Irina’s POV
"Who’s there?!"
The roar shattered the dead silence of the night.
It wasn’t just a voice. It was a physical, devastating force. It ripped through the freezing autumn air, echoing violently off the dark, ancient trunks of the pine trees. The sound vibrated straight through the soles of my scuffed sneakers and settled deep into the very marrow of my bones.
I knew that voice.
It haunted my darkest nightmares. It was the terrifying, gravelly sound that had ordered my imprisonnt in the Greystone dungeon. It was the voice of the monster who had torn my entire world apart.
Nicholas.
He was here. He was right behind .
A fresh, blinding wave of absolute terror exploded in my chest. The adrenaline spiked so hard it physically hurt my veins. I didn’t look back. I didn’t dare to turn my head and look over my shoulder. If I saw him, if I saw his massive silhouette stepping out of the shadows of the manor, my legs would completely give out.
I pushed my body past every conceivable limit.
I sprinted blindly down the twisting, paved pathway. My cheap canvas backpack bounced violently against my spine. My worn sneakers slapped a frantic, desperate rhythm against the cold ground. The freezing night wind whipped my blonde hair across my face, stinging my eyes, but I didn’t even blink.
I just ran. I ran with the sheer, raw desperation of a hunted animal.
*Faster,* I scread at myself in my head. *Run faster!*
But then, the true nightmare began.
The wind shifted. It blew past my face and carried a scent straight into my lungs.
Rain. Clean earth.
The absolute second the scent hit my nose, my body violently betrayed .
The mate bond—the ancient, primal magic that tied my soul to the Mad King—woke up. It didn’t just wake up; it completely exploded inside my chest. It was a blinding, white-hot fire that raced through my bloodstream, instantly overriding my human panic.
My wolf howled.
She wasn’t terrified. She was absolutely, completely ecstatic.
*MATE!* she cried out in the dark corners of my mind. *Our mate is here! He found us!*
The biological reaction was imdiate and terrifying. The desperate, frantic tension in my muscles suddenly began to lt. An unnatural, heavy warmth flooded my freezing limbs. The instinct to flee was violently clashing with the overwhelming, genetic oga instinct to submit.
My body wanted to stop.
My traitorous biology wanted to drop right down to my knees on the cold pavent. My wolf wanted to bare my neck to the dark sky, exposing my most vulnerable pulse point to the Alpha hunting . She wanted to surrender to the intoxicating, addictive pull of the bond.
My legs instantly felt like they were made of lead.
My knees actually buckled. I stumbled forward, my arms flailing wildly as I barely managed to catch my balance before my face slamd into the pavent.
"No!" I choked out.
I forced myself upright. The urge to stop was a physical, suffocating weight pressing down on my shoulders. The bond was singing in my blood, completely intoxicating my senses. It whispered promises of safety. It whispered lies about protection and warmth.
I gritted my teeth.
I clamped my jaw shut so hard my teeth ground together. I bit down on the inside of my cheek until I tasted the sharp, tallic tang of hot blood. The sudden burst of physical pain helped cut through the thick, heavy fog of the mate bond.
*I cannot stop,* I told myself, tears streaming down my flushed face. *I cannot give up.*
I thought of the dark, windowless dungeon. I thought of the cold stone floors. I thought of Maxim’s fists. I thought of the absolute, agonizing isolation of the werewolf underground.
And then, I thought of Luka.
My sweet, perfect, innocent baby boy. He was sitting in a brightly lit kitchen right now, laughing and playing with his blocks. He was safe. He was completely untouched by the violence and the madness of the supernatural world.
If Nicholas caught , he would take back to hell. And he would drag my son down into the dark with us.
*Run!* I commanded my body. *You must run!*
I forced my burning, heavy legs to move. I fought against my own wolf. I fought against the very fabric of my DNA. Every single step was a massive, agonizing battle of sheer willpower. I pushed through the paralyzing lethargy of the bond, my breath tearing out of my throat in harsh, ragged gasps.
But I was too slow.
I was fighting my own biology, and it was costing precious speed.
Then, I heard it.
*Thud. Thud. Thud.*
Heavy, rapid footsteps on the pavent behind .
They weren’t the frantic, chaotic steps of a panicked human. They were the asured, incredibly powerful strides of a lethal apex predator closing in on its prey. Every single ti his heavy boots hit the ground, the sound sent a violent, icy shockwave straight up my spine.
He was gaining on . He was gaining so fast.
The suffocating, crushing weight of his alpha aura slamd into my back like a physical brick wall. It was completely unhinged. It was a suffocating pressure that sucked all the oxygen straight out of the cold night air.
My lungs burned. My chest heaved violently. I couldn’t breathe.
I felt like my heart was going to literally explode right out of my ribcage. It was hamring a frantic, sickening rhythm against my sternum.
*Thud. Thud. Thud.*
The footsteps were deafening now. They were right behind .
I could hear his breathing. I could feel the blistering, intense heat radiating off his massive body. The intoxicating scent of rain and clean earth was completely suffocating , wrapping around my throat like a thick, heavy rope.
I reached my trembling hand out toward the dark tree line. I just needed to make it into the thick brush. I just needed a shadow to hide in.
"Please," I sobbed aloud, completely blinded by my own tears.
I was out of ti.
Suddenly, a massive, blistering hot hand clamped down directly over my wrist.
The grip was absolute. It was a band of unbreakable iron.
"Ah!" I shrieked in pure, unadulterated terror.
The sheer, overwhelming physical force of his montum violently arrested my flight. I was ripped backward. My scuffed sneakers slid uselessly against the pavent.
The massive hand pulled.
My body was forcefully, violently spun around in the dark.
I lost my footing completely. The cheap canvas backpack slipped off my shoulder. I was entirely entirely at his rcy, my fragile fra trapped in his unbreakable hold.
My blonde hair whipped across my face as I was dragged around to face my hunter.
I gasped for air, my chest heaving, my entire body trembling with a terror so profound it shattered my very soul. I slowly lifted my terrified, tear-filled eyes.
I locked eyes with a pair of furious green eyes.
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