I didn't pack much.
A hoodie, some clothes, a worn photograph of my mother and me, and the leather journal she gave me when I was twelve. I didn't even take my phone. I knew better. Kael had warned me—"They can track signals. If they sense something off, they'll come."
"They" being his pack.
Or worse—another.
The sun dipped low behind the hills as I slipped out the back door, just like I had on my birthday. Only this time, I wasn't coming back. The house stood quiet, almost mournful, like it knew it was losing me.
The street was empty. Every shadow seemed to breathe. Every sound felt too close. My senses had sharpened so much that I could hear the slow drip of water from a gutter three houses down.
And then I felt him.
Kael stepped out from between two trees, calm and silent, as though he'd been waiting all along. His eyes met mine, and for a second, something passed between us—recognition, acceptance, maybe something closer to surrender.
"Ready?" he asked.
I nodded, tightening the straps on my backpack. "Where are we going?"
"To the border," he said. "Beyond the city. Where my kind live freely."
"Your kind," I repeated, not hiding the bitterness in my voice.
"You'll get used to it."
"I don't want to get used to it."
He didn't argue. He just started walking.
We didn't take the roads. We cut through old paths, behind fields and half-forgotten trails where no one would think to look. The deeper we went, the wilder the world became. The air grew cooler, cleaner. The stars were brighter. My feet moved faster than they should've, like the earth itself called me forward.
And through it all, Kael barely spoke.
At first, I thought it was just his brooding, silent act. But soon, I understood.
We were being watched.
Kael's eyes darted toward the dark occasionally, nostrils flaring, muscles tensing. He didn't say it out loud, but I felt it in my bones—we weren't alone out here.
Something hunted the hunters.
"Keep close," he muttered.
I didn't need to be told twice.
Suddenly, a howl cut through the silence. Low. Echoing. Not far.
My breath caught. "Was that… one of yours?"
Kael didn't look back. "No."
"What does that mean?"
"It means we run."
He grabbed my hand before I could protest, and we took off.
I had never run like that before.
Not in gym class, not during storms, not even when fear clenched my chest tight. This wasn't normal. My legs moved faster than I thought possible, my lungs burning with cold air, yet I didn't slow.
Something inside me woke up. Something wild.
Behind us, branches snapped. Something huge was chasing us. I didn't dare look back. Kael didn't let go.
We burst through the trees and came to a ravine, a shallow stream cutting between cliffs. Kael paused for half a second, calculating. Then, without warning, he scooped me into his arms and leapt.
We landed on the other side hard. I tumbled out of his grip, breath knocked out of me, but alive.
He crouched low beside me, eyes glowing silver. "You okay?"
I nodded, coughing. "What was that?"
"Rogues."
"Rogues?"
"Shifters without a pack. Outcasts. Dangerous."
I sat up, clutching my ribs. "Why were they chasing us?"
"They sensed your mark. New blood. Weak. Easy prey."
That word again. Mark.
I glanced down at my shoulder. The crescent scar pulsed faintly, glowing like moonlight under my skin.
"I didn't ask for this," I whispered. "I didn't ask for any of it."
Kael's face softened for the first time all night. "I know. But it's yours now. Whether you want it or not."
We didn't sleep. We couldn't.
Kael kept watch, pacing like a predator. I curled against a tree, trying to hold myself together.
My mind spun with questions. Why me? What was I becoming? Would I ever see my mom again? Could I go back?
But deep down, under all the confusion and fear, was something stranger. Something that whispered from my blood, from the wind, from the very earth beneath my feet.
A voice I didn't recognize… but knew.
You are not lost. You are awakening.
I don't know when I finally dozed off. Maybe for minutes. Maybe an hour.
But I woke with a jolt.
The forest was silent. Kael was still beside me, but his body was tense, eyes narrowed at something in the distance.
"What is it?" I whispered.
"They're closer," he said. "But not the rogues."
He stood slowly, every inch of him poised.
"Who then?"
"Someone worse," Kael muttered. "My brother."