My long awaited storm came like a blessing. Not all salvation arrives in light—some comes wrapped in thunder and chaos.

Lightning carved across the sky in jagged streaks, splitting the night like a scream. The heavy rain fell furiously soaking the earth in a drowning sound.

The wind shrieked through the trees, howling through the bones of the forest like it was mourning something.

It was perfect,no one would hear me over the roar, no one would track me with scent washed away and footprints eaten by mud.

My heart pounded louder than the storm as I moved, breathless and desperate.

This time, I wasn’t sneaking, I was escaping.

Darius had grown too confident, too comfortable and too used to my silence. He stopped watching me closely, and stopped locking the extra doors.

He thought I was breaking in the way he wanted.That I was settling.

But I wasn’t, I was sharpening.

I wore the silk dress he liked most—blue, sleeveless, clinging. One last lie for the man who’d wrapped me in golden chains.

Let him find it torn and soaked on the cliffs,let him believe I broke under pressure, that guilt devoured me.

My hand curled around my belly as I ran, breath misting in the cold air. The wind whipped my hair across my face, stinging my eyes.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered to the life inside me, voice breaking. “But this is the only way I can protect you.”

There were no stars above—only bruised clouds and angry sky.

The trees danced happily to the wind, and then it was there, the cliffs.

They rose ahead like jagged fangs, ancient and unyielding. The sea below roared and crashed, wild and alive, frothing at the rocks like it hungered for blood but then I stepped closer.

The mud sucked at my feet. Rain lashed my skin. The wind howled louder, almost like it knew. Almost like it begged me not to.

The edge waited. One more step, and it would all be over.

“Octavia!” I heard his voice, Darius’s voice.

My blood turned to ice.

“No. No. He wasn’t supposed to be here.” I muttered trembling in fear.

I didn’t turn at first.I just stared at the ocean. Let the sound of it drown everything else.

“Stop!” he shouted, very much closer now. “Come back! You don’t have to do this!”

Footsteps thundered behind me—boots slipping in mud, the unmistakable desperation in his voice.

He was soaked, breathing hard, eyes glowing like fire trapped in a stormlight. Unhinged.

His clothes clung to him, his hair matted to his face. He looked like he’d been running blindly, wild with panic.

“I’ll change,” he said, breath hitching. “I swear to the Moon—I’ll do anything. Just come down, please.”

His voice cracked on that last word– “Please”.

The bond between us snapped taut, stretched thin with grief and guilt. My heart stuttered. My wolf whimpered but I didn’t move.

“You always say you’ll change,” I said softly, turning to face him now. “But you never do. You don’t want a mate. You want a pet, a prisoner, an object”

Rain streamed down my face. I didn’t know if I was crying, maybe I was.

He shook his head. “That’s not true. You don’t understand. I—”

“I understand perfectly,” I cut in. My voice was calm. Too calm. The kind of calm that only came after all the screaming was done. “You’ll never change. And I’ll never be free.”

His expression shattered.

In one frantic motion, he lunged forward, arm outstretched—

I stepped back, and let go.

The ground vanished beneath me.

The air rushed past like a scream.

And the sea— the sea rose up to meet me like a lover with open arms.

For a moment, everything slowed.

I saw his face—eyes wide, mouth open, reaching—

Then the world tilted, the ocean swallowed me whole, the darkness, the cold, the pain and then—nothing.

---

I woke up coughing, gasping and choking on seawater as it forced its way out from my chest.

My body felt heavy and raw. My limbs ached like they’d been crushed by boulders. Every breath burned.

Sand stuck to my lips. My hair clung to my face in soggy strands. The storm still raged in the distance, a fading fury now—tired and growling.

I blinked hard, forcing the world to come into focus.I was alive, somehow, I survived.

My trembling hand flew to my stomach, heart in my throat.

Please. Please.

And then—there it was. The faintest flutter. The smallest spark of warmth, deep within.

Still there,still alive and my heart leaped for joy but it was cut short as I wondered where I was.

A sob tore from my throat, broken and wet. I curled forward, cradling my belly, weeping into the sand.

But then—

A shadow, boots pressed into the wet shore beside me, I froze and panic surged. My breath caught half way.

“No, please not Darius. Please don’t let it be him.” I closed my eyes and pleaded.

A growl, low and uncertain. Not furious—but guarded. It was a male wolf.

I turned my head with effort, vision blurring, heart racing.

He knelt beside me, his hand hovering as if unsure where to touch. His scent—Wild, warm, earth and lightning hit me before his face came into view.

Something's wrong, My wolf stirred, it only does that with Darius.

No, my wolf jumped, not in fear but in recognition,Mate.

“What?” I was shocked

No. No, that wasn’t possible.

My mate was Darius. I already had a mate. The bond was real. It burned.

But this…This was something else. Something ancient. Equal. Clean.

And when his hand finally touched mine—

It snapped into place, a new bond.

One I didn’t know could exist.

My breath hitched as I looked into his face, every bone in my body going still.

Strong jaw, Fierce eyes and a familiar face.

“Ryker,” I breathed.

His brows knit. “You know who I am?”

“Darius’s brother,” I rasped, throat raw. “You’re not supposed to be here.” I never knew he still existed. I've heard stories of him from the pack and from the descriptions, I could tell it was him.

“I could say the same about you,” he said, voice low and steady, arms wrapping around me carefully. “What the hell did he do to you?”

I didn’t answer, I couldn’t.

Because the darkness was pulling me under again.

And the last thing I saw was the face of the man I wasn’t supposed to be bound to…

…holding me like I was something he’d already decided to fight for.