Housebound with the Blackridge Heirs novel Chapter 105

Chapter 105

Chapter 105

Maya

I was running.

Not stumbling, not wandering, not half-aware the way it had been before. I was fully conscious this time, fully awake inside my own head, and yet my body was no longer mine. My wolf had taken the reins and she was ruthless about it, pulling me forward with a single-minded urgency that left no room for doubt or hesitation.

South.

The direction was not a thought so much as a command, a magnetic force tugging at my spine and my ribs and the center of my chest, dragging me through the forest like my life depended on how fast I could move. The ground blurred beneath my paws, snow and dead leaves scattering as I tore through the trees, white and silver flashing between shadows.

The air burned my lungs in the best and worst way, cold and sharp and intoxicating. Every scent was amplified until it felt like I was drowning in them, pine and frost and damp earth layered with something older and darker that made my wolf surge harder.

This was what she had been built for.

I was aware of myself enough to be terrified by that.

Branches whipped past my flanks, my muscles stretching and contracting in a rhythm so perfect it almost felt euphoric. My heart hammered, not with panic but with exhilaration, and that frightened me more than anything else. I should have been afraid. I was afraid. But my body didn’t care.

Something moved behind me.

I heard it before I saw it, the thunder of paws striking the ground in pursuit, the sound sharp enough to slice through the roar in my ears. Instinct made me whip my head to the side, and I caught a glimpse of another wolf keeping pace with me through the trees.

He was unfamiliar and unmistakable all at once.

Dark fur, lean and fast, his movements smooth in a way that felt practiced and predatory. He ran like he knew exactly where he was going, like the forest belonged to him.

Rohan.

The recognition landed in my gut with a sickening lurch.

My fear spiked, hot and immediate, but Aelera didn’t recoil. She didn’t warn me, nor did she tell me to turn or slow or stop. If anything, she seemed almost curious, her presence steady and watchful as he gained ground.

But it only made me run faster. I was conscious enough to put some speed behind it.

My paws barely touched the ground now, my body a blur of motion as I weaved through trees and over fallen logs, my muscles screaming with the effort. Rohan stayed with me easily, his stride matching mine as if this was a game he knew how to win.

I didn’t let myself look at him again, until he just… stopped.

To say I was confused was an understatement.

But then I felt another presence.

This one hit me like a shock to the system, a familiar weight sliding into place along my right side, close enough that I could feel the heat of him even through the cold air. I turned my head just enough to catch the flash of black fur, the powerful curve of a wolf who moved like the world bent for him.

Tylon.

Relief and panic crashed into each other inside me, tangling until I couldn’t tell where one ended and the other began.

1/3

Successfully unlocked!

Chapter 105

Yet, my wolf didn’t slow. She refused, surging forward with renewed desperation, dragging me southward with even more force now that he was here.

But Tylon was faster.

He gained on me with terrifying ease, his presence a steady pressure that crowded my space and stole my breath. I felt the shift in his movement just before it happened, the way his weight shifted back and then forward, and then he was on me.

We hit the ground hard.

Snow exploded around us as he tackled me from the side, sending us tumbling through leaves and frost and tangled roots. My wolf snarled, furious at the interruption, and I fought without thinking, teeth snapping and claws raking as instinct took over.

It was chaos, a blur of motion and sound and raw animal fury.

But even in the middle of it, I realized something.

He never hurt me.

His grip was iron, his strength overwhelming, but his teeth never found flesh. His claws pinned rather than tore. Every move he made was calculated to restrain, not destroy, and that realization cut through the haze enough that my wolf hesitated.

Just for a heartbeat.

I stopped fighting.

The world snapped into sharper focus, and I saw him clearly then, hovering over me, his chest heaving, his breath fogging the air between us. His eyes were not black with rage or hunger.

They were gray.

I knew those eyes.

He made a low sound in response, something that felt like relief and anguish tangled together, and he nudged my shoulder with his muzzle, grounding and urgent. The contact sent a shiver through me that had nothing to do with the cold.

I felt the shift coming before I could stop it.

My body convulsed, bones reshaping, fur receding, the world snapping back into painful clarity as I collapsed beneath him in human form. But Aelera stayed close to the surface, restless and furious, clawing at the inside of my skin.

Tylon shifted too, his weight changing as he pinned me down, hands braced on either side of my shoulders.

We were both naked, the cold biting immediately at my exposed skin, but I barely registered it.

My breath came in ragged gasps, my heart trying to beat its way out of my chest.

I could still feel the pull south.

It was stronger now, screaming through my veins, demanding movement, demanding release.

My fangs ached as they forced their way up and then receded, my eyes burning as they flickered between mine and my wolf’s. My fingers curled and uncurled, claws threatening to break free.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify