#2 Claws at My Back

I didn’t look back. Looking back wasted time I didn't have.

The forest ripped past me in a blur of shadow and silver light. Giant roots were clawing out of the ground like they wanted to take me down. My lungs dragged in the air so fast it made my already raw throat burn like the nine hells.

Every inhale was edged with the taste of copper and pine. Sweat dripped into my eyes, burning like a bitch. Wiping it made no damn difference.

Every stride should have broken me, but adrenaline shoved my body farther and harder. I leaned into the run, letting instinct make decisions my mind couldn’t keep up with. Duck, roll, vault. No hesitation. No wasted motion.

But he was still there. The silver-eyed wolf.

I could feel him behind me, all predator heat and relentless weight, every movement calibrated to end with his teeth on my throat. The hair on my arms prickled with each snap of a branch, each pound of his paws against the earth. Somewhere in the coil of panic, something primal whispered recognition, but I shoved it down. Survival first.

A sharp whistle cut through the night. My stomach dropped. He wasn’t chasing me alone. He was signaling the others.

Nope. Fuck that.

I veered hard left, plunging into a cluster of massive oaks. Their roots rose in thick ridges, forming a low, jagged wall. I dropped, scraping my shoulder raw as I slid under, rolled, and came up running. My knife slapped my thigh with every stride.

He was too fucking close. His breathing was there now, steady and terrifying, threaded through the sound of my own.

The forest tilted. Shadows flickered at the edges of my vision, shapes moved where there shouldn’t have been any. My pulse went nuclear. This wasn’t just a chase anymore. They were trying to pin me into a net.

I pushed harder, searching for any break. Then I saw it, a branch hanging low, thick enough to hold my weight. My body moved before my brain approved. I jumped, grabbed, swung up, and hauled myself into the dense cover of leaves.

Seconds later, he exploded into the clearing below.

Silver eyes scanned the dirt where my boot prints ended. His chest rose and fell, but he wasn’t winded. Not even close. He lowered his head, inhaled slowly, dragging my scent straight up into the branches. My heart rattled against my ribs. If he looked up....

He fucking did. Our gazes locked.

The world went quiet for one brutal heartbeat. Then he shifted. Bones cracked, fur melted to skin, and a beautiful, very naked man stood where the wolf had been. He was tall, broad-shouldered, hair dark as midnight plastered damp against his forehead. His mouth curved, sharp and knowing.

He reached for the trunk and started climbing, fast.

Shit balls! WHY!? I can't catch a fucking break. Fuck sakes.

I launched off the branch, dropping with all the force I could gather. My shoulder slammed into him, a blunt crash of bone on bone. He cursed, lost his grip, and his weight faltered. We hit the ground in a tangle of limbs and dirt.

The impact tore the air from my lungs. Pain flared through my ribs. But I rolled with it, using the momentum, shoving him hard as his claws extended again. His fingers raked the air where my throat had been a second earlier.

“Not today Satan,” I snarled.

He was strong, gods, he was strong, but so was I. Adrenaline sharpened my muscles into steel. I twisted, drove my knee into his stomach, shoved off his chest, and staggered to my feet. He rose just as fast, his teeth bared, those silver eyes burning like wildfire.

Every instinct in me screamed danger. Every other instinct whispered something I refused to name.

He lunged.

I ducked, his arm sweeping just above my head, nails grazing my hair. I slashed the knife upward, sparks flying as the blade scraped across his claw. He snarled, the sound vibrating through my bones, and I slammed my palm into his chest with everything I had.

The push bought me two steps. That was all I needed. I spun, and bolted into the undergrowth, my heart howling louder than any wolf. Branches whipped my arms, and tore my skin. My legs burned like they were made of fire, but they carried me. Thank you legs.

Behind me, a roar split the forest, furious and hungry. The sound shook the ground under my feet, but I didn’t falter. I couldn’t.

The forest blurred again into motion and shadow, instincts dragging me forward like invisible strings. Duck, leap, roll, sprint. My breaths came sharp and ragged now, and every nerve I had was lit up like lightning.

I didn’t know how long I could keep outrunning them. Minutes? Hours? Days?

But one thing was carved into my bones with absolute certainty.....

I would NOT go down without a fucking fight. If one of them wanted to claim me, they were going to have to fucking earn me.