Chapter 14: Fourteen

Chapter 14

Sam’s POV

The forest is alive with her scent.

It burns through me like wildfire, cutting through the wind, threading between the trees, wrapping around my lungs until I can barely breathe. I can’t tell where my rage ends and my wolf’s hunger begins. They're one and the same now.

“Alpha, wait!” Cole’s voice snaps from behind me, breathless. “You’re too close to the border!”

I won't stop. My claws dig into the dirt as I sprint harder, faster. The cold night air slices across my face, and the moonlight paints the path in silver and shadow. Every beat of my heart echoes with her name.

Ella.

She’s alive.

I don’t know how, or why, or what kind of game she’s playing but she didn’t die in that cell like they told me she did. She ran. She ran from me.

The thought tears through my chest like a blade.

“Sam, damn !” Cole catches up, grabbing my arm. I whirl on him with a snarl so sharp it makes him flinch back.

“She’s in Green Wood,” I growl, voice low and dangerous. “You can smell it too.”

Cole hesitates, nostrils flaring. I see the moment he catches it the faint trace of Ella’s scent on the wind, mingled with pine and iron.

His jaw tightens. “Crossing the border means war.”

“Then so be it.”

“Sam!” He steps in front of me, blocking my path. “You’re not thinking clearly. The council will never”

“Enough.” My voice shakes the air. Even my wolf growls beneath it. “She’s my mate. My mark is on her. That gives me every right.”

Cole’s eyes flicker with pity. “You almost killed her last time you saw her.”

That stops me cold.

For a moment, the memory crashes in the look on her face, the way her body went limp in my hands, Cole dragging me off her before I did something unforgivable. My chest tightens, guilt clawing at the edges of my fury.

I drag a hand down my face. “She lied, Cole. She made me think she was” I cut off, unable to finish. My throat burns. “I can’t let her disappear again. Not when she knows what she knows.”

Cole sighs, running a hand through his hair. “If you go after her, I’m going with you.”

I nod once. I wouldn’t stop him even if I wanted to.

We move together, crossing the shallow stream that marks the border. The air changes instantly, thicker, heavier, carrying the faint hum of a different kind of power. The Green Wood Pack lands are quieter, their patrols better hidden, their traps more cunning.

“Careful,” Cole mutters. “We’re not welcome here.”

“Neither is she,” I reply.

We follow her trail deep into the woods until the scent twists stronger, fresher. My pulse spikes.

Then… a flicker of movement ahead. A shadow between the trees.

I freeze, motioning for Cole to stay back.

“Ella,” I whisper into the darkness.

No answer.

I take one step forward. Then another.

Suddenly, a figure drops from a low branch, landing in front of me. A manbroad shoulders, dark hair, eyes like tempered steel. He’s fast, confident, too at ease for someone standing in an Alpha’s path.

“Step back,” he says, voice steady. “You don’t belong here.”

My lips curl. “Who the hell are you?”

“Someone who doesn’t take kindly to trespassers.” He shifts slightly, and I catch the faint glint of a blade strapped to his thigh. “And definitely not ones who hunt women.”

A low growl builds in my chest. “You’re from Green Wood.”

He doesn’t deny it. “You’re Alpha Sam. The one who locked up his own mate.”

My fists clench. “Watch your mouth.”

He smirks. “You should’ve watched your temper.”

Before I can blink, he moves. A blur of speed, his boot slams into my ribs. Pain explodes through me, but I catch his arm and twist, throwing him hard against a tree. The impact rattles the ground.

Cole lunges forward, but the man flips up, landing lightly on his feet. He’s skilled. Too skilled for a random pack warrior.

We circle each other in silence, the night buzzing around us.

Then I smell another scent, stronger now, close. Too close.

My head snaps toward the west. “She’s here.”

The man tenses but doesn’t move fast enough. I shove past him, following the trail until I break through the trees and into a clearing.

There she is.

Ella stands a few feet away, her hair tangled, her face pale, eyes wide like a cornered animal. Moonlight spills over her, making her look almost unreal.

For a heartbeat, I forget how to breathe.

She looks smaller than I remember. Fragile. But the moment our eyes lock, I see something burning behind them fear, yes, but something else too. Defiance.

“Ella,” I breathe.

She takes a step back. “Don’t.”

Cole and the stranger burst through the trees behind me, but I barely registered them. All I see is her.

“You shouldn’t have followed me,” she says softly.

“You shouldn’t have run.”

“I had no choice,” she whispers. “You were going to kill me.”

My heart twists. “You think I’d”

“You already did,” she cuts in, her voice trembling but strong. “You just didn’t finish the job.”

The words hit harder than any blow. For a second, I can’t speak.

Cole’s voice breaks the tension. “We need to leave before their patrols”

A sharp whistle pierces the night.

The stranger stiffens. “Too late.”

From the trees, dozens of warriors emergeGreen Wood sentries, their eyes glowing faintly in the dark. They form a circle around us, weapons drawn.

“Drop your weapons!” one of them barks. “You’re trespassing on Green Wood land.”

Cole mutters a curse. “Sam…”

But my eyes stay on Ella. She’s trembling, torn between me and them. Between two worlds.

“Ella,” I say quietly, stepping closer. “You’re coming back with me.”

Her lips part. “You don’t command me anymore.”

The words cut deep. Before I can respond, the strangerNolan, I realize steps protectively in front of her.

“She’s not yours to claim,” he says. “Not anymore.”

A growl rips from my throat, my control slipping fast. “She’s my mate.”

“And yet you broke her,” he fires back.

Before either of us can move, the sound of snapping branches fills the air. The warriors part as another figure walks through the crowd, a tall man with silver eyes and a dark, commanding aura.

Alpha Rowan. Green Wood’s leader.

“Enough,” he says, voice calm but heavy with power. “Sam, Cole… You’ve crossed into my territory without invitation.”

I straighten, meeting his gaze. “She’s mine.”

“She’s under my protection,” Rowan replies evenly. “And if you take one more step toward her, I’ll consider it a declaration of war.”

The clearing goes silent. Even the wind seems to hold its breath.

Cole shifts uneasily beside me. “Sam…”

I don’t move. I can’t.

Ella looks at me one last timeeyes glistening, voice breaking. “Please, Sam. Just go.”

Her words are soft. Final.

And before I can stop her, Rowan steps forward, placing a hand on her shoulder and guiding her back toward his men. She doesn’t resist.

My heart feels like it’s being torn apart piece by piece.

Cole grabs my arm. “Sam, we have to go.”

I let him pull me away, but my eyes never leave her.

As we retreat into the darkness, one thought burns through the storm of rage and pain in my chest.

She thinks she’s safe in Green Wood.

She isn’t.

Because no border, no Alpha, no war will keep me from getting her back.

Not this time.