Chapter Seven

Kaia’s POV

My eyes stayed fixed on the guard behind the wheel and the one sitting beside me. I kept my face blank, forcing myself not to let them see the fear crawling through me.

My heart pounded so hard it hurt. I wished someone—anyone—would wake me and tell me this was all a nightmare. I’d been running from one marriage, and now here I was, being dragged into another. And worse, a stranger had stepped into it with me. He shouldn’t have agreed to this bond.

If only I could turn back time and stop all of this from happening. But I couldn’t. If I made a single wrong move, Father would order his men to drag Grandmother to him. I couldn’t risk it.

So I told myself I’d let the wedding happen. Then, once we were far away, I’d reject him.

I reached inward, hoping for the voice of my wolf, Lisa—but she was silent. Ever since the marriage was mentioned, she hadn’t said a word. Maybe she was angry. Maybe she knew we were about to be bound to someone who wasn’t truly ours.

The guard glanced at me once in the mirror. His eyes were cold, unreadable. I looked away quickly, staring at the blur of trees.

My mind raced back to the stranger—his calm voice, the way his presence steadied me even as everything else fell apart. Why did he risk so much for someone he barely knew?

I pressed a trembling hand to my stomach. My body felt too small for all the fear inside it. If I could wish for anything right now, it would be the Moon Goddess’s intervention.

Then the road darkened. The headlights flickered once, twice, then the car jerked violently to the side, the tires screeching loudly.

“What—?” I grabbed the seat, heart leaping.

The guard cursed under his breath and hit the brakes. The car skidded, tires screaming against gravel. Before it fully stopped, something slammed against the side with a deep, metallic thud.

From the look of things, the creatures that came out of the trees looked like rogues.

“Stay inside, and don’t scream,” the guard barked, throwing the door open and slamming it shut behind him.

My heart skipped at the way he jammed the door. The place went silent, no movement at all. Then suddenly I heard footsteps. Heavy and fast, like they were coming for me.

The back door ripped open. My body froze—they’d finally come for me. I was dead. I lamented within myself, my body shaking.

“Get out,” a voice growled.

I was stunned to hear that, but I shook my head before I even realized it, pressing back into the seat. My pulse pounded so hard it hurt.

A rough hand shot forward and grabbed my wrist. I screamed, twisting hard, but the grip only tightened.

“Move!”

I kicked, clawed, anything to break free. My foot slipped on the metal edge of the door. Pain shot through my ankle as I hit the ground hard, gravel biting into my palms.

I scrambled backward, dirt scraping my skin. I was still trying to breathe, crying to the Moon Goddess to save me when another shadow loomed over me.

“Don’t touch me!” My voice cracked, desperate, my body shaking. I closed my eyes. Maybe this was my fate—to die like this.

“Enough!” I heard.

For a heartbeat, I thought this was it—that Alpha Summer’s enemies had finally caught me. I knew he would come after me. He wouldn’t let me go scot-free considering the fact I knew his plans.

“Please don’t kill me, please!”

“You’re safe now.”

That voice—I knew it. My heart skipped. It was him. He had come looking for me in the middle of this chaos.

I slowly opened my eyes, and through the darkness he emerged, eyes blazing like molten silver. His movements were quick, controlled, deadly. He grabbed the man who held me and shoved him back with one brutal strike. The attacker staggered, then vanished into the shadows with the others.

Silence fell again, broken only by my ragged breathing.

He knelt beside me. “Hey,” he said, low and urgent. “It’s me. You’re safe now.”

I blinked up at him, chest heaving. His face was all sharp lines and steady eyes, the moonlight painting him in cold silver.

“You… you—” My words tangled.

His hands hovered close but didn’t touch, waiting for permission. “You’re hurt.”

Only then did I feel the sting in my ankle, the scrape of gravel across my palms. I tried to push myself up, but my leg buckled.

He caught me before I fell.

The moment his arms wrapped around me, heat flooded through my skin. Strong, warm, and solid. It felt… wrong to need it, but I did.

“I told you not to worry,” he murmured, voice a deep rumble against my ear. “I’ve got you.”

My breath shivered. I hated how much I wanted to stay there, pressed against him. He was still a stranger. A stranger risking everything.

“Why… why are you here? You should have run, you should be gone. You’ll be forced to marry me. I prayed to the Moon Goddess not to let this happen, she answered my prayers, so please leave and don’t get yourself dragged into my mess,” my voice was barely a whisper, tears flowing down my face.

He shook his head. “I am not leaving without you,” he said, and I was stunned. Why was he risking it all?

“I am a stranger. Why wouldn’t you want to leave without me? If my father finds you again, he would force you to marry me. Please go, just go, please,” I begged, holding his hand.

He looked into my eyes, then smirked faintly, his jaw tightening. “Because I promised to keep you safe. So we leave here together. None of them will be able to find you—trust me. Not Alpha Caleb, not his beta, not your father,” he said, his tone possessive.

“You should really leave. That man is a monster. I can’t go with you. My grandmother’s life would be in danger. She’s the only person I have left in this world. Please go,” I tried to push him away, but he nodded slowly.

“I will save her too,” he said firmly.

He lifted me easily, cradling me as if I weighed nothing. The forest closed around us, shadows shifting with every step.

Behind us, the disabled car sat silent and dark, the guard nowhere in sight. Ahead, another pair of headlights cut through the trees.

“We’re going into this car. No one can find us—trust me,” he said.