Chapter 7 Seven

Chapter 7

Ella’s POV

I run.

Branches whip across my face, cutting into my skin as I push through the forest. My lungs burn, my legs scream in pain, but I don’t stop. I can still hear the echo of that sound, those eyes, red and glowing in the dark.

Something’s chasing me.

I don’t dare look back. I can feel it behind me, its footsteps barely touching the ground, too light to be human, too heavy to be wind.

The ring Gemma dropped is still clutched in my hand. It’s cold, even colder than my skin. I don’t know why I’m still holding onto it, but some part of me knows it’s important. Maybe the only proof that tonight is real.

A root catches my foot, and I fall hard. The breath rushes out of me in a painful gasp. The forest floor is damp, thick with the smell of earth and decay. I push myself up, shaking, my palms raw.

The sound stops.

I freeze, listening. My heartbeat pounds in my ears, drowning out everything else.

Then a soft laugh. Low. Male. Too close.

“Running again, Ella?”

The voice comes from behind me. I turn slowly, my entire body shaking.

A figure steps out from between the trees. Not Sam. Not Cole.

It’s Jude.

The bar owner.

For a moment, I can’t even breathe. He shouldn’t be here. He shouldn’t even be alive after what he did.

“You ” My voice cracks. “What are you doing here?”

Jude smiles, but it’s not a kind smile. “You didn’t think I’d let you get away that easily, did you?”

He steps closer, and I notice his eyes they’re glowing faintly, like Gemma’s had. My blood turns to ice.

“Stay away from me,” I whisper, stumbling backward.

He keeps walking. “You ruined everything for me,” he says, his tone sharp, bitter. “Because of you, I lost everything. My bar. My place in this pack. My respect.”

“I didn’t do anything to you!” I shout. “You tried to force yourself on me ”

He stops suddenly and tilts his head, smirking. “And now you think you can play victim?” His voice drops lower. “You’re more like your father than you think.”

My breath catches. “Don’t talk about him.”

Jude’s grin widens. “Why not? The great demon’s daughter. The girl everyone loves to hate. You think you can ever escape what you are?”

My vision blurs with tears, but I don’t look away. “You don’t know anything about me.”

“Oh, but I do.” He lifts his hand and I see dark veins crawling under his skin. “Your father made me what I am.”

I stumble back again. “What?”

“He found me years ago,” Jude says, stepping into a shaft of moonlight. “When I was nothing. He offered me power. Said he could make me more than human. I thought he was crazy until he proved it.” He grins again, teeth flashing unnaturally sharp. “Wolfbane in my blood. Darkness in my veins. A gift from the demon himself.”

My heart pounds harder. “You’re lying.”

He takes another step. “Am I?”

Suddenly, a branch snaps somewhere behind him. Jude’s head jerks up. His grin fades.

A voice calls out from the shadows. “Step away from her, Jude.”

It’s Gemma.

She walks out of the darkness, calm but tense. Her eyes glow again bright, fierce and for a moment, they match his.

Jude laughs softly. “Ah, the loyal Gamma. Still playing the protector, I see.”

Gemma raises her hand. “You should have stayed hidden.”

“You should have stayed dead,” Jude snaps.

Before I can even blink, he lunges at her.

Gemma moves too fast. She catches his arm and shoves him back, sending him crashing into a tree. The impact shakes the ground. The air fills with the scent of burning flesh. Jude screams, clutching his arm where her hand had touched him. Smoke rises from his skin.

“What are you?” I whisper.

Gemma doesn’t look at me. “Something your father created and tried to destroy.”

Jude recovers quickly, snarling. His nails sharpen into claws, his teeth glinting in the dim light. “You can’t stop what’s coming, Gemma. The dark packs are rising. Wood Valley will fall first. And when your precious Alpha finally sees the truth about his little mate…” He looks at me, smiling wickedly. “He’ll kill her himself.”

Gemma growls, her voice changing deeper, rougher. “Not if I kill you first.”

They clash again. It’s chaos. I can barely see what’s happening, just flashes of movement, growls, the sound of skin tearing, and the stench of blood.

Then Gemma slams her hand against his chest. A burst of light shoots out from her palm, throwing Jude several feet back. He hits the ground hard and lies still.

I can’t move. My whole body shakes as I stare at him, his chest barely rising.

Gemma turns to me, her face pale. “We have to go. Now.”

I hesitate, my voice barely a whisper. “What was that?”

“Later,” she says, grabbing my arm. “There’s no time.”

She pulls me through the trees, fast, almost dragging me. My feet stumble over roots and rocks, but I keep going because the alternative of staying behind is worse.

When we finally stop, we’re by the river, the moon reflecting off the water like shards of glass.

Gemma lets go of me, breathing hard. “He’s not the only one,” she mutters. “There are more like him. Your father’s work didn’t die with him.”

My stomach twists. “You said my father was gone. That Sam killed him.”

“He killed his body,” she says softly. “Not his spirit.”

I stare at her, my mind spinning. “What are you saying?”

Gemma looks at me, her eyes filled with something I can’t name fear, regret, maybe both. “Your father bound a part of himself to his bloodline. That’s why Sam marked you that night. The wolfbane didn’t just take your wolf, it awoke what was sleeping inside you.”

I step back slowly, shaking my head. “No… no, that’s not possible.”

She steps closer. “It is. You think the mark saved you, but it didn’t. It connected you to him.”

I press my hands to my chest, where Sam’s mark still burns faintly beneath the fabric. It feels like fire spreading under my skin. “I don’t feel anything,” I whisper.

“Not yet,” she says. “But you will.”

Before I can respond, a sound echoes from the woods' low, steady footsteps. Multiple. Getting closer.

Gemma stiffens. “They found us.”

“Who?” I ask, my voice trembling.

“The patrol. Sam’s men.”

My heart drops. “He’s sending them after me?”

Gemma grips my shoulders. “Listen to me, Ella. When they find us, you do not speak. You do not tell them what happened here. Let me handle it.”

I nod weakly, though my whole body is shaking.

The bushes rustle. Figures appear in four of them, all in uniform. The moonlight glints off their silver weapons.

And then I see him.

Sam.

He steps forward, his eyes fixed on me, unreadable. His gaze slides to Gemma, then back to me.

“Care to explain,” he says, his voice cold and sharp, “why my Gamma and my mate are standing at the edge of my border in the middle of the night?”

Gemma straightens, calm as ever. “I found her trying to run again,” she lies smoothly. “I was bringing her back.”

Sam’s jaw tightens. “And the blood on your hands?”

Gemma doesn’t flinch. “Jude. He attacked us.”

Sam’s eyes flicker with shock, confusion, then anger. “Jude’s dead. I saw his body myself.”

“Not dead enough,” Gemma says quietly.

Sam takes a step closer, his gaze locking onto me. “Is that true?”

I open my mouth to answer but Gemma squeezes my hand hard, her nails digging into my skin. I stay silent.

Sam studies me for a moment longer, then sighs heavily. “We’ll settle this back at the house. Both of you.”

Gemma nods. “Of course, Alpha.”

He turns away, signaling for the guards.

As they start leading us back through the trees, I glance over my shoulder back toward where we left Jude’s body.

But the clearing is empty.

There’s no sign of him. No blood. No tracks. Nothing.

My chest tightens as cold dread seeps through me. I grip Gemma’s

ring tighter.

“Gemma…” I whisper. “He’s gone.”

Gemma doesn’t answer.

Her jaw is clenched, her eyes fixed ahead.

And for the first time since I met her… she looks afraid.