I'm on my knees before a thick, pitch-black forest. Yeosang's words carry on the storm-filled wind.
"What did you say?"
"You heard me. Since you love running so much, my brother and I will hunt you down. Whoever finds you before dawn can have you…and the throne."
I look from Yeosang and San. San rises to his feet, the shock of the offer stunning him silence.
"San, he's lying. He won't give you the throne."
"Look around. There are dozens of people present."
Yeosang waves at the guards that have formed a semi-circle around us. Then, he places his hand on his heart.
"On my honor, I swear before you all, I will relinquish the throne to my brother. If he can beat me and catch (Y/N) before sunrise."
San's face, his stance, his whole energy…they are unreadable to me. I can't tell what he's thinking.
"So, you would hunt me down. Like an animal. For your sick pleasure."
"Act like an animal. Get treated like an animal."
"By that standard, you should be put down."
"I'm sure you'd like that. But I'm afraid the clock's run out on your stalling. And if you take much more time. It's you who will be put down."
Yeosang takes a step toward me, baring his fangs. I step back, toward the woods.
"I'll be generous and give you a three-minute head start. How's that?"
My eyes flick to San. He stares at me with the same stone-faced expression. Except for one small detail…he looks to the far-left entrance of the woods. The movement is so small and so quick, I could have missed it in a blink.
"Ready… Set…"
I brace myself, scanning the tree line.
"...Go."
With as much might as I can muster, I sprint into the far-left opening of the dense forest. I stumble over brambles, struggling in the tight fabric of my dress. I can't run in the dress let alone fight in it. Through the abyssal darkness, a tiny shack emerges. I barrel inside, praying to find something to change into. There, behind a stained mattress and several broken bottles, is a box of old clothes. I dive in the box, finding not just clothes to wear, but supplies too. Suddenly, a haunting howl sweeps over the roof of the shack, setting my hair on end.
I glance down at the attached hook that will help me as a get away tool. I quickly changed into shorts and a tank top. Finally able to move, I tear off into the woods. My mind races as I race, assessing my best strategic move. In the distance, I hear the snapping of twigs–someone is giving chase. I'm out of time. I slip into the ferns, ignoring the stinging pricks of thorns on my skin as I pull myself through the brush. Pounding footsteps suddenly rush by, missing me by inches. A moment passes, then two, still nothing. Just then, a monstrous hand breaks the brush, roughly grabbing hold of me.
"Got you."
"Shit."
Yeosang pulls me forward, trying to tear me out of the briars with one mighty heave. I try to jerk back at the same time, but the brambles hold me firm.
"You can't hide in that hole forever. I'll tear every tree in this forest apart to get to you."
I move with Yeosang against the briars. As he pulls me forward, they rip free, revealing a path out.
"Thanks for the assist."
I twist free, barely dodging his grasp as I slip through the newfound hole. I try to ignore the stinging pain from the scratches along my skin as I stumble back into the woods. The ferns won't hold him for long and sure enough, Yeosang tears through the ferns with terrifying speed.
"Where are you, (Y/N)? No need to hide anymore…"
He's too fast. Shit, he's going to–
"(Y/N)."
A chill runs up my spine as San whispers my name…right over my shoulder. I leap back, bearing my fangs with a low growl.
"Easy. I'm not going to take you."
"You know I'm the key to everything you want."
"You're not wrong about that.'
San inches closer to me, his hand outstretched.
"You told me you fantasized about this throne. And I'm the ticket to it."
"I know. I know, I said that."
"And you didn't say anything when your brother proposed this challenge. This deranged hunt."
"(Y/N), please. I'll explain everything, just–"
He is only an inch away from touching me when the ear-splitting crack of a gunshot rings over the forest. The sound sets my nerves on end. Acting out of pure instinct, I shove San away–But an unusual amount of strength surges through my body the second I do.
"What the–!"
San flies back, slamming into a tree…and screams. His shoulder is impaled by a blunt tree branch.
"Oh my God. San…I'm so sorry. It was an accident. I don't even know what happened, I just meant to shove you a little. Then–"
San looks like he wants to respond, but he's in too much pain. Clawing at his shoulder, he bites back another scream. The gun fires again in the distance. Growing closer. Did Yeosang call in his guards to help him?
"(Y/N). We can't stay here."
Blood pools from the sharp branch, seeping over his muscled bicep.
"I need you to pull me free."
"What?"
"I want to help you. But I can't heal if I'm stuck to this tree."
He tries to pull himself free, a tortured gasp escaping his lips. He slumps against the trunk, completely winded.
"Pull me free. Please. My only intention is to help you."
For the first time, I can see in his eyes that he's undoubtedly telling the truth.
"Try, (Y/N). For both our sakes."
"Okay. I'll do it."
"Thank you."
I thread my fingers around San's massive shoulder, feeling the very beat of his heart beneath my touch.
"Good. Now, no matter how much I struggle, I need you to pull. Pull until you feel it give way."
"Are you sure?"
San looks up at me with a dark confident smile.
"I'm an Alpha, (Y/N). I can handle a little pain. Do it."
Gritting my teeth, I pull on San's shoulder. He winces.
"More."
I pull harder. His fingers dig into my flesh and he begins to shake.
"More!!!"
I pull even harder. A guttural scream tears from San's throat as he bares the full weight of his pain. I push past my limit, and with one final pull, I pull San free of the blunt branch. He stumbles forward and we both fall as he collapses on top of me. The weight of his body on mine is overpowering. The heat from his blood stains my shirt…my neck…
"You did it, (Y/N). Thank you."
His voice is softer than before. Calmer. He lifts himself up to look at me, his eyes flaming silver.
"What do we have here?"
