Chapter 6 - Patrick
I’ve never hated myself more than I do right now.
We race through the Grayhide scrubland in wolf form with our paws pounding against the dry earth in a rhythm that should feel like freedom but instead feels like flight.
My wolf is faster than hers, built for endurance and distance from years of Thornridge training, but I hold back to match her pace.
I won’t leave her behind. I won’t let her out of my sight for even a second.
The fear rolling off her coats my tongue with every breath I take.
It’s sour and sharp, completely different from the sweet arousal I scented on her last night, and knowing I’m the cause of it makes my wolf whine with distress.
She doesn’t understand what’s happening.
She doesn’t know why I pulled her away from her car and her life and everything familiar.
All she knows is that a man she slept with once is now dragging her into the wilderness without explanation.
I want to tell her everything. I want to stop right here and transform back and spill every secret I’ve been carrying since Bastian stepped out of those trees this morning.
But we’re still too close to Grayhide territory, and we’re still within range of Thornridge scouts who might be tracking us.
I need to get her somewhere safe before I can explain, somewhere they won’t think to look for us.
The Hysopp border is our best option. The witches who control that territory have no love for Thornridge, and the dense forests will provide cover while we figure out our next move.
My muscles burn as we run, but I push through the discomfort and let my wolf take over the physical demands of the journey.
There’s something primal about this state of being, something ancient and powerful that connects me to every wolf who came before me.
In this body, my senses are more attuned than any human could imagine.
I can smell the rabbit that crossed this path an hour ago.
I can hear the heartbeat of a hawk circling overhead.
I can feel the vibrations of the earth beneath my paws, telling me stories of the creatures who have traveled this way before.
But right now, the only thing I’m focused on is Caelan.
She runs with surprising grace for someone who’s clearly terrified.
Her silver-blonde fur catches what little light filters through the clouds, and her pale blue eyes are fixed on the horizon ahead of us.
She hasn’t tried to break away from me yet, nor has she veered off toward Llewelyn territory or back toward her abandoned car.
I don’t know if that’s because she trusts me or because she’s too scared to run.
Either way, I’m grateful she’s still beside me.
We run for what feels like hours, but is probably closer to forty minutes.
The landscape gradually changes around us, transitioning from desert scrub to sparse woodland to the thick, fog-shrouded forest that marks the edge of Hysopp territory.
The trees here are ancient; their trunks are wider than I am tall, and the canopy above us blocks out most of the sky.
Moss dangles from the branches like curtains, and the air smells of damp earth.
I slow to a trot as we enter the forest, picking my way between the massive roots that snake across the ground.
Caelan follows close behind me, breathing heavily.
I lead her deeper into the trees until I find a small clearing, sheltered on all sides by dense undergrowth and far enough from any trail that we shouldn’t be disturbed.
I stop in the center of the clearing and let my wolf recede.
The transformation is never painful, not with the Amanzite pendant hanging around my neck, but it’s always disorienting.
One moment, I’m on four legs, seeing the world in shades of gray and smelling everything within a mile radius.
The next, I’m standing upright on two feet with dull human senses.
Clothes materialize around my body as the magic takes hold, and within seconds, I’m wearing the same jeans and shirt I had on before we shifted.
I turn to watch Caelan transform.
She’s beautiful in both forms, but there’s something ethereal about her wolf. As she changes back to human, I watch the fur recede, and the features rearrange themselves as she becomes the woman I spent last night memorizing with my hands and mouth.
Her clothes reappear the same way mine did, simple traveling attire that’s now rumpled and dirty from our run. She stands across the clearing from me, trying to catch her breath, and I watch the confusion on her face slowly harden into something much more dangerous.
Rage.
“Where the hell are we?” She looks around at the fog-shrouded trees, at the unfamiliar forest, and I see the moment she realizes where we are. “This is Hysopp territory. Patrick, why the hell did you bring me to Hysopp territory?”
“I needed to get you somewhere safe. Somewhere they won’t look for us.”
“Who is looking for us? What is going on? You show up in the middle of the road, kiss me like the world is ending, tell me I have to come with you right now, and then drag me halfway across the valley without a single word of explanation. I deserve to know what’s happening.”
“You’re right.” I hold up my hands in a gesture of surrender. “You deserve the truth. All of it. I’m going to tell you everything, but you need to let me get through it before you react. Can you do that?”
Her chest is heaving as she gawks at me. Then she gives a short, curt nod.
This is going to destroy whatever fragile connection we built last night. She’s going to hate me by the time I’m finished. But she deserves honesty, even if it costs me everything.
“My name is Patrick Walzak,” I begin. “And I’m a Thornridge warrior.”
The effect is immediate. Her face goes pale, and she takes a stumbling step backward like I’ve physically struck her. I keep talking before she can run.
“I’ve been with the pack for sixteen years, ever since they absorbed my birth territory when I was twelve.
