Race Against Shadows
(Dawn, Blackwood Pack House)
Kai hadn't slept.
The photos burned behind his eyelids—Jennie's clear profile, the twins' silver hair, Elias Thorne at the wheel. Hunters closing in. Bounty doubled. Family on the run.
He stood in his private armory, gearing up with methodical fury: black tactical pants, reinforced boots, shoulder holster for silver-resistant blades, a custom sidearm loaded with hunter-killer rounds. A duffel on the floor already held extra magazines, encrypted comms, cash, and forged IDs.
His private plane—a sleek six-seater Cessna Citation he kept at the pack's airstrip—was being fueled and prepped. Flight plan filed under a shell company: Chicago Executive Airport, wheels up in ninety minutes.
He'd hand-picked the team—six of his most trusted enforcers, including Harlan and two trackers who could follow a scent trail across states. No council approval. No debate. This was personal.
Harlan knocked once and entered, geared similarly: dark fatigues, a rifle slung over his shoulder, face etched with the scars of too many battles.
He closed the door behind him, leaning against it with arms folded.
"The team's ready. Plane's fueled. But Kai.
.. we need to talk about this plan before we roll out. "
Kai didn't stop packing, shoving a med kit into the duffel. "What's there to talk about? We fly to Chicago, track the hunters' movements, intercept before they close in. Extract Jennie and the pups. Deal with Thorne if he gets in the way."
Harlan's brow furrowed, voice low and steady—the tone of a Beta who'd earned the right to question.
"It's solid on paper. But you're risking a lot here.
Half our best enforcers pulled from border patrols?
The vampires are testing us again—scouts spotted near the eastern line last night.
And if the council finds out you're chasing a ghost without approval. .."
"She's not a ghost," Kai snapped, finally turning to face him. His forest-green eyes burned with gold flecks, the wolf close to the surface. "She's my mate. The true Luna. And those pups... they could be mine, Harlan. The timeline fits. That last night in the glade—before the exile."
Harlan exhaled slowly, rubbing his scarred jaw.
"I get it. I was there when she rejected you.
Saw the pain. But two years, Kai. She's with Thorne now—a rogue Alpha.
The pups are probably his. And even if they're not.
.. she left. Rejected you first. The pack suffered for it—the curse, the losses.
Chasing her to Chicago could drag us into a hunter war we're not ready for. "
Kai slammed the duffel shut, standing to his full height—towering, muscles coiled.
"That's why it's important. The curse started when she left.
When the pack forced her out. She was the key—the Veiled bloodline to strengthen ours.
If I bring her back, complete the bond.. . we heal. The pack thrives again."
Harlan held his gaze, unflinching despite the Alpha aura pressing heavy. "And if she doesn't want to come back? If she's built a life with Thorne? You gonna force her? Drag her and those kids here kicking and screaming?"
Kai's fists clenched, voice dropping to a raw whisper.
"I won't force her. But I have to try. Two years of this ache, Harlan—the bond never broke.
It's killing me. Killing the pack. Every lost pup, every failed battle.
.. it's on me. Because I let them exile her.
My true mate. If I don't go now, and hunters take her. .. I'll never forgive myself."
The room fell silent. Harlan studied him— the grief in his Alpha's eyes, the desperation masked as duty. He didn't fully agree; the pack's immediate threats loomed larger in his mind than a long-lost mate. But loyalty won out.
"Alright," Harlan said finally, pushing off the door. "I'm with you. But we do this smart—no heroics. In and out. And if it goes south... we prioritize the pack's survival."
Kai clasped his forearm in a warrior's grip. "Agreed. Thank you, brother."
Harlan nodded once. "Let's move."
The door burst open without a knock.
Lydia stormed in, face pale, eyes wild with desperation and fury. She wore a silk robe loosely tied, golden hair disheveled, as if she'd run straight from her quarters.
"Kai—no!" she cried, voice cracking. "You can't leave. Not now!"
He didn't turn, slinging the duffel over his shoulder. "I'm going. End of discussion."
She grabbed his arm, nails digging in. "Please. Stay with me. With us." Her free hand pressed to her stomach. "I felt it this morning—the spark. I'm pregnant, Kai. Your pup. Our pup. I need you here. The pack needs you here."
Kai froze, turning slowly to face her. Rage and disgust warred across his features. "You think I'll believe that? After what you did?"
"It's true!" Tears streamed down her cheeks—real or performed, impossible to tell. "The timing... it's yours. You have to stay. Be a father. Be Alpha."
Harlan shifted uncomfortably, averting his eyes.
Kai shook her off, voice cold. "If you're carrying anything, it's from a night I don't remember because you drugged me. That child—if it exists—will never bind me to you."
Lydia's tears turned to venom. "You'd abandon your own blood for that scentless whore?
