<h4>Chapter 134: Turning Dark</h4>


    <strong>Kane’s POV</strong>


    A slow, predatory smile curled on my lips as I watched her move through the trees,pletely unaware of the eyes following her every step. She thought she was leaving. She thought she could escape me. Foolish, naive little mate.


    She didn’t even sense me. Pathetic.


    If I had been an enemy, she would already be dead. Her breathing was uneven, her movements uncoordinated, ruled by emotions rather than instinct. Weak. Vulnerable. Mine. She needed me. She didn’t realize it yet, but she did. She needed me to protect her, to keep her from making reckless, idiotic decisions like this.


    I moved soundlessly through the shadows, my steps light, my presence nothing more than a whisper against the night. She didn’t even flinch, didn’t even hesitate,pletely oblivious to the danger that lurked just behind her. She was supposed to be a wolf, my mate, yet she couldn’t even sense when she was being hunted.


    I let her get further, let her believe she was getting away. It was almost amusing, watching her stumble through the thick forest, her frustration growing with every passing second. She had no idea where she was going. She was just running—desperate, blind.


    Pathetic.


    She needed me.


    And yet, she was stupid enough to think I would let her go.


    Did she really believe she had a choice?


    I clenched my jaw, suppressing the growl that threatened to rise in my throat. She was mine. Mine to im. Mine to keep. Mine to protect.


    A darker satisfaction curled through me as I moved closer, still silent, still unseen. It was almost too easy. She was lost, helpless, and yet she still clung to the delusion that she could free herself from me. From us.


    I could hear the rapid beat of her heart, the shallow breaths she took, the tremor in her fingers as she pushed branches aside. She was afraid. Not of me—not yet. But of the unknown, of the forest, of whaty beyond the thick walls of trees.


    Good.


    Fear would keep her cautious. Fear would make her see reason.


    Still, I was growing tired of this game.


    With deliberate slowness, I let a single branch snap under my boot.


    She froze.


    Her head jerked up, her body stiffening as she turned sharply, scanning the darkness.


    "Who’s there?" she demanded, her voiceced with defiance. But I could hear it—the fear.


    I said nothing.


    She took a step back, her fingers curling into fists. "I know you’re there."


    No, little mate, you don’t.


    If you truly did, you would already be on your knees.


    I watched as she swallowed hard, as she squared her shoulders, trying to mask her growing unease. She was brave, I’d give her that. But bravery without strength was just foolishness.


    Another step. Another mistake.


    She wasn’t running anymore. No, now she was hesitating. Doubting.


    <i>Good.</i>


    And then, just as she turned—as she thought she was alone—I finally spoke.


    "You’re not very good at this, are you?"


    Her sharp inhale was intoxicating. The way she spun around, eyes wide, searching, desperate, powerless.


    I stepped out of the shadows slowly, deliberately, letting her see me—letting her see what she could never run from.


    "Did you really think I wouldn’t follow?" I murmured, my voice dangerously soft. "Did you really think you could leave me?"


    She took a step back, her pulse erratic, panic creeping into her expression.


    "I told you," she whispered, her voice trembling despite the fire in her eyes. "I told you I’m done."


    I tilted my head, amused. "And I told you, you’re mine."


    She clenched her fists. "You don’t own me, Kane!"


    I smiled then. A slow, cold smile that held no warmth, no softness—only darkness.


    "But I do, little mate."


    And with that, I took another step forward.


    She ran.


    And I let her.


    For now.


    Because this game was far from over


    A twisted satisfaction coiled inside me as I ran after her, silent as the night. She had no idea. No idea that I was watching, that I was trailing her every step. That I was <i>hunting</i> her.


    She thought she could escape me.


    Foolish little wolf.


    She didn’t even sense me lurking in the shadows earlier. Not a flicker of awareness. What if I had been an enemy? What if something else had found her before I did? She would have been dead before she could take her next breath. She needed me to protect her. She was weak, fragile—mine to shield. Mine to control.


    She had always belonged to me.


