تسجيل الدخولKael was more than annoyed as he walked away from Nova’s room. Every instinct screamed at him to turn around and stay. His wolf certainly wasn’t helping matters. The beast had spent the entire walk arguing that Nova was going to escape again the moment he took his eyes off her. Honestly, Kael wouldn’t have been surprised if she tried climbing out the window before he even reached the council chamber. Five years hadn’t changed her stubbornness. If anything, surviving the apocalypse had made it worse.Unfortunately, there was a more immediate problem waiting for him.The elders.Kael groaned under his breath as he stalked through the fortress halls. The old geezers had been a headache long before the world ended. Now they somehow had even more time to meddle in everyone else’s business. As he passed through the compound, wolves quickly stepped out of his way. Most took one look at his expression and wisely avoided speaking to him altogether. The few brave enough to try only offered symp
, I am not staying with you!” Nova shouted for what felt like the hundredth time that day.Kael closed his eyes briefly.Exhaustion.Pure exhaustion.He had fought Hollowfangs, led a pack, dealt with elders, tracked Nova across half the wilderness, and somehow the human female was still the hardest thing he had dealt with all week.“You are staying somewhere inside the compound,” he said firmly.“No.”“Yes.”“No.”“Yes.”“No.”“Yes.”Nova looked ready to throw something. Unfortunately for everyone involved, there were plenty of throwable objects nearby.Rylan watched the exchange for a few seconds before grinning. “Oh, this is gonna be fun.”Kael shot him a look.Rylan ignored it.“Man, she is definitely going to keep you on your toes.”Nova immediately pointed at him. “Stop encouraging him.”“I’m encouraging both of you.”“That doesn’t make it better.”“It makes it funnier.”Kael resisted the urge to growl. Barely.His wolf was no help whatsoever.She’s staying with us.She’s driving
Nova’s face remained completely blank the entire trip back She sat stiffly on Kael’s massive wolf form with her arms crossed tightly Still mad.Very mad.Kael knew that posture.His wolf however seemed entirely too pleased carrying her around.“She’s staying.”Rylan walked beside them casually trying several times to start conversation.“So… this technically counts as your first horseback riding experience.”Silence.“Wolfback riding?”Nothing.“You know Kael’s gonna become unbearable about this later.”Nova ignored him completely.Rylan sighed dramatically. “Wow. Tough crowd.”Kael’s ears flicked slightly in amusement.Every now and again nova’s eyes drifted down toward her injured leg resting against dark fur It still hurt But Not constantly But enough to remind her it was there.At least it wasn’t bleeding anymore.Whatever the doctor injected her with back at the compound…It worked Or partially worked The infection spreading beneath her skin had definitely slowed.What exactly had
The woods remained quiet around her Nova tightened her grip on the knife.Something felt wrong.Then suddenly—A massive black shape slammed into her from the side.Nova hit the ground hard with a startled curse as fur and claws flashed across her vision.Wolf.Big one.The creature snarled low while circling her immediately.Nova scrambled backward and raised the knife defensively.“Back off, mutt!”The black wolf prowled around her slowly, silver eyes locked onto her every movement.Nova’s pulse hammered.She didn’t know if this was one of Kael’s wolves or some feral stray but she sure as hell wasn’t letting herself get eaten after surviving Hollowfangs all night.The wolf lunged.Nova reacted instantly, rolling sideways as jaws snapped where her throat had been seconds earlier.“Oh hell no!”She slashed the knife outward.The blade clipped across dark fur causing the wolf to snarl sharply before circling her again.Nova quickly got to her feet despite exhaustion burning through her
Nova didn’t know how much distance she had put between herself and Kael, but she hoped it was far enough.Her legs ached from nonstop running while exhaustion dragged at every step, yet she kept moving anyway.Because trust got people killed.She learned that lesson early into the outbreak.People lied.People stole.People turned on each other the second survival got hard enough.And wolves?Yeah.Those definitely came with extra problems.Still…Kael confused her.Most predators didn’t look at someone the way he looked at her.Like finding her had stitched something broken back together inside him.Nova shoved the thought away immediately.Dangerous.Very dangerous.She climbed over fallen debris and finally emerged from the subway tunnels into another ruined section of the city.Nova scanned the streets carefully before continuing forward.Food.Shelter.Keep moving.That was the plan.Not giant emotionally damaged wolf men claiming they knew her before the apocalypse.A low distan
Nova thought about that for a moment.Trust.She learned a long time ago not to trust anyone.Not strangers.Not survivors.And definitely not wolves.The world had chewed apart every soft thing people used to believe in. Trust got people killed now.Kael pushed open the rusted subway door ahead of them before stepping inside an abandoned train car.Dust drifted through weak beams of light Old seats sat overturned while faded advertisements peeled from the walls Still…It was enclosed andDefensible.“This should do,” Kael muttered after checking the darker corners carefully. “We can stay here for the time being before heading back.”Nova immediately crossed her arms.“And what exactly makes you think I want to go back with you?”Kael slowly looked at her.Honestly looked at her.“Nova,” he said carefully, “you cannot be serious.”“Oh I’m serious.”“You almost died fifteen minutes ago.”“And?”“And?” Kael stared at her in disbelief. “You escaped my compound, ran through infected territo







