4

Chapter 4

"Raven, stop right there." Behind me came Kieran's voice, suppressed to the extreme. "Turn around and come back now, and this matter ends here. Otherwise, you'll be dealt with as a traitor."

I knew all too well what "traitor" meant in the Nightshade pack. Stripped of wolf nature, expelled from the pack, executed, not even a corpse left behind.

My knuckles turned white, but I didn't stop for a moment.

"Try it, Kieran." I said in a low voice. "See if you actually dare to do this to me."

Without stopping, I pushed open the door and left Nightshade territory without looking back.

I arrived at the safe den I'd prepared long ago. This was another trump card of mine in the Northern Territory, not registered on any Nightshade system asset list. Even the name "Raven Moonshadow" had never appeared.

Outside the window was abandoned wilderness, far from the pack center's moonlight and patrolling guards. The door locks, defensive runes, silver traps here were all modified by my own hands.

I could finally breathe peacefully in a place without him. The communication stone lay on the table, remaining quiet.

Until a day later, the safe den's door was kicked open. Metal crashed against the wall with a deafening bang.

I jolted awake in bed. Before I could grab the silver dagger, a tall figure had already burst in, slamming the door shut.

Kieran.

His eyes were so dark they seemed murderous, golden wolf pupils glowing in the darkness. The next second, he practically gripped my waist and threw me back onto the bed.

Air was squeezed from my lungs. My back hit the mattress. Before my mind could react, his body had already pressed down.

"You're insane—" I'd barely cursed when my lips were blocked by his.

It wasn't a gentle kiss—it was plunder, punishment, the only outlet left after rage reached its peak.

One hand gripped my jaw, forcing my head up, ruthlessly crushing my lips. I was kissed breathless, my chest felt crushed, my heartbeat chaotic.

His breath was scorching, yet carried the familiar scent of pine and wildness—Kieran's scent, one I'd once been addicted to.

His hand braced beside my head, the other gripping my waist, trapping me firmly between him and the bed, not even leaving me space to escape.

"Do you know," his voice was low and hoarse, like scraped by sandpaper, "when I couldn't contact you for a day, I thought something had happened to you."

I heard my own laughter, light and hoarse: "Isn't that what you wanted? If I died, you could wholeheartedly love your fated mate."

I raised my hand and pushed him away forcefully: "Get away, Kieran. You shouldn't be here."

"You shouldn't have left either." He coldly interrupted me, his golden eyes dark with menace. "You think leaving me, you have anything left? In this territory, your name, your identity, your abilities—all bound to the Nightshade pack. You're my person, Raven. You should obediently stay by my side. I'll treat you like before."

I laughed mockingly: "You mean, let me watch you propose to another she-wolf, tattoo her name on your body, let her take everything I once had?"

He fell silent.

I looked at him, a wave of absurd desolation rising in my heart.

"I don't need you to treat me well, Kieran." I said quietly. "I just want you to let me go."

His jaw tightened: "Impossible."

He stood up, looking down at me, suppressed fury surging again: "Tomorrow's alliance ceremony, you must appear. That's an order."

With that, he turned and left, arriving like a storm, leaving like the eye of a hurricane, leaving only chaos and my still-trembling hands.

I stared at the ceiling for a long time before reaching for the communication stone.

Powering it on, the number of unread messages jumped out—all from him.

I didn't open any of them, directly dialing that number that only appeared late at night.

"Father."

The other end answered quickly. Magnus Moonshadow's voice was low and steady: "Sweetheart."

I stared at the gray, cold sky outside the window: "Tomorrow, come get me."