Rejected By My Mate; Claimed By Lycan Quadruplets Chapter 166

Lisa's POV

I ran.

Branches slapped my arms, the cold night air cutting into my lungs as I pushed forward, my feet barely finding purchase on the uneven forest floor. My chest burned, and every muscle screamed for me to stop, but I couldn’t. Behind me, the sounds of boots, shouts, and splintering wood echoed faintly. Bryan’s guards had come for me.

If they caught me, I knew what would happen.

They’d drag me back to Enzo’s pack, back to that suffocating cage of expectations, decisions made for me, truths twisted until I barely recognized myself. Back to him. And I wasn’t ready for that—not when freedom was still this close, not when the pups growing inside me deserved more than chains.

The moon was high, spilling silver across the leaves, guiding me deeper into the forest. My lungs heaved as I finally stumbled to a stop beneath a thick oak tree. My legs shook violently, and I pressed my back against the bark, trying to steady my breaths.

My palms trembled. My hair stuck to the sweat on my face. My heart was pounding so fast I could barely separate one beat from the next.

“I can’t…” I whispered to myself, closing my eyes. “I can’t keep running forever.”

I pressed my hands protectively over my stomach, the smallest swell just beginning to show if someone looked closely enough. My pups. My babies. They weren’t even here yet, and already the world wanted to hurt them. My throat tightened painfully.

I didn’t even realize tears had begun to stream down my cheeks until the cold wind stung against the wetness. I wiped them quickly, gritting my teeth.

“I’ll protect you,” I whispered, pressing my hands tighter to my belly. “No matter what. I’ll protect you.”

The forest was too silent.

That silence—it wasn’t comforting. It was heavy. Watchful. The kind of silence that made the hair on the back of my neck stand.

I turned my head slowly, scanning the shadows between the trees.

That’s when I heard it.

A low growl.

Not from one throat. From several.

“No,” I breathed, scrambling up to my feet. My body screamed in protest, but I ignored it. My heart slammed against my ribs as my eyes darted wildly.

Shadows moved.

One to the left, one to the right.

Then a figure emerged. A man, tall, broad, his skin caked in dirt and blood, his clothes torn, his eyes glowing with that unmistakable feral light.

A rogue.

My stomach turned to ice.

Then another stepped out, and another. Four. Six. More. They circled me like predators closing in on prey.

“Well, well,” one of them rasped, his voice rough like stone dragged across metal. “What do we have here?”

Another one sniffed the air, his lips curling back into a grotesque grin. “She smells… sweet.” His gaze dropped toward my stomach, and his smile widened, almost sickly. “And not just her. She’s carrying.”

My hands instinctively wrapped protectively around my stomach. “Stay away from me,” I warned, though my voice shook.

They laughed. The sound was cruel, empty.

One stepped closer, his eyes raking down my form. His fingers twitched like he was already imagining how to grab me. “A runaway wolf, and pregnant too. That’s rare luck. Someone will pay good coin for her. Maybe even Enzo himself.”

The mention of his name made my stomach flip.

I took a step back, my heel catching on the roots jutting out from the ground. “I said stay away.”

“Oh, she’s got fire.” Another one sneered. “Let’s see how long that fire lasts.”

He lunged.

I screamed and stumbled backward, my hands flying up, but his grip was faster. His filthy hand clamped around my wrist like iron, twisting it painfully. I cried out, clawing at him with my free hand, but he only laughed, yanking me closer.

“Don’t touch me!” My voice broke, raw and desperate.

Another rogue came up from behind, grabbing my hair and yanking my head back. Pain shot through my scalp, tearing another scream from me.

“She smells even better when she’s scared,” the one holding me rasped against my ear. His hot, foul breath made bile rise in my throat.

I kicked wildly, my foot connecting with one of their shins. He grunted, but his grip didn’t falter. If anything, it tightened. My wrist burned.

“Let go of me!” My scream tore through the forest, but I knew no one would come. No one was near.

“Quiet,” one hissed, slapping me hard across the face. My head whipped to the side, the metallic tang of blood filling my mouth instantly. Tears blurred my vision, but I kept thrashing, refusing to go limp.

“You’ll lose them if you fight like that,” one sneered, his gaze fixed hungrily on my stomach. “We could end it quick. Or slow. Your choice.”

My heart stopped.

The pups.

They weren’t just after me. They were after them.

“No,” I whispered, the word barely leaving my lips. “You won’t touch them.”

But they laughed again, cruel and merciless, dragging me closer to the center of their circle. Hands grabbed at me, pushing, shoving, pulling me down to my knees. I tried to resist, but they were too many, too strong. My arms ached, my body screamed, and all I could think of was the tiny heartbeats inside me, fragile and innocent.

“Please,” I begged, my voice breaking. “Don’t hurt them. Please.”

The one who had first spoken crouched in front of me, his cold eyes meeting mine. His lips twisted into a cruel smile. “Then give us a reason not to.”

I shook my head desperately, hot tears streaking my cheeks. My body trembled uncontrollably. My breath came in shallow, panicked bursts.

Something inside me snapped.

It wasn’t anger. It wasn’t fear. It was something deeper, primal, older than reason. A wildness that surged from the pit of my stomach to my chest, filling me with heat and light.

A growl ripped from my throat before I could stop it.

The rogues froze.

My body shook violently, my vision blurring at the edges as a sharp pain shot through my spine. My bones cracked, my muscles twisted, and fire roared through every nerve in my body.

“What—what is this?” one of them shouted, stumbling back.

I screamed, but it wasn’t just pain. It was release. My body bent and shifted, claws replacing fingers, fur ripping through skin, my teeth elongating into fangs.

The rogues’ eyes widened in horror.

“She’s—she’s transforming!”

My growl deepened, guttural and raw, echoing through the trees like thunder. My vision cleared, sharper now, the world painted in silver and red. I saw everything—their fear, their trembling hands, their widened eyes.

I wasn’t prey anymore.

I lunged.

The first rogue didn’t even have time to scream before my claws tore through his chest, hot blood spraying across the leaves. The others stumbled back, shouting, panicked now where they had been so sure.

But it wasn’t enough.

More of them circled, growling, their own wolves stirring.

And deep inside me, the wild, burning instinct to protect my pups drowned out everything else.

But even as I fought, even as the forest echoed with snarls and screams and the sound of tearing flesh, one thought seared itself into my mind—

There were too many.

I couldn’t hold them all off.

Not alone.

One rogue leapt at me, slamming me to the ground. Another clawed at my side. Pain exploded, but I roared, snapping my jaws around the nearest throat. Blood filled my mouth.

More rushed in, surrounding me.

My paws slipped in the mud, my breath ragged, my body already weakening.

I didn’t know if I could make it.

I didn’t know if my pups would survive.

And just as another rogue lunged straight for my belly—

The forest lit up with blinding light.