Nothing To Lose.

Kyle knows he can't let Lucan find him now, not like this. Not when he sees him he will realize that he is the monster he has been hunting, realize that he is a boy and not a girl.

He keeps running.

And even as he keeps running, he can sense Lucan's emotions pressing against his skin like heat — desperate, hurt, hope clinging stubbornly to the edges.

But even so, Kyle keeps going, slipping between the trees like a phantom, heart hammering, lungs burning.

If Lucan know the truth.

Kyle knows there will be only terrible outcomes: hatred, Disgust, anger.

And Kyle knows he can't bear it.

The thought of Lucan's face twisted in rage, the bond between them snapping into a cruel, bloody thing, the look of betrayal, it would kill him.

He also can't bare to imagine how hurt Lucan will feel, knowing that his mate is a monster who killed his parents.

And also, not a girl, but a boy.

So he runs, even when every fiber of his body screams for him to stop and turn back.

The hours stretch endlessly.

The forest thickens. His bare feet are torn by roots and stones, blood painting the ground behind him.

And still, Kyle doesn't stop.

He shoves down the sobs clawing up his throat, focusing only on the next step, and the next, and the next , until finally, finally, he can no longer feel Lucan's scent or his emotions chasing after him.

He must have lost Lucan, because if he can't feel him anymore that means he is not anywhere near.

The silence is deafening.

Kyle stumbles to a stop, his chest heaving, trembling hands braced against his thighs.

Relief starts to seep in, shaky and broken.

He opens his mouth to let out a breath, but then he crashes straight into a broad chest.

Kyle freezes, breath snagging painfully in his lungs.

For a heartbeat, he doesn't move.

Doesn't even dare to lift his head.

He just stands there, forehead pressed to the solid wall of muscle, feeling the slow, steady heartbeat that is not his own.

Dread coils in his gut.

Another disaster.

Another unknown.

Another nightmare about to unfold.

He made peace not long ago that nothing good would ever come from his pathetic life.

"Is it that comfortable? No problem, take your time "

The voice is low, vibrating through the man's chest like a distant drumbeat.

It's almost gentle.

Kyle jerks back immediately, heart stuttering.

He looks up, and stares.

The man standing before him looks like he was carved from stone, every line of his face unfairly perfect, every plane of his body a masterpiece of strength.

He can't be much older than twenty, his youthful face says so, but his body... his body carries power, brutal and effortless, the kind that makes Kyle's wolf stir uneasily inside him.

A smirk tugs at the man's mouth, as if he finds Kyle's shock amusing.

"You can stop running now," the man says smoothly. "I've distracted him."

Kyle's heart stops. He must be talking about Lucan. Because he is the one who has been following him.

Fear slices through him, sharper than anything before.

"What did you do to him?!" Kyle demands, panic gripping his voice, his fists curling uselessly at his sides.

"Kyle, I just said I distracted him," the man replies simply.

He speaks Kyle's real name like a secret only he was ever supposed to know, like he's always known it.

It makes Kyle's skin crawl.

"You have no idea how glad I was when you rejected that bond," the man adds casually, like it's a simple thing. Like it's not another dagger plunged into Kyle's already bleeding soul.

Kyle stares, breathless, horrified.

"Who are you?!" he demands hoarsely. "How do you know my name?! How do you know about any of this?!"

The man tilts his head slightly, amusement flickering in his unnervingly beautiful eyes.

"Kyle," he says, and there's almost something kind in the way he says it, almost, but not quite.

"I'm someone who knows what's been happening to you. Because I've been there before."

He steps closer, and Kyle flinches.

"I know the darkness you carry. I know the voices in your head. I know the hunger. I know what it feels like to want to tear the whole world apart just to stop hurting."

His eyes_ molten, knowing, flick down Kyle's naked, battered body, roaming shamelessly.

For a moment Kyle thinks the man is going to use his hands to roam his body, instead of his eyes, but he doesn't.

Kyle instinctively yanks a leafy branch to cover himself, cheeks burning with shame.

The man chuckles, looking away, as if it takes all he has to.

"Come with me," he says, extending a hand like an invitation to damnation.

"Your chaotic, miserable life is about to end. A new one will begin. I promise you I've been there before. And I know how to get out of there too. I have all the answers that you could ever need."

Kyle stares at him.

He doesn't know what kind of madness this is.

Doesn't know who this man is, or what game he's playing.

But he knows one thing:

He has nothing left to lose.

Nothing but his broken, cursed soul.

The questions twist inside him, clawing at his mind, but he's too tired to speak them.

Too tired to fight anymore.

Whatever happens next... let it happen.

He's done running.

"Okay," Kyle says, the word falling from his lips like a death sentence.

The man's eyebrows flicker upward, just slightly, as if even he hadn't expected it to be so easy.

And Kyle sees that hidden reaction, but he ignores it. He doesn't care what this is about.

Kyle feels the last thread tying him to his old life snap inside him, so quiet he barely notices.

He follows the stranger into the darkness without looking back, barefoot.

And somewhere, deep inside, his whole being scream in anticipation.

He says he's done and has nothing to lose, but everytime those words hit his mind, Lucan appears in his head.