Page 12 of Cursed By Fate

I didn’t want to believe it. I didn’t want to think he cared, not after everything he’d put me through. But I knew Lila wouldn’t lie. Not to me. Not ever.

She glanced around, the urgency creeping back into her expression. “We need to go. If they catch you—”

“They won’t,” I said, more sure of it than I’d been since leaving the compound. “Not if we find the stones first.”

Lila looked at me, her eyes full of questions. She nodded, and I knew she was with me, all the way. We were about to move when a noise froze us both in place.

Someone was out there, just beyond the trees. A shadow among shadows, closing in fast.

Lila’s grip tightened on my arm. “It’s them, Serena,” she said, her voice barely a whisper. “They found us.”

I strained to see through the dark, my heart hammering in my chest. It wasn’t our pack. It wasn’t my father. It was something else. Someone else. A strange pressure hit the back of my neck, like the air thickened all at once. Something powerful was coming.

The forest went still. No birds, no wind, no sound—just a sudden hush, as if the trees themselves were holding their breath. A figure stepped into the clearing, tall and imposing, and I felt a chill run down my spine. His eyes locked onto mine with an intensity that stirred more than fear. It was him. The Stormvale alpha. Tristan.

The tension crackled between us, electric and undeniable. He stopped a few paces away, his presence commanding and inescapable. I felt Lila’s pulse thudding against my arm. She wouldn’t run. But she was scared.

“You’re coming back with me,” he said, his voice as cold and strong as I remembered.

I glared at him, defiant and unyielding. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”

Tristan took a step closer, and I could feel the weight of him, the raw power that clung to him like a shadow. My wolf flinchedbefore I could stop her, a ripple of submissive instinct flashing through me. I hated it. But I felt it.

Lila shifted beside me, her fear almost tangible. I knew she’d fight him if it came to that, but I didn’t want her to risk it. Not for me. Not for this.

“You don’t have a choice,” Tristan said, his eyes never leaving mine.

“Watch me,” I said, turning on my heel and pulling Lila with me.

I didn’t get far.

He was in front of us before I even realized he’d moved, blocking our path with a speed that made my heart jump. He moved like a predator—silent, controlled, but coiled with barely restrained violence.

The clearing seemed to shrink around him. Even the shadows shifted, bending toward him like he was the center of their gravity. My wolf bristled beneath my skin, half-cowed, half-electrified. He was danger in its purest form—and I couldn’t look away.

“This is your last chance, Serena,” he said, his voice softer but no less certain. “Come back willingly, or—”

“Or what?” I asked, challenging him with every ounce of strength I had.

“Or I’ll make you.” His words were a promise, unyielding and absolute.

I could feel Lila trembling beside me, her fear pushing against my resolve. I wanted to stand and fight, to claw and bite my way to freedom, but I didn’t know if I could. Not with him. Not like this.

Tristan’s eyes bore into me, and for a moment, I saw something there. Something vulnerable and raw. It was gone before I could place it, replaced by his usual steely determination.

“You can’t keep me locked up,” I said, trying to ignore the way his presence affected me.

“I can,” he said, stepping closer, “and I will.”

His nearness made it hard to think, hard to breathe. I wanted to push him away, but I wanted to pull him closer. The confusion and anger twisted inside me, leaving me off-balance and exposed.

Then he reached for me, and everything changed.

His hand closed around my wrist, and the world exploded into light. Our birthmarks glowed with a magical, sparkling iridescent energy, bright and blinding in the dark of the forest. I gasped, and I could feel him do the same.

It was a connection I couldn’t explain, couldn’t understand, but it was there. Pulsing between us. It was beautiful. Terrifying. I hated that part of me didn’t want to let go.

The earth beneath us gave a low, echoing thrum—like the Stormvale mountain itself had felt the mark awaken. The leaves stilled. The air grew heavy with something old, watching.

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