Bound By Four

CHAPTER 5

I didn’t stop running until the border was behind me.

The instant my foot crossed that invisible line, something in my chest loosened just enough for me to breathe again. Not relief. Not peace. Just space. Fear still rode high, sharp and constant, buzzing through my veins like live wire, but it shifted shape. It stopped whispering that there was nowhere left to go and became the kind that pushed me forward. The kind that kept my legs moving, my head up, my heart beating.

I slowed only when my lungs burned and my legs began to tremble beneath me, muscles screaming in open revolt. I bent forward, hands braced on my knees, dragging air into my chest in harsh, tearing pulls. The forest here felt different immediately. The scents were unfamiliar. No pack markers layered over bark and soil. No Alpha presence pressing down on my instincts. No invisible weight reminding me where I ranked.

Just land.

Just the quiet hum of a world that didn’t need permission to exist.

I straightened slowly and looked back once.

The trees swallowed my former territory without ceremony. Branches and shadows folded over it until there was nothing to mark it as special. No boundary line. No warning. Just more forest, indistinguishable from any other stretch of wilderness.

As if it had never belonged to me at all.

Maybe it never had.

My hands shook as I stripped off my clothes and shoved them into my bag. I didn’t bother folding anything. The air bit cold against my skin, but I welcomed it. It reminded me I was still here. Still breathing. Still choosing.

The shift hit hard and fast.

Bones snapped and reshaped in sharp flashes of pain that tore through me, bright enough to make my vision stutter. I leaned into it, welcomed it, because this pain was honest. Clean. Mine. There were no hands pinning me down. No laughter. No humiliation.

When I rose again, my wolf stood tall and steady beneath me.

White fur gleamed faintly even under the canopy. She was massive. Larger than most. Alpha sized in a body that had never been treated as anything more than expendable. Her presence filled my chest with fierce, protective heat, like something ancient and furious finally stretching awake.

I grabbed my bag in my jaws and ran.

Everything blurred after that. Trees streaked past in smears of green and shadow. The earth thundered beneath my paws, solid and dependable. My wolf reveled in the movement, the speed, the sheer freedom of it. She stretched into each stride like she’d been starving for years, like every mile between us and the pack was a wound finally knitting closed.

We didn’t slow until the first human town appeared through the trees.

Lights glimmered faintly ahead. Roads. Buildings. People.

Instinct flared sharp and immediate. Too visible. Too easy to track. I veered wide without hesitation, skirting the town’s edge and pushing on, muscles burning, lungs raw.

When I finally shifted back, it was with a gasp and a stumble.

Gravity slammed into my bones. Pain screamed through my arms as the world tilted, black spots dancing across my vision. I nearly dropped to my knees. The bandages had torn during the shift, blood seeping through stitches that hadn’t had time to fully close. My healing was working, but not fast enough. Not after everything my body had already been put through.

I pulled my jacket tighter and limped toward the nearest drugstore, head down, shoulders hunched.

No one asked questions.

They rarely do when you look broken enough.

I bought antiseptic, fresh bandages, tape, and shoved them into my bag with hands that wouldn’t stop shaking. In the park bathroom, fluorescent lights buzzed overhead as I rewrapped my arms carefully, biting the inside of my cheek when the pain spiked too hard.

My reflection stared back from the mirror.

Pale. Hollow eyed. Bruises blooming in places I couldn’t hide. Hair dull and tangled.

I looked like exactly what I was.

A runaway.

I turned away before I could spiral.

The bus terminal was only a few blocks away. I bought a one way ticket and chose a seat wedged between two thick concrete pillars, positioned so I could see every entrance without being easily seen myself. People stared as they passed. They always do. The bandages drew attention even with my sleeves pulled low.

I didn’t care.

All that mattered was distance.

I tried not to think about Sam. About what he’d do when he realized I was gone. Whether the Alpha would order him to hunt me down. Whether Sam would be strong enough to pretend he couldn’t find me, or whether loyalty would tear him apart from the inside.

I tried not to think about my father. Whether he was still locked up. Whether he even remembered what he’d been accused of. Whether any of it would matter in the end.

The scent hit me before I saw them.

Pack.

My breath caught and my body went rigid. My wolf stirred beneath my skin, hackles lifting, instincts screaming. I scanned the terminal and spotted them immediately.

Two men.

Big. Hard. Warriors.

They moved with purpose, shoulders squared, eyes sweeping the room with practiced efficiency. Hunters. Not guards. Not patrols.

My stomach dropped.

I slid lower in my seat and shifted between rows, moving slowly, carefully. Too many humans. Too much noise. Too many overlapping scents. My trail would be a mess here. Thank the Goddess.

They approached the ticket counter.

I watched from behind a row of seats as one of them showed the attendant a photo. She barely glanced at it before shaking her head. No hesitation. No pointing. Just a casual shrug like it meant nothing.

Relief hit so hard it made me dizzy.

I caught her eye as she looked around again and gave her a small, grateful smile before ducking into the women’s bathroom.

I didn’t stop moving.

The last stall had a narrow window set high in the wall. I climbed onto the toilet and hauled myself up, arms screaming as I squeezed through. I hit the ground outside hard and rolled, biting back a cry as pain shot through my ribs.

I stayed low, heart pounding, and circled the building until I reached the front again.

My bus was pulling in.

I jogged, showed my ticket, and climbed aboard just as the warriors exited the terminal behind me. I slid into a seat near the back and pulled my hood low as the doors hissed shut.

They didn’t look back.

Only when the bus pulled away did I finally let myself breathe.

The adrenaline drained fast, leaving pain in its wake. My arm throbbed violently. I peeled the bandage back just enough to see blood soaking through again and replaced it quickly. I couldn’t afford attention now.

The bus rolled onto the highway, engine humming steady beneath my feet. The motion tugged at me despite myself. My eyes slid closed for just a second.

The sudden stop snapped them open.

The bus hissed as it slowed, surrounded by forest on all sides. No town. No station. Just trees crowding the road.

My stomach dropped.

The driver stood and opened the door. A man stepped aboard, flashing a badge too quickly for anyone else to really see.

Human enough to fool civilians.

Not enough to fool me.

Pack.

I slid lower in my seat, heart hammering, but it didn’t matter. His gaze locked onto mine instantly, sharp and satisfied, like a predator spotting prey that had almost slipped away.

“There you are,” he said softly.

Fear didn’t freeze me this time.

It sharpened me.

I bolted.

I shoved past startled passengers, ignoring shouts and curses, and leapt from the bus the moment the door opened wider. I hit the ground hard, rolled, and ran, lungs tearing as I crashed into the woods without looking back.

I shifted mid stride.

Pain ripped through me as my wolf surged forward, stronger and faster than ever before. Branches tore at my fur. Roots threatened to trip me. Shouts echoed behind me as wolves thundered through the underbrush in pursuit.

They were good.

But I was desperate.

I ran until the world narrowed to breath and instinct. Until my muscles screamed and my vision blurred. Until the scent changed.

Wards.

Strong ones.

Power rolled over me as I crossed them, humming through my bones. The pursuit broke instantly. Growls turned to frustrated snarls as the wolves skidded to a halt at a boundary they couldn’t cross.

I didn’t look back.

I didn’t stop until lights glowed through the trees ahead.

Tall fences. Watchtowers. Armed guards.

The academy.

I shifted at the edge of the clearing, staggered forward on shaking legs, and raised my hands.

“I’m Sasha Nichols,” I said, my voice breaking. “I was told to come here.”

They didn’t hesitate.

Strong arms caught me as my legs finally gave out.

For the first time in my life, I didn’t have to fight to be saved.