That Veiled freak who ran like a coward and left us to die?
She's probably spreading her legs for that rogue bastard right now—raising his brats while our pack crumbles!
She's nothing, Kai. A defect. A curse. I'm the one who stayed.
I'm the one who can give you a real heir—"
Kai's hand shot out, gripping her upper arm hard enough to bruise, aura flaring dark and suffocating.
"Call her that again," he snarled, face inches from hers, "and I'll exile you myself.
Jennie Voss is my true mate. My Luna. The mother of whatever pups she carries.
You are nothing but ambition in a robe."
Lydia whimpered, shrinking under the crushing weight of his power.
He released her with disgust. "Stay out of my way."
Without another glance, Kai strode past her, Harlan falling in step behind.
The plane waited.
Chicago—and Jennie—were calling.
And this time, nothing would stop him from answering.
The Cessna touched down at Chicago Executive just after noon. Kai and his team moved like ghosts—rented black SUVs, no plates visible, no chatter on open channels. They hit Lincoln Park by mid-afternoon, parking two blocks from the address pulled from the hunter photos and rogue intel.
Kai led the way, black coat open over tactical gear, forest-green eyes scanning every shadow.
The air was thick with winter exhaust and pine, but beneath it all—faint, unmistakable—her scent.
Jennie's. Cool snow and moonlight, still lingering in the building's hallway like a ghost that refused to fade.
He took the stairs alone, enforcers fanning out to secure the exits. The door to the apartment—third floor, end of the hall—was unlocked, a faint ward residue clinging to the frame. Someone had stripped it clean before leaving.
Kai pushed inside.
The space was bare—furniture gone, walls wiped, only faint outlines where pictures had hung. But the scents hit him like a physical blow.
Jennie. Everywhere. In the carpet fibers, the kitchen sink, the bedroom alcove where two cribs had once stood. And Elias—rogue male, platinum and steel, layered over everything like he belonged there.
Then the twins.
Kai froze in the middle of the living room, breath catching.
Two distinct scents—silver-white hair, ice-blue eyes, but stronger, clearer: one faint and elusive like Jennie's veil, the other carrying an unmistakable alpha edge.
And beneath both—his. Kai's own bloodline, cedar and storm, woven into their tiny souls.
His knees nearly buckled.
They were his.
The timeline, the glade, the desperate night before exile—it all clicked. The pups were his. Not Thorne's. His.
Confusion crashed into fury. Why hadn't she told him? Why run with Elias? Why hide his own children from him?
He clenched his fists, claws pricking his palms. "She didn't trust me," he whispered to the empty room. "After everything... she didn't trust me."
A low growl built in his throat, wolf rising. He could still feel her here—her touch on the walls, her warmth in the air. The bond flared, sharp and alive, pulling north like a compass needle.
He had to find her. Now.
Outside, the hallway door creaked.
Kai spun, gun drawn in a heartbeat.
Three hunters stood in the doorway—black tactical gear, silver blades glinting, ward stones glowing faintly in their palms. They'd been watching the building. Waiting.
"Blackstone," the lead hunter sneered, recognizing the Alpha aura. "You're a long way from your territory. Looking for the Veiled bitch?"
Kai's eyes flashed pure gold.
The fight exploded.
The lead hunter lunged, blade flashing. Kai sidestepped, grabbing the man's wrist and twisting until bone snapped. The hunter screamed, but Kai was already moving—gun barking twice, dropping another in the doorway with silver rounds to the chest.
The third hunter hurled a ward stone—crackling energy meant to bind supernatural strength. It hit Kai's shoulder, searing like acid, but he roared through the pain, shifting mid-leap. Massive black wolf crashed into the man, jaws closing around the throat in one brutal snap.
The hallway filled with blood and smoke.
Kai shifted back, breathing hard, blood streaking his face. The lead hunter—still alive—gasped on the floor, clutching his broken arm.
"Where are they?" Kai snarled, boot pressing the man's chest. "The woman. The twins."
The hunter spat blood, grinning through broken teeth. "Gone. North. Canada. You'll never catch them, Alpha. The bounty's already out. Every cell's hunting."
Kai's hand tightened on the gun. "You're wrong."
He fired once—clean shot, no suffering.
Silence fell.
Harlan appeared at the end of the hall, rifle raised, face grim. "We heard the shots. Cleaned up the lobby—two more down there. They were staking the place."
Kai wiped blood from his mouth, voice raw. "They're heading to Canada. We need to move. Now."
Harlan nodded. "Plane's still at the airport. We can be airborne in thirty."
Kai turned back to the empty apartment one last time. He could still smell them—his mate, his pups. The bond pulled north, insistent.
"I'm coming, Jennie," he whispered.
He strode out, leaving the bodies behind.
Chicago was only a waypoint.
The real hunt had just begun.