Evelyn awoke with the taste of iron in her mouth and the scent of pine needles thick in her nose.
Her body ached. Her limbs trembled. She was lying naked on the forest floor, the remnants of the shift clinging to her like frost after a storm. Moonlight bathed her skin in pale blue, and though she was fully human again, she could still feel the wolf just beneath the surface—restless, awake.
For the first time in her life, she wasn't alone in her body.
And she wasn't alone in the world.
The three bonds still pulsed in her chest like quiet thunder—constant, demanding, undeniable. Each pull a different rhythm, a different breath, a different soul.
She wanted to scream.
Not out of fear. But from the sheer weight of it all.
She was fated. Claimed. By not one wolf, but three.
That wasn't just impossible—it was unheard of.
Fated mates were sacred, rare, the blessing of the Moon Goddess herself. And for a female to have more than one? There wasn't a single recorded instance of it in any of the Bloodmoon scrolls.
But then again, there weren't any living Moonborn either.
Evelyn dragged herself to her feet, wincing as her joints cracked. Her bare skin prickled with cold, and she pulled her tattered shawl over her chest, not that it did much to cover her.
A breeze rustled the leaves.
Then—a howl.
This one was close.
Too close.
Not one of the three from earlier.
No—this was familiar.
Blood-chilling.
Alpha Magnus.
She could hear his fury in it. The raw, snarling rage of a predator that had just sensed a lie unraveling.
He'd felt it.
Her shift.
Her power.
He was coming.
Evelyn turned and ran.
Branches whipped against her arms as she darted through the trees, heart hammering. Her body moved with new agility, muscles remembering the wolf even though she'd left it behind. She leapt over roots, ducked under limbs, driven by instinct more than thought.
Magnus could never find her like this. Vulnerable. Discovered. Awakened.
She didn't know what he'd do if he saw her now.
But she knew it wouldn't be mercy.
The path twisted, and suddenly she stumbled into a clearing—one she didn't recognize. Moonlight pooled in the center, and at its heart stood a circle of smooth stones etched with glowing runes.
She skidded to a halt, breathing hard.
The air here felt… different. Charged.
Then, a voice—soft as silk and just as cold.
"You've awakened early."
Evelyn whirled.
From the shadows stepped a tall figure cloaked in black. His eyes gleamed like stormy skies, and silver hair tumbled to his shoulders. He moved with quiet, effortless grace as if the earth shifted to let him pass.
Her breath caught.
One of the three.
The third.
Kael.
She didn't know how she knew—but her soul sang the moment she saw him.
His gaze locked onto hers, and the bond between them snapped taut. A silent current flowed between their hearts.
Then, he stepped forward and reached out a hand.
"You are no longer safe, Evelyn Thorn," he said. "You must leave this place. Tonight."
She shook her head, backing away. "Who are you? How do you know my name?"
Kael's lips curved into a smile, barely.
"I've always known you."
Before she could speak again, another howl shattered the stillness. Closer. More savage.
Kael's eyes narrowed.
"Come," he said.
She hesitated. "I don't even know you."
"No," he agreed softly, "but your soul does. And if you stay here, you'll die before you ever learn why the moon marked you."
She stared at him.
Then at the runes.
Then back the way she came—toward pain, chains, and Magnus Thorn's wrath.
A choice.
Or perhaps, destiny.
She took his hand.
And the moment their skin touched, the bond roared to life.
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