    Her defiance was pointless. She could run, she could fight, she could rage against the bond all she wanted, but the truth was absolute. The mark on her neck sealed her fate. She was bound to me, whether she wanted it or not. Whether she <i>epted</i> it or not.


    And yet, she was trying to leave.


    A growl rumbled in my chest, low and dangerous, as I watched her push deeper into the forest, her breathing in short, sharp bursts. Was she panicking? Good. She should be. The bond between us trembled, alive and raw, and I <i>felt</i> her—her fear, her fury, her stubborn resolve.


    She still thought she had a choice.


    How <i>amusing</i>.


    A slow smirk tugged at my lips as I stalked closer, moving through the trees with a predator’s grace. She was fast, but not fast enough. She was strong, but not stronger than me.


    This was inevitable.


    I let a single branch snap beneath my boot, letting the sound echo through the quiet night. To know that I had caught up with her. Again.


    Darkness slithered through me, consuming everyst shred of restraint I had left. It wasn’t just hunger—it was possession. A primal, malevolent urge to im her, to show her exactly who she belonged to. The forest floor would be her altar, and I’d be the one to iming her again and again as mine.


    The moment she heard meing, she ran.


    Smart girl.


    But I loved a good chase. And this? This was the sweetest hunt of all—because the reward was <i>her</i>.


    I stalked through the trees, my muscles coiled, my senses tuned to the sound of her pounding heartbeat, the sharp, quick gasps of her breath. She was fast, but I was faster. Her scent—wild and intoxicating—lingered in the air, guiding me straight to her.


    I could already see it in my mind—her beneath me, her body trembling, her eyes wide with the realization that running had been futile. That no matter how far she went, how fast she ran, I would <i>always</i> catch her.


    Her heartbeat spiked, a rapid, frantic rhythm that sent a dark thrill through me. Then, as if realizing what it meant, she increased her speed.


    Oh, I was loving this chase.


    I slowed down to let her believe, just for a moment, that she had a chance. That she could slip away from me. That she could <i>escape</i>.


    Then I moved.


    The wind howled around me as I surged forward, the trees nothing but a blur in my vision. I could already taste victory, could already imagine the moment she realized there was no running from me.


    I was closing in.


    Her breath hitched. She knew. She <i>knew</i>.


    And just as I was about to reach for her, to remind her who she <i>belonged</i> to—


    A force mmed into me from the side, knocking me off course, sending me skidding across the forest floor.


    A blur. A shadow.


    A snarl ripped from my throat as I twisted, ready to tear apart whatever dared to <i>interfere</i>.


    Dean.


    The vampire stood between me and my prize, his eyes cold, unyielding.


    "Run, little wolf," he said, his voice calm, deliberate.


    Elena hesitated for only a second before she turned and did just that.


    My entire body tensed, rage flooding through my veins. She was getting away. She was—


    I turned my fury onto Dean. "What the <i>hell</i> do you think you’re doing?"


    He didn’t flinch. Didn’t waver. He just stared at me, that ever-infuriating calm of his only fueling my anger.


    A growl ripped from my throat, my fangs elongating as fury zed through me.


    Dean had spent <i>years</i> trying to pull me into his darkness, whispering in my ear, urging me to <i>let go</i>. And now that I had—now that I had <i>finally</i> embraced the beast inside—he was telling my mate to <i>run</i>?


    Stupid fucking vampire.


    His eyes flickered with something unreadable. "You’re losing yourself, Kane. And you don’t even see it."


    A snarl tore from my lips. "She is <i>mine</i>."


    "She is <i>herself</i>," he countered. "And if you keep going down this path, you’ll destroy her."


    I lunged.


    He was ready.


    The night erupted into chaos as we shed, the force of our collision shaking the trees around us. Fists, ws, fangs—I didn’t care. I would rip him apart for getting in my way.


    But even as the battle consumed me, one single thought remained, burning at the edges of my mind like a brand.


    She was getting away.


    And I would find her again.


    No matter what it took.


    She would <i>never</i> be free of me.