Kael's POV –The Scent That Shouldn't Exist
The wind carried her to me.
I had been patrolling the Bloodfang borders alone, senses razor-sharp, when it hit — soft, maddening, laced with something that made my pulse tighten. Warm skin. Wild curiosity. A thread of something ancient.
My wolf, Nyx, stirred beneath my skin, claws itching, muscles coiled. She's mine, he rumbled inside my mind, his presence deep and commanding. The bond between us pulsed faintly, tugging at my instincts.
I stilled in the shadows, letting the forest swallow me. The girl — Selene — moved like a wisp at the edge of the trees, unaware of the predators already tracking her. Her pulse reached me, steady but drawn toward something she didn't yet understand.
She stepped closer into the forest, arms brushing low-hanging branches, hair catching the last light of day. Then another scent hit me.
Riven.
The Alpha of the Nightfang Pack. A rival, dangerous and ambitious, moving through the same woods with his hunters. My jaw tightened. If Riven found her first… he would claim her. That would be a mistake.
I stayed low, shadowed and silent, watching her. She didn't see me. Didn't know I was here. She called out softly, "Hello?"
I didn't respond. I let the rustle of leaves, the faint snap of twigs beneath my boots, remain unnoticed. Her instincts — or perhaps something deeper — made her freeze. Her chest rose and fell, eyes wide, and then she bolted, her pulse spiking like a drum.
Nyx growled softly, a vibration in my mind. Let me chase, Alpha. He would follow me, and we would corner her before the others realize.
I shook my head, slow, deliberate. Not yet. She had no idea who I was, no understanding of what she was, and dragging her into my world too soon could destroy everything.
But I knew one thing: the moment she stepped into my forest, the hunt had begun.
And I wasn't the only predator watching.
Evan's POV _ Watching the Edge
I stood on the porch, arms crossed, heart hammering, watching Selene drift toward the forest edge. She had that same habit — curiosity tangled with that subtle recklessness that had haunted me since she was a child. Most people would've called her strange. I called her remarkable. Dangerous, yes, but remarkable.
I knew what she was. A Luna. A wolf-shifter. A fated mate in the making, though she had no idea yet. Every instinct I had screamed to stop her, to drag her back to safety, but I couldn't. Not out loud. Not yet.
Her bare arms brushed against the tall grass, her eyes scanning the shadows with that same restless energy I'd learned to recognize as her wolf's influence — her intuition, though she would never admit it. I could feel her wolf stirring beneath the surface, nudging her toward things she couldn't name.
I inhaled, tasting the faint chill in the wind. Something else was moving in the forest. Predators. Kael. And not far behind, Riven and the Nightfang hunters. I felt their presence like a low vibration in the earth, subtle but unmistakable.
She had no idea.
I clenched my fists, jaw tight. Years of keeping the truth from her weighed heavily on me, and in moments like this, it felt unbearable. She was unaware of her own power, of the forces circling her, and the forest… the forest was no longer just trees and shadows. It was a hunting ground, and she was a target.
I wanted to shout, to run out there and pull her back. But I had promised her parents I'd protect her without revealing everything too soon. I had to let her instincts guide her — while staying close enough to shield her from disaster.
I took a step forward, straining to sense everything at once: the pull of Kael's presence, the subtle shift of the wind, the faint murmur of her wolf. Luna. That was what her wolf called herself in my mind, though Selene would never admit it. I felt him stirring, the bond between her and him, tugging like a thread I couldn't yet touch.
Not yet, I murmured to myself. She isn't ready.
But the pull of fate didn't care about readiness. Kael would reach her. The Nightfangs would reach her. And I had to be ready to intervene, even if it meant revealing truths I had hidden for years.
I exhaled slowly, forcing myself to stay calm. I had trained her in small ways — awareness, attention to danger, trust in instincts — all without telling her why. It was enough, for now.
She turned slightly, glancing toward the trees, and I felt my heart constrict. Something in her sensed it too — the tug of what was coming — but she didn't know what it meant. Not yet.
I stepped back into the porch shadow, letting her move closer, knowing that my watchful eyes and the lessons I had planted over the years were all she had to protect herself… for now.