Silas Blackclaw was in the middle of a council meeting when the world fractured.
The long obsidian table was surrounded by Alphas and Betas, all of them powerful, all of them dangerous in their own right. Reports lay scattered across the polished surface—territory disputes, smuggling routes, whispers of rebellion from the eastern packs. Silas listened with half an ear, his attention sharp but restless.
Five years.
Five years of searching.
Five years of nothing.
The bond had been quiet for a long time. Not gone—never gone—but muted, like a blade buried too deep to cut. He had learned to live with it. Learned to lock it away with discipline and rage.
Then it screamed.
Silas's body locked instantly, muscles going rigid as pain detonated in his chest. The bond surged with violent force, ripping through every wall he had built around it.
Fear.
Panic.
Blood-cold terror.
Not his.
Hers.
Silas's chair scraped violently across the floor as he stood so fast the room reacted instinctively—several wolves bristling, hands moving toward weapons.
"Alpha?" one of the council members asked cautiously.
Silas didn't answer.
His silver eyes burned, unfocused, fixed on something far beyond the room. His heart pounded like a war drum, each beat echoing one undeniable truth.
She was alive.
And she was in danger.
The bond pulled hard, sharp and relentless, no longer a dull ache but a screaming tether wrapped around his soul. It dragged him east, then north, the direction unmistakable.
Someone had found her.
Or worse—she had been exposed.
Silas slammed his hands onto the table, cracking the stone clean through. The sound echoed like a gunshot.
"Meeting's over," he growled.
No one argued.
They knew better.
He turned and strode out of the chamber, his strides long and furious. Wolves parted instinctively as he passed, feeling the pressure of his unleashed dominance rolling through the pack headquarters.
"Get my car," he barked into the comm unit at his wrist. "Now."
"Yes, Alpha."
By the time Silas reached the underground garage, the pain had shifted. The terror had faded, replaced by something else.
Shock.
And beneath it—
Recognition.
The bond pulsed again, softer this time, but no less devastating.
There was more than one heartbeat now.
Silas froze mid-step.
"No," he whispered.
The realization hit him like a physical blow, knocking the air from his lungs.
Three.
Three distinct pulses brushed against his senses—wild, unfamiliar, yet unmistakably his.
His blood.
His wolves.
For five years he had believed the ache in the bond was unfinished business. A scar. A reminder of the Omega who had vanished before dawn.
He had never imagined this.
Never allowed himself to.
Rage unlike anything he had ever known tore through him.
She had been carrying his children.
And she had run.
---
Selene felt the moment he woke.
The bond snapped taut so violently she cried out, her knees hitting the floor of the school office. Her arms were wrapped tightly around Lyra, whose small wolf body trembled against her chest.
They had moved them inside after the chaos—locked doors, drawn blinds, hushed, frightened whispers beyond the walls. Teachers hovered uselessly, unsure whether to flee or intervene.
Phones had been confiscated.
Too late.
Selene's head rang, her pulse racing as dread flooded her veins.
He knows.
She had known this day would come. Had feared it every moment for five long years.
But knowing didn't make it hurt less.
Didn't make it easier to breathe.
Lyra whimpered softly, her fur rippling as her small body began to shift back. Selene rocked her gently, whispering nonsense words, anything to keep her calm.
"Mama?" Lyra's small human voice cracked as she reappeared in Selene's arms, naked and shaking.
"I'm here," Selene whispered fiercely. "I've got you."
Kai sat in the corner, knees pulled to his chest, eyes still glowing faintly. Rowan stood between his siblings and the door, shoulders squared, jaw tight, as if he could protect them from the entire world if he needed to.
Too much like his father.
The realization twisted painfully in Selene's chest.
A knock sounded at the door.
Selene stiffened.
A human voice followed. "Authorities are on their way. They… they want answers."
Selene closed her eyes.
They couldn't stay.
She stood slowly, heart hammering, her decision crystallizing with terrible clarity.
They had to run.
Again.
---
Silas's car tore through the city like a bullet.
Traffic parted instinctively, wolves and humans alike sensing the predator in their midst. His hands were tight on the steering wheel, knuckles white, jaw locked hard enough to crack teeth.
Images flickered through his mind—memories he had tried to bury.
The Omega beneath him in gold.
The way she had trembled but never begged.
The way the bond had screamed when she vanished.
And now—
Children.
His children.
The bond guided him unerringly. He followed it without hesitation, tearing through streets, crossing districts, ignoring speed limits and laws alike.
Nothing would stop him.
The scent hit him first.
Fear.
Wolf.
Blood.
He skidded to a halt outside a small school building, tires screaming against asphalt. His door slammed open before the engine fully died.
Chaos lingered in the air—disturbed scents, panic, adrenaline. Too many humans. Too many witnesses.
And beneath it all—
Her.
Silas's breath hitched.
He followed the bond inside, ignoring the startled shouts of staff as he pushed through doors and hallways until he reached a locked office door.
He didn't knock.
The door splintered inward under one kick.
Selene spun around, eyes wide, her face draining of color.
Their gazes locked.
Time stopped.
Silas saw everything in that single, devastating moment.
The fear she tried to hide.
The defiance she clung to.
The three small wolves behind her, their scents crashing into him like a tidal wave.
His chest burned.
"You," he said hoarsely.
Selene stepped back instinctively, placing herself fully between him and the children.
"Don't," she whispered.
The word shattered something in him.
"Five years," Silas growled. "Five years you ran from me."
"I was protecting them," she snapped, voice breaking. "From you."
His gaze dropped to the children.
His children.
Kai stared back boldly. Rowan didn't blink. Lyra clutched Selene's shirt, peeking out with frightened silver eyes.
The bond roared.
Silas fell to one knee without realizing he'd moved, the weight of it crushing him.
"They're mine," he said, not a question.
Selene's shoulders sagged.
"Yes."
The word echoed louder than any roar.
Silas closed his eyes briefly, breath shuddering. When he opened them again, the fury was still there—but beneath it was something far more dangerous.
Possession.
"They will come with me," he said.
Selene shook her head. "No."
Silas rose slowly, power coiling around him like a storm.
"You have no idea what you've done," he said quietly. "Exposing them like this—there will be consequences."
"I know," she whispered. "That's why I'm leaving."
"You're not running again," he snapped.
Selene met his gaze, tears finally spilling. "I will die before I let you take them from me."
The room trembled as Silas's control finally cracked.
"Then," he said, voice low and lethal, "you'll come with them."
The bond locked tight, sealing their fate.
And outside, the world had already begun to change