CH 13 - Thane

THANE POV *The Hills - The Weekend* I could hear nothing. My own heartbeat was too f*****g loud, blood roaring in my ears while adrenaline still burned through my veins. And if that wasn’t already enough, Ferus was prowling violently beneath my skin while we moved through the trees surrounding Bloodclaw territory, every muscle in my body pulled tight enough to snap. The wind shifted constantly tonight, carrying damp earth, pine, smoke from the pack house in the distance and— her. Always her. Roses. Wildflowers. And that metallic taste in the air right before a thunderstorm tears the sky apart. It wrapped around my lungs until breathing itself became a f*****g problem. I walked slightly behind the others automatically. Aiden was ahead with Alpha Dalton and Alpha Derrick, one bad second away from ripping somebody’s throat out if the way Pluto kept slamming against his control meant anything. Keres wasn’t much better. Samael had surfaced so hard silver still flickered beneath the skin of his forearms every few minutes, claws threatening every time Persefone drifted too far away from him. A f*****g disaster. All of us. And the worst part? The mate bond just kept getting stronger. Every second. Every breath. Like some invisible chain tightening around my throat the closer she walked beside us. I kept my eyes on the trees instead. On shadows. Movement. Anything except her. Didn’t f*****g help. Because I could still hear her. Bare feet brushing softly against dirt and dead leaves after losing her shoes running through the woods. Her breathing still uneven from adrenaline. The soft rustle of that dark red dress every time the wind shifted through the clearing. And I had to clench my fists hard enough to draw blood just to stop Ferus from throwing her over our shoulder so she wouldn’t cut her feet open on half the forest. Everything about her had lodged itself beneath my skin years ago. That was the real f*****g problem. Not tonight. Not the bond. Not even the hybrids. Her. Persefone Savage had been ruining my life since she was fourteen years old and looked at me across a school hallway like she wanted to either stab me or set me on fire. Ferus had noticed her first. Of course he had. The stupid f*****g wolf had gone dead silent the first time she walked past us freshman year carrying three books against her chest while arguing with a teacher about advanced chemistry placement. Too smart. Too loud. Too fearless. An Alpha princess that should’ve been a f*****g cliché in expensive clothes and sharp teeth. Instead she was a nerd pretending she wasn’t pack royalty while every asshole in school orbited around her like satellites around the sun. And even if I couldn’t blame them… I hated it, when I should have hated her. Maybe part of me tried to. Would’ve made life easier. Instead I noticed everything. The way she stayed awake during lunch periods working on coding s**t she thought nobody saw. The way she looked ready to throw hands every time someone picked on weaker pack members. The way she laughed with her entire chest whenever Penny said something ridiculous. And goddess help me— the way she always challenged us instead of backing down. Fearless little i***t. Ferus loved that about her. I think maybe that was the beginning of the end. A branch cracked somewhere deeper in the forest. My head snapped up instantly. Ferus surged forward hard enough to sharpen my canines. I inhaled— Deer. Just f*****g deer. The tension in my body loosened by a fraction, breath finally leaving my lungs slow and rough while Ferus kept prowling beneath my skin like he didn’t trust the darkness anymore. Neither did I. Everything about this was wrong. The Goddess had a sick f*****g sense of humor. Because of course it had to be her. Of f*****g course the only woman I’d ever looked at too long had to be an Alpha’s daughter. Had to be born right in the middle of the very hierarchy we spent our entire lives learning to hate. And now apparently she was also under the radar of monsters that should not even f*****g exist anymore. I clenched my jaw so hard pain shot through my skull. My life had never been easy. None of ours had. But this? This felt personal. Like the Goddess herself had looked down at me and decided ruining my f*****g life sounded entertaining. Here, Thane. Here’s the girl you’ve wanted since you were fourteen years old. Now watch her become the worst possible thing that could’ve ever happened to you. Ferus growled low beneath my skin immediately. ‘Mine.’ The possessiveness hit hard enough to make nausea twist in my stomach. ‘No.’ Absolutely f*****g not. I couldn’t do this. Shouldn’t do this. Because wanting Persefone Savage was one thing. Destroying her with us was another entirely. The bond was already f*****g up Aiden and Keres enough. Aiden looked ready to kill anybody that got too close to her. Keres could barely stop touching her for more than thirty seconds. And me? I knew exactly where this ended. Blood. Violence. Death. I dragged a hand down my face roughly. Rejecting her would destroy Ferus. I knew that. Felt it every time the thought crossed my mind. The wolf reacted like I’d shoved knives between our ribs. But what was the alternative? Dragging her into this mess? Into us? As if she would even want us… Aiden was already halfway feral over a bond that had existed less than two f*****g hours. Keres looked at her like he wanted to carve his name directly into her skin. And me? I couldn’t even stand next to her without losing control of my own breathing. Pathetic. Absolutely f*****g pathetic. Ahead of me Persefone stumbled slightly over a tree root hidden beneath leaves. Instinct moved before thought. My hand shot out automatically, fingers closing around her elbow to steady her. The contact lasted maybe half a second. Half a second too long. Electricity exploded straight up my arm instantly. Sharp. Hot. Violent enough to lock every muscle in my body. Fuck. Persefone froze too. Her breath caught softly in the darkness while green eyes snapped toward mine. And Ferus— that f*****g traitor purred. Actually purred. Warm satisfaction rolled through the wolf so intensely it almost made me dizzy. I dropped her arm immediately like touching her had burned me. Which honestly? Maybe it f*****g had. “You okay?” she asked quietly. The concern in her voice made something twist unpleasantly beneath my ribs. Concern. For me. Why? What the f**k was wrong with this girl? “Fine,” I muttered roughly. Lie. Everything about me felt wrong now. I needed distance. Needed my head clear. Needed Ferus to stop acting like Persefone Savage hung the goddamn moon. Because the truth was ugly. We came from very different worlds, and there was no way she would want to be tyed to us. Three rogues with no real rank, born from an omega mother, a single mom, working her ass off every day. Three rogues whose father was… f**k… She would never want us. And I shouldn’t want her. But I was already too f*****g gone. The pack house finally came into view through the trees, lights glowing warm against the darkness while voices echoed from somewhere near the entrance. And before I could stop myself from scanning the area automatically— someone moved fast toward Persefone. Male. Tall. Blond. Pack scent. Persefone barely had time to look up before the douche wrapped his arms around her hard enough to lift her slightly off the ground. “Holy s**t, Perse—” Relief crashed across his face, but also – Possession. No f*****g way. Something inside me snapped. I moved before I even realized I had. One second his hands were on her. The next he was slammed against the nearest f*****g tree with my hand wrapped around his throat hard enough to lift him clean off the ground. Ferus surged up violently beneath my skin, silver flashing across my forearms while the i***t clawed at my wrist choking out a strangled sound. “Touch her again,” I growled, voice coming out rougher than human while Ferus snarled beneath the words, “and I’ll rip your f*****g arm off.” His eyes nearly bulged out of his skull. Somewhere behind me, Persefone sucked in a sharp breath. And only then— only f*****g then— did I realize what I’d done.