Yeosang's voice slices like a knife through the crisp night air. San frees me from the cage of his body, leaping to his feet.
"I really would love to stop finding you two like this."
"(Y/N). Run."
"But–"
"NOW"
San's Alpha voice spreads through my chest, ringing my heart like a bell.
"Run where? You're surrounded."
With that, I hear dozens of guns click from the shadows around me.
"I got tired of our little game. Thought I'd make it more interesting."
I'm not sure how I would get out of this until suddenly, I remember the grappling hook on my clothes. Pulling it free, I fire the grappling hook, right past Yeosang's ear. He blanches.
"You missed." he smirks.
"Wasn't aiming for you."
I retract the cord, rocketing myself forward, deeper into the woods and away from my hunter. I land in a clearing. In the far-off distance I can hear the grunts of a struggle. I remember San's wound. I turn to go back..but I slam into a hard, Herculean chest.
"Going somewhere?"
Yeosang smiles as he closes in on me.
"How the hell are you so fast?"
"I'm good at a lot of things?"
I try to back away, but collide with the base of a boulder jutting up behind me.
"I'll show you the full breath of my talents once you're my bride."
"You sound pathetic."
He cocks an eyebrow."
"I have a feeling you'll come around."
"What is your problem?"
"My problem, love? Namely, you're insubordination. Your complete lack of respect for me."
He prowls towards me, his eyes flaming scarlet.
"Respect? I'll respect you when hell freezes over. You throw lives around as though they mean nothing to you, you sick, vile–"
"I do no such thing."
In an instant, he presses me against the boulder, his powerful body so close I can feel the pulse of his veins.
"It may not look like it to you, but everything I do is for the shifters I am named to protect. Everything."
His eyes burn hotter and brighter than I've ever seen, scorched with the conviction of his words.
"I will believe it when I see it."
My words seem to sting Yeosang, hitting something within him that I cannot see.
"I have nothing to prove to you. This is OVER."
His voice radiates with Alpha energy, falling into a deep baritone.
"Bend the knee, (Y/N). Accept defeat."
The power behind his Alpha command is immense, the same as San's. But it does not break my will. I can feel his words soaking into my skin, urging me to do as commanded. Instead, I pull on something inside of myself, something ancient and ironclad that urges me forward.
"I will never accept defeat."
With a look that could kill, I take a defiant step forward, sending Yeosang stumbling back.
"How did you do that?"
"It wasn't hard. It's never been hard. Not with lesser Alphas…or with the Alpha King."
I take another step toward Yeosang, basking in the shock and awe written across his face.
"Are you ready to admit your own defeat, Yeosang? Are you ready to bend the knee to me?"
The stunned look on his face slowly hardens into a furious scowl.
"Not a chance. If anything, it makes me want you more. Just look at what you're capable of."
"She's not yours, Yeosang."
Suddenly, from the dark of the woods…San appears. His wound is healed, and his vengeful strength is renewed.
"The hell she isn't."
Yeosang grabs my arm just as San lunges for him. As the two brothers collide, Yeosang's claws slice deep into my arm. Searing pain grips me, dropping me to my knees. A pained scream tears from my throat. Horrified, the brothers both reach for me.
"(Y/N)–" Yeosang calls out.
"Don't touch her!!!" San growls.
San's eyes blaze silver, rage overtaking him as though it boils the very flesh on his body. Then, I realize his flesh really is boiling. It darkens as he grows in size…his clothes rip… Finally, where San once stood, a massive steel grey wolf now shields me from Yeosang's path.
"Two can play at that, brother."
Yeosang hunches over, his body surging, expanding with new muscles, fur and fangs. Then, his almighty red wolf takes shape, snarling as he stalks toward San.
Before I have time to move, the two monolithic wolves collide, crashing to the ground with thundering force. I've never seen anything like this. With awe-inspiring strength and speed, San and Yeosang tear into one another. They could kill each other doing this! Suddenly, their storm of gnashing rage tumbles straight for me. Thanking fast, I pick up a huge tree branch and swing it down at the warring wolves.
"Stop this!"
Yeosang leaps up and snaps the branch in half with his iron jaws. I stagger back. Momentarily distracted by my fall, San turns…and Yeosang gains the advantage. Forcing his brother down, Yeosang closes his claw over San's neck.
"San!"
San struggles, tries to gain his footing, but it's no use. Yeosang has him pinned. Suddenly, the same surge of strength I felt earlier finds me again. It's like a long-lost friend I'm somehow just meeting.
I sent San flying with this. I think…I think I can do the same to Yeosang.
Yeosang snarls, his jaws closing tighter over San's throat. I channel my power, flexing a strength I never knew I had.
"Yeosang…!"
I run at the great red wolf, throwing my newfound might at him with abandon. When I make contact with his body, he flies through the air. The look of shock in his eyes is only matched by my own…as the force of my strike sends me flying, too.
"Shit–!"
The last thing I see is San shifting back, reaching for me.
"(Y/N)!"
Then, I topple over the ravine. I smack hard against rock and overgrowth, rolling uncontrollably down the hill. When I finally come to a halt, my body throbs all over. My thrashed arm is soaked with blood. I don't know where I am. I stagger to my feet and look around. Neither brother is to be found. If I climb back up that hill, I'll probably come into contact with San. I look further down the ravine. I race back up the hill, clawing at the earth even as my arm grows hot, the pain worsening with every step.
"San! San, I'm here!"
I start to fumble, my strength fading. Suddenly, something huge rushes from the shadows, blitzing toward me with inhuman speed and pulling me down into a hidden cavern. There, in the deepest depths of the darkness, the man pulls me flush against his chest.
"Caught you."