The Night She Ran

Chapter One – The Night She Ran

The storm came without warning.

Rain crashed through the forest, cold and relentless, as Lia ran for her life.

Branches tore at her skin, her breath came in sharp gasps, but she didn’t slow down.

She couldn’t.

“Lia!”

The sound of her name froze her for a split second.

His voice.

Deep. Commanding. Unforgettable.

She squeezed her eyes shut and forced herself forward again.

If she stopped now… she would never leave.

Alpha Liam was not a man anyone could escape from.

He wasn’t just an Alpha.

He was powerful. Authority. Fear.

And once…

He had been everything to her.

Tears blurred Lia’s vision as memories hit her all at once.

The way he used to look at her… like she was the only one in the room.

The way his touch burned into her skin… like a promise he never meant to keep.

The night everything changed…

Her hand trembled as it moved protectively to her stomach.

“I’m sorry…” she whispered, her voice breaking.

She didn’t know if she was apologizing to him…

Or to the life growing inside her.

No.

Not just one life.

She had felt it.

Two heartbeats.

Twins.

Fear gripped her chest tighter than the cold ever could.

If he found out…

If the pack found out…

She would lose everything.

Because she wasn’t meant to carry the alpha’s children.

She was nothing more than a servant someone unseen, someone replaceable.

And Liam?

He belonged to power.

To alliances.

To a future that had no place for her.

A distant howl cut through the storm.

Then another.

They were close.

Too close.

Lia stumbled, falling hard into the mud. Pain shot through her body, but she bit back a cry and forced herself up again.

“You have to be strong,” she whispered, clutching her stomach tightly. “For them… I have to survive for them.”

Lightning split the sky.

And for a brief moment, she saw it.

The edge of the territory.

Freedom.

Hope surged through her as she pushed her aching body forward, ignoring the pain, the fear, the exhaustion.

Behind her, the forest seemed to close in.

The howls grew louder.

Closer.

“LIA!”

His voice again closer this time.

Her heart shattered at the sound.

For a second…

Just one second…

She almost turned back.

But then—

She stepped across the boundary.

Silence fell instantly.

The howls stopped.

The bond… snapped.

Lia gasped, her knees hitting the ground as the invisible connection between them broke completely.

Tears streamed down her face.

“It’s over…” she whispered.

But it didn’t feel like freedom.

It felt like losing a part of herself.

Slowly, she stood, wrapping her arms around her body as the rain softened.

“I won’t let him find us,” she said, her voice trembling but determined. “No matter what.”

She placed a hand over her stomach again, softer this time.

“You’ll be safe. I promise.”

Far behind her, deep within the territory…

Alpha Liam stood still in the storm.

His eyes glowed faintly, his expression dark and unreadable.

Something inside him had just gone silent.

Gone missing.

His fists clenched.

“Find her,” he ordered, his voice low and dangerous.

No one disobeyed an Alpha.

Especially not him. not when everything could be taken away from you.