CHAPTER 4 – THE BOND THAT SHOULDN’T EXIST
I don’t remember deciding to run.
One second I’m standing in front of him, caught in that impossible pull, his voice still echoing through me. The next, my body moves on instinct.
Away.
Fast.
Branches whip against my arms as I push through the trees, my breath coming too quick, too sharp. My heart pounds like it’s trying to break free of my ribs.
Behind me, I hear nothing.
No footsteps. No pursuit.
But I still feel him.
Like something tethered to my spine, pulling tight with every step I take.
“You’re still mine.”
The words chase me, low and rough, settling deep in my chest where they don’t belong.
“No,” I whisper, even as I run. “No, that’s not real.”
But my wolf doesn’t agree.
She’s wide awake now.
Not restless. Not uncertain.
Certain.
And that terrifies me more than anything.
I don’t slow until the forest begins to thin, the familiar scent of the pack bleeding back into the air. Cedar and smoke. Territory and control.
Safety.
The word feels wrong now.
I stumble to a stop just before the border, bracing my hands on my knees as I try to catch my breath.
My body is still humming.
Every nerve alive.
Every sense heightened.
And underneath it all, that pull remains.
Faint now.
But not gone.
I press a hand to my chest, trying to steady the rhythm there.
“What is wrong with me?” I murmur.
My wolf answers immediately.
Nothing.
I squeeze my eyes shut.
Everything.
I straighten slowly, forcing my breathing to even out. I can’t walk back in like this. Not when I feel like I’m coming apart at the seams.
Not when I still carry his scent.
The thought hits me hard.
My head snaps up.
I inhale.
And there it is.
Faint, but unmistakable.
Ryan.
Panic flares.
I brush at my arms like I can wipe it away, but it’s deeper than that. It clings to my skin, my hair, woven into me in a way that shouldn’t be possible after just minutes.
“This can’t happen,” I whisper.
But it already has.
I force myself forward.
Across the line.
Back into the life I’m supposed to want.
The shift is immediate.
The forest feels quieter here. Controlled. Watched.
Two Betas stand near the path, their attention snapping to me the second I appear. Their posture straightens, their eyes sharp.
“Emma,” one of them says. “You shouldn’t be out here alone.”
“I needed air,” I answer, keeping my voice steady.
His gaze lingers a second too long.
Testing.
Sensing.
I hold still, forcing everything inside me to settle, to hide.
After a moment, he nods. “Next time, take someone with you.”
Next time.
The idea makes something twist in my chest.
“I will,” I lie.
They step aside, letting me pass.
But I feel their eyes on my back the entire way.
By the time I reach the Alpha house, my pulse has slowed, but the tension hasn’t.
If anything, it’s worse.
Because now I have to face him.
I step inside, the familiar weight of the place settling over me like a heavy cloak.
Too quiet.
Too still.
Like it’s waiting.
“Emma.”
My body goes rigid.
Daniel’s voice comes from the far end of the hall.
I turn slowly.
He stands near the study doors, watching me with a focus that makes my skin prickle.
“I didn’t realize you’d gone out,” he says.
“I needed to clear my head.”
His gaze sharpens slightly. “Without telling anyone?”
“I didn’t think I needed permission to breathe.”
The words slip out before I can stop them.
A mistake.
The air tightens instantly.
Daniel’s expression doesn’t change much, but I feel it. The shift. The pressure.
“You don’t,” he says calmly. “But you do need to be careful.”
“I was.”
His eyes move over me slowly.
Too slowly.
Taking in every detail.
Every breath.
My skin heats under the weight of it.
“What were you doing out there?” he asks.
“Walking.”
“Alone.”
“Yes.”
Silence stretches.
Then he starts toward me.
Each step measured.
Controlled.
My wolf tenses immediately, rising to the surface, alert and uneasy.
Not safe.
I force myself to stay still.
He stops just in front of me, close enough that I can feel his presence press in, heavy and commanding.
“Look at me,” he says.
I already am.
But something in his tone makes it feel like an order.
I lift my chin slightly, meeting his gaze fully.
For a moment, he just studies me.
Then his hand lifts.
Slow.
Deliberate.
He brushes his fingers along my jaw, down the side of my neck.
The contact is light.
But it feels like a test.
My body reacts instantly.
Not with comfort.
With resistance.
My wolf pulls back, a low warning stirring in my chest.
Daniel stills.
He felt that.
Of course he did.
His eyes darken slightly.
“What’s wrong?” he asks, his voice quieter now.
“Nothing.”
Another lie.
He doesn’t believe it.
His hand slides lower, resting briefly at the base of my throat, his thumb pressing lightly against my pulse.
It jumps under his touch.
Not because of him.
Because of what I’m trying to hide.
“You’re tense,” he says.
“I just needed air,” I repeat.
His gaze doesn’t leave mine.
“And you found it?”
For a second, I see the clearing again.
Ryan standing there.
The way my body leaned toward him without permission.
The way everything inside me responded.
Heat spreads through my chest before I can stop it.
Daniel notices.
His grip tightens just slightly.
“Emma.”
My name is a warning this time.
“I’m fine,” I say quickly.
“Then why does it feel like something changed?”
My breath catches.
Because he’s right.
Everything changed.
I just don’t know how to explain it.
Or if I even can.
“I don’t know what you mean,” I say.
His eyes narrow.
The silence stretches too long.
Then, without warning, he leans closer.
Too close.
His nose brushes just beneath my ear as he inhales.
Once.
Slow.
Deliberate.
My entire body goes still.
Panic flashes sharp and sudden.
No.
No, no—
He freezes.
Completely.
The shift in him is immediate and violent, like something snapping tight beneath the surface.
When he pulls back, his expression is no longer calm.
It’s dark.
Dangerous.
Possessive in a way that makes my stomach drop.
His eyes lock onto mine, searching, furious.
And then I hear it.
That low, unmistakable sound building in his chest.
A growl.
“You smell like another wolf.”