I’ve done things I’m not proud of. I’ve followed orders I knew were wrong.
But I’ve been looking for a way out for a long time now, and meeting you last night…
” I trail off, searching for the right words. “Meeting you changed everything.”
“You’re Thornridge.” Her voice comes out as a whisper, horrified and disbelieving. “You’re one of them. The pack that tried to destroy my sister. The pack that’s been terrorizing this valley for years.”
“Yes.”
“And you didn’t think to mention this last night? Before you took me to bed?”
“I should have. I know I should have. But I…” I shake my head. “I didn’t want to ruin it. I didn’t want to see you look at me the way you’re looking at me right now.”
She barks out a bitter, betrayed laugh. “So everything was a lie. The sad story about running from your problems. All of it was just an act to get me into bed.”
“No.” I take a step toward her, and she takes a step back. “Everything I felt last night was real, Caelan. Everything I said to you was true. I just didn’t tell you all of it.”
“Why should I believe anything you say?”
“Because I’m here.” I spread my arms wide, gesturing at the forest around us.
“If I wanted to hurt you, I could have handed you over to Bastian this morning. He was waiting for me on the road back to Thornridge territory. He had photos of us together at the bar, and he told me exactly what Mordaunt wants to do with you.”
That stops her. “What does Mordaunt want to do with me?”
“Use you. Thornridge has been watching Llewelyn territory for months, looking for weaknesses. They think it will be the easiest to break. When Bastian saw me with you, he thought I was already working the plan. He congratulated me for finding a way inside your pack. He told me to make you fall in love with me, gain your trust, and use you to bring down Llewelyn from within.”
Her face has gone from pale to ashen. “And you said what? That you’d be happy to help?”
“I said nothing. I didn’t agree, but I didn’t refuse, either, because refusing would have gotten me killed on the spot.
I let him think I was on board, and then I came to find you as fast as I could.
” I take another step toward her, and this time, she doesn’t retreat.
“I’m not going to let them use you, Caelan.
I’m not going to let them hurt you. But to protect you from Thornridge, I need to do something that’s going to sound insane. ”
“More insane than kidnapping me and dragging me to witch territory?”
“Yes.” I swallow hard and steel myself for what I’m about to say. “We need to bond. Properly. In a way that Thornridge can’t undo.”
She blinks at me before she sputters, “You want me to marry you?”
“I want to protect you. A mating bond would make you pack. It would make harming you an act of war against me personally, which at least some Thornridge wolves would refuse to participate in. It’s not perfect protection, but it’s the best option I can think of.”
“The best option.” She takes several quick steps backward, putting distance between us like I’m a venomous snake she’s just noticed coiled at her feet. “The best option is for me to permanently bind myself to an enemy wolf I’ve known for less than twenty-four hours. That’s your brilliant plan.”
“I know how it sounds—”
“Do you? Because it sounds like you’re trying to trap me. It sounds like this is just another way to use me for Thornridge’s benefit, and you’re dressed it up in pretty words about protection to make me go along with it.”
“Caelan, I swear to you—”
“You swearing means nothing to me.” Her voice cracks on the last word, and I see tears gathering in her eyes.
“I trusted you. I let myself believe that last night meant something, that you saw me as something more than just a body to use. And now you’re telling me you’re Thornridge, and you want me to mate with you, and I’m supposed to just believe that you have my best interests at heart? ”
My wolf howls inside me, desperate to close the distance between us and comfort our mate. But I know that touching her right now would only make things worse. She needs space. She needs time to work through things.
But unfortunately, time is the one thing we don’t have.
“You’re right,” I admit. “You have no reason to trust me. I’ve given you nothing but lies and half-truths since we met.
I’ve brought you here against your will, and now I’m asking you to do something that goes against everything you’ve been taught.
” I pause, gathering my courage for what I’m about to do.
“So I’m going to give you something that no Thornridge wolf has ever given anyone. ”
I drop to my knees in front of her.
The forest floor is damp and cold, and every instinct I have screams that this is wrong.
We don’t kneel to omegas. Warriors don’t prostrate themselves before anyone, least of all a Llewelyn female they’ve known for a single night.
This is the ultimate display of submission, a gesture that would get me killed if any Thornridge wolf witnessed it.
But Caelan isn’t a Thornridge wolf. And I’m not the man I used to be.
“I’m begging you,” I say, looking up at her from my knees.
“I know I don’t deserve your trust. I know I’ve done nothing to earn it.
But I am asking you, from the bottom of whatever’s left of my soul, to give me a chance to keep you alive.
That’s all I’m asking. Give me a chance to prove that I mean what I say.
If I fail, you can walk away. You can go back to Llewelyn and tell them everything you know about me.
You can watch them hunt me down and kill me for what I’ve done.
But please, Caelan. Please let me try to protect you first.”
She stares down at me with tears streaming down her cheeks, and I wait for her answer.