Elena’s POV:
"Stupid car, go faster!" I muttered, gripping the wheel so tight my knuckles turned white. My heart pounded as I glanced in the side mirror, only to see Kane’s massive wolf form still on my tail. And by massive, I an humongous. I’d always known he was intimidating, but seeing him like this, a dark blur of fur and fury tearing up the road, made understand why people feared him.
He was fast—too fast. I was already pushing this car well over the speed limit, and yet he was still gaining on . It was like so bad dream where you just can’t escape, no matter how hard you run. If he caught , I’d be dead. Not literally, but... well, he’d make wish I was. If I’d known he could run like that, I might have thought twice about locking him out.
I threw another glance in the mirror, watching him barrel forward, all raw power and determination. Just a little faster, please, I thought, silently willing the car to give an extra boost. But in my panic, I forgot the number one rule of driving—watch the road.
A bright flash of headlights suddenly appeared in front of , cutting through the darkness like a blade. My heart stopped. One second I was staring Kane down in the mirror; the next, I was face-to-face with the unmistakable glare of an oncoming tractor, its horn blaring like so final warning from the universe.
Oh, hell.
My stomach dropped, and the world seed to slow as I swerved, too late to avoid impact. There was a split-second of sheer panic, a screech of tal, and then... nothing. Just blackness, swallowing whole.
Kane’s POV:
The sky had begun to darken, casting an ominous shade over everything as dusk settled in. Shadows stretched along the road, creeping up the trees and across the path where I chased after my stubborn, rebellious mate. Two hours. We’d been chasing her for over two fucking hours, and I could feel Ash, my wolf, itching with frustration and sothing else, sothing I rarely felt—fear.
She was driving recklessly, pushing the car to speeds that I didn’t think it could handle, and with every mile, I could feel her slipping further away. Ash was relentless, paws digging into the ground, muscles straining as we pushed ourselves to our absolute limits. Even if he was exhausted, he wouldn’t slow down, not when he thought there was even the slightest chance of losing her. She was wild, defiant, unlike anyone I’d ever t. That was part of what drew and irritated the fuck out of —she challenged , defied , ignited sothing inside that no one else had. But right now, that defiance felt like a curse.
"Just a little more," I urged my wolf, our minds rging in our shared desperation. I could feel his pulse hamring in sync with mine, both of us spurred on by an overwhelming need to catch her. We were close—so close I could practically feel the heat of the car’s exhaust as we closed the distance. The scent of her, sweet and defiant, lingered in the air, teasing us, driving us mad. Just a little more, and we’d reach her. And then, oh, she’d regret every reckless second of this chase. She’d regret ever thinking she could outrun .
Then, I saw it—a truck rounding the curve just ahead, headlights beaming into the darkening night like so kind of grim warning. My heart lurched. Elena was going too fast, her focus likely on the rearview mirror where she was probably keeping tabs on . She’d been so hell-bent on escape, so determined to defy , that I didn’t think she’d even seen it.
"Slow down, Elena," I whispered, as if sohow, she’d hear my plea. "Please, just slow down."
But she didn’t. The car kept its speed, barreling forward with the sa reckless determination that had defined her from the start. Ash growled, a deep, guttural sound of warning as he picked up the pace, pushing himself even harder, even faster, as if we could sohow intercept what was about to happen. We were just a few feet behind her now, close enough to see her glancing nervously in the mirror, her eyes flashing with that fierce fire I’d co to know so well.
And then... it happened.
The truck’s horn blared, a chilling, ominous sound that echoed through the air and cut straight to my core. The headlights of the truck flooded her car, bathing it in a blinding glow, and for a split second, I thought maybe she’d pull so kind of miracle, so reckless, wild move that would save her, that would let her slip out of this ss like she always did with . But fate wasn’t on our side tonight.
I watched in helpless horror as her car veered sharply, too late, too slow. And then, like a scene from a nightmare, she collided with the truck, the screeching of tal against tal piercing the night. The impact was brutal, unforgiving, and I felt my heart clench painfully as her car spun off the road, crumpling like paper. The world seed to slow down, every second dragging out into eternity as I watched my mate— my mate —slam into the unforgiving force of reality.
"No!" The word ripped from my throat, a desperate cry of anger, of helplessness, of terror. Ash’s instincts took over, propelling us forward with a speed I didn’t know we possessed. We were at the wreck in seconds, my heart hamring wildly, every nerve alight with the horrifying realization of what had just happened.
This wasn’t happening. This couldn’t be happening. I’d just found her—my mate, the one I’d waited for, the one I’d yearned for all my life. And now, she was... she was...
I shifted back into human form as I reached the car, not caring about anything except reaching her. My hands shook as I grabbed the twisted door, ignoring the pain as tal cut into my skin. "Elena!" I shouted, the sound of my own voice distant and hollow, filled with a terror I’d never known. I’d faced down enemies, fought battles, lost people close to , but nothing had ever felt like this—like my heart was being ripped apart, like I was about to lose the most important thing in my life before I even had a chance to hold her close.
The door wouldn’t budge, the tal mangled and crushed from the impact. Desperation clawed at , my mind racing as I pulled harder, the fury and fear mingling in a painful, frantic haze. "Elena, answer !" I growled, my voice hoarse with emotion. Ash howled within , his own anguish blending with mine. This wasn’t the way it was supposed to go. She was supposed to be beside , fierce and fiery, challenging every step of the way. She was supposed to fight , tease , push to my limits. Not... not lie there, silent and broken.
Finally, with one last heave, the door gave way, and I reached inside, pulling her gently out of the wreckage. Her limp form folding into my arms, and that’s when the blood registered—dark red, soaking into her clothes, dripping from her wounds like a slow, steady river. My heart seized, my chest tightening with a panic that I didn’t recognize, one that clawed its way up and left gasping.
"Fuck. Fuck. What do I do?!" My voice trembled, and the helplessness made feel like I’d been gutted, hollowed out and left raw. I was reduced to nothing—a brainless, panicked, worried-sick ss, feeling more like a lost, terrified pup than the ruthless alpha I was supposed to be. I’d faced enemies, rival packs, wild beasts. But this? Watching her blood pool, her pale face pressed against my chest... this was beyond anything I’d ever faced.
She couldn’t die. She mustn’t die.
The words ran through my mind on a loop, like a mantra I clung to in desperation. I still had to punish her, still needed her to scream at , to roll those fierce eyes and call every na she could think of. I needed her alive, needed her spirit—the fire that matched mine in a way no one else’s ever had. Even though she irritated the fuck out of I wanted her, needed her
She was unconscious, her face pale, and my heart pounded as I held her in my arms, brushing a strand of hair away from her face. "Elena," I whispered, my voice cracking. "Co on, sweetheart. Open those stubborn eyes of yours. Look at ."
Her chest rose and fell in shallow breaths, and I clung to that, to the faint signs of life that proved she was still here with . Her wounds were closing very slowly. But it wasn’t enough. I needed to see her fiery gaze, hear her sharp retorts, feel that spark that only she could ignite within . I needed her to wake up, to yell at , to tell I was an idiot, to be Elena. I linked my beta to co with a pack doctor ASP. Her wolf was trying to heal her extre wounds closing them up before she lost all her blood but with the way her healing was so slow sothing wasn’t right. She had Alpha blood in her system which ant she would heal quickly but with the way her healing was slow. She was then severely injured than I hoped.
"Don’t you dare leave ," I growled, my voice thick with emotion. "You don’t get to pull a stunt like this and then just... go silent on . That’s not you. You’re stronger than this, Elena. Fight it. Fight ."
Ash’s sorrow echoed in my mind, a guttural, mournful sound that matched the pain tearing through my chest. We’d been so close to losing her, and the thought was more than I could bear. The realization of how much she ant to , how deeply I needed her, hit with the force of a thousand storms. She wasn’t just my mate. She was my match, my equal, my fire in the dark. Even if I just found her she was my other half that my soul had been yearning for.
"I swear, if you wake up," I whispered, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead, "I’ll make it up to you. I’ll give you all the freedom you want, let you yell at as much as you need, anything. Just... wake up."
I stayed there, holding her, feeling her pulse weakly beneath my fingertips. The dusk settled fully around us, casting the world into darkness, but I didn’t care. I’d wait here all night, for as long as it took, until she opened her eyes and ca back to . Because she had to. I couldn’t lose her now—not after finally finding her, not after all the fire and fury that had brought us together.
"Co on, Elena," I murmured softly, my voice a mixture of desperation and hope. "Co back to . Please."
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