It was the first time my father ever hit me.
Tears poured from my eyes like rain as I lay on the ground, unable to do anything.
I kept screaming, begging them to stop.
In front of me, my father was fighting Max in a deadly battle.
The difference in power was clear.
My father was killing him, deep wounds tearing into Max's body.
But Max acted as if he couldn't feel pain at all.
With every hit, he struck back harder.
Stronger.
As if against all logic, the injuries didn't weaken him.
They made him stronger.
I tried to step between them, but their brutal force threw me aside the moment I got close.
I hit the ground hard, staring at them in shock.
Max was fighting back now.
His strength... his speed...
They were almost on the same level as my father's.
No-
He was even faster.
How? He was just a man without an inner wolf, facing an Alpha.
And not just any Alpha.
This should have been over in seconds.
Suddenly, my father released a part of his wolf, allowing only his eyes to turn.
They lit up with a glowing amber color.
The pupils stretched and sharpened, turning into a wolf's gaze-
Then landed a deadly blow.
His claws pierced Max's torso.
I gasped.
But Max didn't even cry out.
He didn't step back.
Instead, he grabbed my father's wrist and forced it out-
slowly, firmly-
Then he twists it to the side with unnatural strength.
Is Max... getting bigger?
Taller?
Are his muscles getting larger?
Something wasn't normal.
For a moment, I could swear one of his eyes was glowing silver-
just for a second-
before fading back to deep black.
My father noticed it too.
He stared at Max in shock-then caught his wrist mid-air, halting the strike before it could land.
"Who are you?" my father asked, his voice filled with disbelief.
Max pulled his arm back, confused by the sudden change in my father's reaction.
My father started at Max for a moment, then turned to me and said,
"Help him stop the bleeding.
I'll send William now to escort you both back to the village."
And just like that...
He turned around and left!
The moment he was gone, Max collapsed-
as if his body had only been holding on until it was safe to fall.
I ran to him in panic and dropped to my knees beside him.
Blood was soaking through his shirt.
"No, no, no..." I whispered.
I pressed my hands against the wound, trying to stop the bleeding, my fingers shaking.
"Max... stay with me."
A weak, breathless laugh escaped him between coughs.
"Are you... laughing?"
Max spoke through a smile that slowly turned into a pained expression.
"I just can't believe it," he said, "you're taking care of my wounds for the third time in a row."
Before I knew it, I laughed too.
I didn't understand my father's sudden change.
I don't understand anything anymore.
I was laughing, crying, confused-
all at the same time.
Then Max called my name in a faint voice.
"Nora..."
I leaned closer to him and forced a small smile.
"Yes. I'm here. I can hear you."
He smiled back, but his voice was soft and tired.
"I've never had a place in this world," he said slowly.
"My whole life, I moved from one village to another.
Rejected.
Unwanted."
His breathing was uneven, but he kept talking.
"The loneliness... the feeling that I don't belong anywhere...
It was killing me a little more every day."
My chest tightened as I listened.
"But believe me," he whispered, his eyes fixed on mine,
"even with everything that happened...
since the moment I saw you...
I enjoyed every moment with you."
Suddenly, Max closed his eyes.
His body went slack in my arms.
"No... no, Max," I whispered in panic.
"Open your eyes. Stay with me."
I quickly pulled his shirt aside to see the wound clearly.
Blood was pouring out.
I pressed harder, trying to stop it.
"You're going to heal," I said desperately.
"You always do.
Your wounds close fast... right?"
But this time,
The blood wouldn't stop.
"Max!" I screamed.
And then the cabin door burst open.
William stood there, his face pale with terror.
"Nora, run!" he shouted.
I ignored him.
"William, help me!" I cried. "Max is dying!"
"Run!" William screamed again. "Now!"
"You don't understand!" I shouted back.
"My father isn't against this anymore.
He told me to take Max back to the village."
William cut me off.
"Your father is dead."
For a moment, my mind went completely blank.
I couldn't speak.
I couldn't breathe.
William grabbed my arm, trying to pull me up.
"Draven and Jax gathered their men," he said urgently.
"They ambushed your father on his way back... and now they're coming for you, We have to run..."
But it was too late...
Jax appeared out of nowhere behind William.
His eyes were full of pure evil.
"Shut up," Jax said coldly.
In one sudden movement, he twisted William's head back.
There was a sickening crack.
William fell to the ground, his body lifeless.
I didn't even hear him hit the floor.
All I could hear was my own heartbeat-
slow, loud, unbearable.
My vision blurred, tears flooding my eyes.
Through the haze, I could barely see Jax walking toward me.
He grabbed me by the hair and dragged me outside.
"No!" I screamed in pain.
"Max!" I cried out.
Jax lifted me by my hair and slammed my head hard.
Darkness rushed in, pulling me away from the pain.
The last thing I saw...
was Max lying on the cabin floor,
his blood spreading across the wooden boards-
before everything went black
