CHAPTER 3

Clash of Wills

Darius's POV

My wolf growled in the back of my mind, an animalistic warning of what was coming. My senses went into overdrive as I heard a low, guttural growl in the jungle that wasn't ours. The rogue underneath me was motionless, her body rigid like a coiled spring, despite my every instinct telling me to get ready for battle.

"What's out there?" I asked in a harsh, low voice.

Her lips pressed into a thin line. She wasn’t going to answer.

Lucien's voice at my side was a gentle desperation, "Darius. They are circling. We must—”

A flurry of movement cut him off. Whatever it was, it hit quickly, casting a shadow across the woods. Claws swept through the air where my head had been only a moment before I could respond.

"Move!" I yelled, pushing myself away from the rouge and springing to my feet.

She didn't need to be told twice. She stood up in one move, her gaze sweeping the night.

With a bone-cracking change, Lucien's enormous wolf form took shape in an instant. He plunged into the battle, slamming into one of the assailants, a savage outlaw with insane eyes that glowed in the moonlight.

My wolf charged forward as another approached me. I sidestepped its initial attack and struck it in the ribs with a crushing punch. It was thrown tumbling by the hit, but not before its claws nicked my arm, causing me to get enraged.

With excitement rushing in my veins, I followed the rogue as he fled toward the trees. Snarls, snapping jaws, and the thunder of paws hitting the ground filled the woodland with turmoil.

Maya, the rogue woman, was fighting too, but not with me. Despite having no group or allies, she moved with lethal accuracy, slamming into any wolves that dared to approach.

Her defiance sparked something primal in me.

"Who are you working with?" I demanded, grabbing her wrist when she moved past me, her body taut with energy.

Her eyes were flaming as she yanked away. “Let go of me!"

She swung at me before I could react.

It was a planned attack, not merely an attack. She tried to bring me down by aiming at my knees. I spun, diverting her blow and whirling her into a nearby tree as my reflexes took over.

She thudded as her back struck the bark, and I moved in close to stop her.

“Enough,” I snarled, my voice low and dangerous. “You’ll answer me, or I’ll—”

Her knee sprang up, just missing its mark.

She didn't stop there. She hit me once more, her hands grabbing at me desperately and angrily.

I grabbed her by the wrists and pinned them to the tree.

"Stop fighting," I snarled. “You won’t win this.”

Her chest heaved and her breathing was labored.. “I don’t need to win. I just need you to lose.”

Her words cut deeper than I expected.

I just caught a glimpse of pain, rage, and terror in her eyes. It was more than a fear of me. She had been fleeing from something bigger long before she entered my territory.

I lost because of that hesitation.

In a move so swift it knocked me off balance for a second, she twisted in my grasp and slipped free.

I roared and lunged after her, saying, "You're not going anywhere."

However, the air changed before I could seize her.

A howl, cold and otherworldly, rang across the trees.

Maya stopped.

For the first time since I'd first seen her, I noticed genuine panic on her face as her head shot toward the sound.

"What is it?" With a strong voice, I demanded.

She didn't respond. Rather, she ran with incredible speed.

I chased, but my head was spinning. That howl—it wasn’t one of mine. It wasn’t a rogue, either.

I was determined not to lose her, so I pushed harder, my wolf pushing me ahead.

She moved fluidly yet frantically as she darted across the jungle. Occasionally she looked over her shoulder, her eyes briefly meeting mine.

It wasn’t just fear driving her. There was something else, something I couldn’t place.

Then she tripped, as if the cosmos was against me.

When her foot snagged on a root, she fell hard, losing her breath in the process.

In a second, I was on her, pinning her to the floor.

"This is over now," I stated in a firm, low voice.

Her defiance remained unwavering as her eyes flashed up at me.

“Go ahead,” she spat. “Kill me.”

Those words hit harder than they should have.

My grasp tightened as I added, "I don't kill without reason. But I'm getting a lot of them from you."

Her lips curled back into sharp teeth as she hissed.

Her voice was poisonous when she replied, "You think you're so righteous. “You’re just like the rest of them. Power-hungry, arrogant—”

With a steely voice, I said, "I'm nothing like the rest of them."

Her acrid laughter sliced like a razor through the tension.

"Then prove it," she responded in a challenging tone.

Something moved before I could react.

At first, it was subtle—a weird, inexplicable tug.

The energy in my wolf surged to the surface as it stirred.

Then it dawned on me.

Her subtle yet distinct scent clung to me like a vice.

Mate.

I was momentarily surprised as the word hit me hard.

It isn't possible.

Not her.

Not a roguel.

But there was no denying the bond's intense and unwavering pull.

She must have sensed it too, since a flash of recognition appeared in her eyes as they widdened

"No," she shook her head and muttered. “This isn’t possible.”

Panic drove her power as she pushed at me.

I let her go, taking a step back as the realization hit me hard.

Her body tensed and poised to run, she clambered to her feet.

“This changes nothing,” she said, her voice shaking. “You’re still my enemy. I reject you as my mate!”

I didn’t have a chance to respond.

The tension was broken by the sound of wolves, my enforcers, approaching.

Maya muttered a curse as her head swung toward the direction of the sound.

With a furious voice, she declared, "I will not be your prisoner."

She turned and bolted before I could stop her.

"Don't let her get away !" My voice echoed across the trees as I let out a bark.

Lucien appeared beside me, reverting to his human form after transforming into a wolf.

His brows narrowed as he followed my sight, asking, "What the hell just happened?"

“She’s mine,” I said, the words slipping out before I could stop them.

Lucien frowned, but he didn't ask me any questions.

Rather, he summoned the others in a cool, authoritative voice.

The hunt went on, but this time I was more determined and focused.

I would track her down.

I had to.

Because it was no longer only about the pack or the Council.

It has to do with something far more intimate.

Something I couldn’t ignore.

She was backed against a rocky outcrop, her body stiff, her eyes burning with anger when my enforcers finally cornered her.

She battled hard, defeating two of my guys before they could bring her down.

She looked directly into my eyes as I walked up to her, fear and rage writ in her eyes.

“You think you’ve won,” she said, her voice dripping with venom. “But this is far from over.”

I remained silent for a moment, keeping my eyes fixed.

At last, I remarked in a low voice, "You're right. This is only the start."

I couldn't get rid of the sensation that she was right as they chained her hands and were ready to return her to the pack.

It was far from over.

And everything was going to change, no matter what happened next.