Chapter 5
The speedometer was buried past ninety, the engine of the stolen SUV screaming in protest as I tore down the winding forest road. My hands were slick with sweat on the leather wheel, my knuckles white. Every bump in the asphalt sent a fresh wave of agony radiating from my lower back to my core.
*Not yet,* I pleaded silently, one hand leaving the wheel to clutch my swollen belly. *Please, little one. Just hold on.*
My wolf was pacing in the back of my mind, a frantic, caged animal. She could hear what I couldn't yet—the distant, thunderous rhythm of paws hitting the earth.
*They're coming,* she whimpered. *Lucas sent the elites.*
Of course he did. He wouldn't risk losing his precious heir, even if it meant dragging the mother back by her hair. He’d probably told them I was hysterical, a rogue kidnapping his child. The injustice of it burned hotter than the contractions seizing my muscles.
A sudden, deafening *crack* shattered the night.
The SUV lurched violently to the right. The steering wheel was ripped from my grip as the front tire exploded, shredded by a high-caliber bullet. The world spun. Metal screamed against asphalt, sparks flying past the window like angry fireflies. I slammed onto the shoulder, the vehicle skidding into the ditch with a bone-jarring crunch.
Silence followed, broken only by the hiss of the radiator and my own ragged breathing.
I kicked the door open, stumbling out into the cool night air. The sanctuary—Dr. Rivers’ clinic—was less than a mile away through the dense woods. I could see its faint lights through the trees.
"There she is!" A voice shouted from the road above.
I didn't look back. I ran.
Pain tore through me with every step, my heavy body clumsy and slow. I could hear them crashing through the underbrush behind me—five, maybe six of them. Lucas’s best trackers.
*Shift,* my wolf urged. *It's the only way.*
"I can't," I gasped, stumbling over a root. "The baby..."
*Shift or we lose him!*
I let go. Bones snapped and reshaped, fur bursting through skin in a rush of agony that nearly made me black out. I landed on four paws, my silver-grey coat bristling. The weight of the pup was heavy, pulling at my center of gravity, but I was faster now.
I pushed my body to its limit, dodging trees and leaping over fallen logs, my heart hammering a frantic rhythm against my ribs. The lights of the clinic grew closer. I could smell the antiseptic and herbs—safety.
I burst into the clearing just as a heavy weight slammed into my flank.
A massive brown wolf pinned me to the ground, his jaws snapping inches from my throat. I snarled, slashing at his muzzle with my claws, desperate to protect my belly. I rolled, scrambling back to my human form as I hit the gravel driveway of the clinic.
"Get off her!" Dr. Rivers’ voice rang out. The door to the clinic flew open, light spilling onto the chaotic scene.
I lay gasping in the dirt, clutching my stomach. The brown wolf shifted, reforming into Mark, Lucas’s head tracker. He stood over me, naked and sneering, a syringe glinting in his hand.
"Stand down, Doctor," Mark growled, not even bothering to cover himself. "Alpha's orders. She's unstable. We're taking her home."
"She's in labor!" Dr. Rivers screamed, rushing forward, but another tracker blocked her path. "You can't move her! You'll kill the pup!"
"Alpha said bring them back," Mark said coldly, uncapping the needle with his teeth. He grabbed my arm, his grip bruising. "This will just knock her out. Make the trip quiet."
"No!" I screamed, thrashing against him. "It’s wolfsbane! It’ll kill him!"
Mark ignored me, positioning the needle over the vein in my neck. I looked up at the moon, tears blurring my vision. *I’m sorry,* I whispered to the life inside me. *I tried.*
The needle tip pricked my skin.
And then the world stopped.
A growl erupted from the edge of the forest—a sound so deep, so primal, it vibrated in the marrow of my bones. It wasn't just a wolf; it was something ancient. Something royal.
Mark froze. The color drained from his face.
From the shadows, a figure emerged. He was tall, his shoulders broad enough to block out the moonlight. His eyes glowed a terrifying, molten gold.
Alpha King Javier Castro.
The air pressure dropped instantly. His aura slammed into the clearing like a physical hammer.
Mark dropped the syringe. He collapsed to his knees, retching, his forehead pressing into the gravel as the sheer weight of the King’s dominance crushed him. The other trackers fell with him, whining like kicked puppies.
Javier didn't even look at them. He walked straight to me, his movements fluid and predatory. He knelt in the dirt, his expensive suit ruining in the mud, and scooped me into his arms as if I weighed nothing.
A jolt of electricity sparked where his skin touched mine—warm, grounding, safe.
He looked down at me, his golden eyes scanning my face, then drifting to my swollen belly. His nostrils flared, inhaling my scent, and his expression softened from rage to something akin to awe.
"The pup is strong," he murmured, his voice a low rumble that soothed the panic in my chest. "And his mother is a warrior."
"They... they want to take him," I choked out, gripping his lapel.
Javier stood up, holding me tight against his chest. He turned to the groveling trackers, his face hardening into a mask of lethal fury.
"Go back to your Alpha," Javier commanded. His voice wasn't loud, but it echoed inside my head, a mental command that made my wolf bow in respect. "Tell Lucas Hunter that he has forfeited his right to this family."
He stepped over Mark’s trembling form.
"This she-wolf and her pup are under the protection of the Lycan King," Javier declared, his gaze burning into the trackers. "If you touch a hair on her head, if you even *look* in her direction again... I will burn your entire pack to ash and salt the earth where it stood."
He turned his back on them, carrying me toward the clinic door where a stunned Dr. Rivers held it open. As we crossed the threshold, I let my head fall against his shoulder, the scent of sandalwood and storm clouds finally letting me breathe.
For the first time in months, I wasn't just a vessel. I was safe.
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