Chapter 5: Exile and Intrigue
Ronan POV
The thing hit like the wind. Not like a storm. No, it hit like a curse.
Invisible. Inevitable. It slammed into the cabin with no body, no shape, just force and sound and rage. Sasha screamed, and I lunged. We went down hard. Her back hit the floor, and I shielded her as glass rained over us, slicing into my arm. The thing, whatever it was, rushed in. Cold. Heavy. Like the air itself turned solid. My wolf surged, and Roni roared. But we couldn’t see it. We could only feel it. Every instinct inside of me screamed to fight, but fight what? The pressure crushed the room and turned the air electric. I snarled and braced for another hit, but just as fast as it came, it stopped.
Gone.
The weight lifted and the silence settled, broken only by Sasha's ragged breathing beneath me. I didn’t move for a second. Neither did she. And then I looked down. Her eyes were wide, and her lips trembled. Her body shivered under mine. I moved off of her slowly, carefully, not wanting to let go but knowing I had to. She sat up, her breath shallow.
"What the hell was that?" she whispered. I shook my head.
"I don’t know. But it wasn’t a rogue. And it wasn’t a wolf…I still think it is something old,” Sasha hugged her knees, her voice hoarse.
"It was like...the air hated us. Like it wanted to tear us apart from the inside out,” she whispered and I nodded. She wasn’t wrong. I wiped the blood off my arm and looked at the window. Only shards remained. Wind moved through the hole, mocking the stillness we no longer trusted.
"It didn’t touch you, did it?" I asked.
"No," she said quickly. "It didn’t need to,” I nodded, jaw clenched tight.
"It was old," I said finally. "Older than anything I have ever felt. And it knew you. It wanted you,” I hated to say that aloud, but it was the truth. Whatever it was, it didn’t want me. It wanted her. Sasha swallowed hard. I helped her to her feet, as I ignored the sting of broken glass in my palms. We both stood there for a moment and neither of us spoke. Our hearts were still racing. Our bodies still tense as if we were waiting for something else to happen. But as the silence stretched on, nothing happened. It was just the silence that surrounded us. Sasha then walked over to the fireplace, arms wrapped around herself, staring into the ash like it could explain what had just happened.
"Do you think it was watching us earlier?"
"It’s been watching for a long time. I just don’t think it wanted to reveal itself until now,” I said. I wasn’t sure how I knew that, but I did. Her head whipped toward me.
"Why now?" she questioned, but I didn’t answer. Because I didn’t know. Or maybe I did. Sasha started to pace as she wondered aloud. "It didn’t come after Kade. It didn’t go for the pack. It wasn’t interested in you. It wants me. Just me," I nodded.
"You are different. It knows it,"
"Because of the mark?"
"Because of what the mark means," I said. "You are part of something older. You always have been,” that much I knew to be true. I didn’t fully understand it, but I felt it. She sat on the couch and dropped her head into her hands.
"Why me? I didn’t ask for any of this,”
"Maybe because you are the one who can survive it,” I whispered and she looked over at me slowly.
"You sound so sure,”
"Because I feel it. In my blood. In my bones. And the moment I saw that thing? It felt the same way. Like it recognized something in you. Something ancient,” Sasha exhaled shakily.
"I need to get out of here. Just for a night. I need...something normal,”
"You still want to run?"
"Wouldn’t you?" I didn’t answer. Because yeah, I would’ve. Once. But not now.
"Come with me," I said again. "I’ll get you out, I’ll keep you safe. Just for tonight,” Sasha hesitated, but she didn’t argue. She didn’t push me away. That was enough. But then I heard it. A sound. It wasn’t like before. This wasn’t the same thing. This was different. This was deliberate. Boots. Quiet. On the porch. I turned, every muscle locked. Sasha’s head snapped up.
"What is it?" she asked softly, but I didn’t her because I was already moving. I grabbed a knife from the hearth wall and crept to the door. I pressed my back against the wall beside it. The wood creaked outside. Then stopped. "Ronan?" Sasha called out and I glanced at her and lifted a finger. Wait. Then I threw the door open and lunged into the night. I was desperate to fight. I was desperate to protect what was mine. But I was met with nothing. Nothing but shadows. But the scent was there. New. Fresh. It didn’t smell like the pack. But someone had come to the door. Someone had been listening. And someone had vanished the second I had gotten too close. My grip on the knife tightened.
"Who’s there?" I growled. Silence. But the wind answered. A whisper. One word. One name. Spoken just loud enough to freeze the blood in my veins.
"Sasha,”
I turned. But no one was there. And I suddenly knew whatever we were up against hadn’t finished. It had just begun.