closer and kissed her. As her hands tangled in my hair, the kiss swiftly deepened after beginning as a timid exploration.

Her breath felt warm against my skin as she drew back a little. She said, "This doesn't change anything."

"Perhaps not," I murmured. “But, that does not imply that it is not real."

Her gaze swept across mine, and for a few seconds, I saw the walls she had so meticulously built begin to crumble.

The moment was broken by howling in the distance, bringing us back to reality.

Despite the stress in her stance, she spoke steadily and added, "We need to move."

I nodded while transforming into a wolf. She held my back tight without hesitation as I flew into the darkness.

With the promise of more to come and the smell of danger, the wind blasted past us. My wolf instincts begged me to keep her safe at all means, yet her secrets weighed heavily.

Maya slid from my back as we got to the boundary of the Midnight Pack's domain, her face blank.

"This doesn't end here," she said determinedly.

I returned to my human shape and said, "I know."

Her eyes, filled with a mixture of resolve and an unidentified emotion, met mine. "I have something to tell you."

"Then tell me."

Her palms clenched into fists as she paused. "Not in this place. Not now.

"Maya," I replied, taking a step forward. "I am capable of handling whatever it is."

She laughed softly, almost melancholy. "I don't think you can."

She turned and left before I could reply, vanishing into the darkness.

And for the first time, I wasn’t sure if I was chasing her… or the truth she was running from.