Damien Pov-
Her voice cracked when she asked it.
"…what are you?"
The words cut deeper than any claw.
I forced the shadows back, willed my claws to shrink, my breathing to steady. My chest still burned, but I masked it like I always did. Calm. Controlled. Alpha. Nothing more.
Serena didn't buy it. She pressed herself against a tree, eyes wide, shaking like she'd just seen the devil. Maybe she had.
"I'm your partner," I said flatly, wiping blood off my hands. "That's all you need to know."
But she kept staring. Like I was a monster wearing a wolf's skin.
It made something ugly twist in me. Because she wasn't wrong.
I wasn't just a wolf. Not just Alpha-born like everyone believed. My blood carried shadows no wolf should carry. And every time I lost control, every time the demon side clawed free, I remembered what I was. A mistake. A sin wrapped in flesh.
Her voice shook. "That… that wasn't normal."
"No," I admitted. My tone came out sharper than I intended. I raked a hand through my hair, forcing myself to meet her eyes. "And if you're smart, Sinclair, you'll stop asking questions. Focus on surviving. Not me."
She flinched. But still—those wide eyes stayed locked on me, trembling, judging.
I clenched my jaw. Gods, I hated this. Hated the way she looked at me. Like she saw the truth written across my skin. Like she knew what my own pack didn't.
And yet… my thoughts betrayed me. Flickered to silver eyes instead of blue. To claws painted with blood, a growl that didn't belong to a coward. Nova Sinclair, standing her ground when she should've folded. Fierce. Untouchable.
The thought of her with Kieran made my teeth grind. His smirk. His hands too close. The bile rose hot in my throat.
"Damien…" Serena's whisper broke my thoughts. "You're not—normal, are you?"
I turned, stepping close enough that she shrank back against the bark. I kept my voice calm, even, but steel lined every word.
"You want to live through this? Then forget what you saw."
For once, she was silent.
The forest pressed in again—quiet, heavy. Until a faint shimmer caught my eye through the trees. Not moonlight. Something sharper. Intentional.
I narrowed my gaze. A strip of cloth, snagged high on a branch, glowing faint with enchantment. My chest tightened.
The flag.
"Move," I muttered, brushing past her. My focus shifted, pushing down the chaos burning under my skin. Whatever I was—wolf, demon, monster—I'd deal with it later.
Right now, the game wasn't over. And neither was I.
*****
Nova Pov-
I thought the monsters were bad. Turns out, the forest had a sense of humor too.
We were moving fast, following faint tracks that might've belonged to another pair.
Turns out It wasn't just the Forest that had a sick sense of humor too, The goddess must have one.
Of all the people in this cursed game, I ended up paired with Kieran—the arrogant, over-pompous King who thought the world spun just to admire him. He treated girls like trophies, flashing his smile until they swooned, then tossing them aside like yesterday's news. Exactly the kind of guy I swore I'd never fall for.
And yet… here I was. Stuck with him.
We'd been walking through the woods for what felt like hours when the ground suddenly shifted beneath me. I screamed as the dirt crumbled away, leaving me dangling over a pit of thorn-covered spikes.
"KIERAN!"
His hand shot out, catching mine before I dropped. My legs kicked wildly, my wolf howling in my chest. The thorns below gleamed like hungry teeth waiting to shred me.
"Relax," he said, annoyingly calm, as if I wasn't seconds away from death. His grip tightened, strong and steady. "I've got you."
"Relax?!" I snapped. "There's a murder garden under me, Kieran! How exactly am I supposed to relax?!"
He actually had the nerve to smirk. "By trusting me."
He hauled me up with one effortless pull, like I weighed nothing. I stumbled against him, breathless, my heart still hammering. That's when I noticed the glowing symbols carved into the earth. A trap.
Kieran crouched, tracing the markings with his fingers. "A fae ward. This is a trust ward, It tests pairs. It only lets pairs pass if they....cooperate,"
I blinked. " Cooperate?.... as in team work?"
"We also have to… trust each other."
"Trust?" I repeated, still shaking. "With you?"
His smirk deepened. "Afraid so."
Before I could argue, he stepped toward the ravine again. Light shimmered under his boots, stretching into a fragile-looking bridge that hovered over the thorns. A bridge made of pure magic.
My jaw dropped. "Nope. Not doing it. I'll find another way."
"There is no other way." He held out his hand. "Come with me."
I crossed my arms. "I've seen the way you treat girls, Kieran. Sweet words, fake charm, broken hearts. You're the last person I'd trust."
His expression flickered, something sharper behind his smirk. "This isn't about games, Nova. This is survival. You'll have to trust me, whether you like me or not."
The worst part? He was right.
Muttering every curse word I knew, I placed my hand in his. His palm was warm, his grip firm, and suddenly the bridge didn't look quite so impossible.
We stepped onto it together. The light wavered under us. My stomach flipped as the thorns below swayed like they were waiting.
"Don't look down," Kieran warned.
"So helpful," I muttered, eyes glued to his back.
Halfway across, the bridge shook violently. I shrieked, stumbling, but before I could fall, Kieran's arm wrapped tight around my waist. He steadied me against him, his magic flaring brighter.
"Careful," he whispered near my ear. "Or I'll forget this is just a game."
My heart stuttered. Not from the danger. From him.
We made it across, somehow, and when my boots hit solid ground, I collapsed in the grass, trembling with relief.
Kieran stood above me, hands in his pockets like he hadn't just saved my life twice in five minutes. That infuriating smile tugged at his lips.
"See? Not so bad when you trust me."
I glared at him. "Don't get cocky. I still don't like you."
But as I caught my breath, something inside me shifted. Maybe he wasn't just the shallow, pompous King I thought he was. Maybe, just maybe, there was more to him.
And that possibility was more terrifying than the pit of thorns.
The silence of the forest pressed in around us, broken only by the crunch of our boots against the dirt and the distant rustle of wings. My wolf ears twitched at every sound, but it wasn't the monsters that kept me distracted—it was Kieran.
One second he was joking, flashing me that irritatingly perfect smirk, and the next he was stone-cold lethal, blade gleaming in his hand. The switch unsettled me, even more than the shadows shifting in the trees.
I narrowed my eyes at him. "So which is it? The cocky flirt who won't shut up, or the deadly fighter who looks like he's about to kill anything that breathes?"
Kieran chuckled under his breath, not looking at me. "Why can't it be both?"
"That's not an answer."
He finally glanced at me, and for the briefest second, something darker flickered in his eyes. "You wouldn't want to see the real me, Nova." His tone wasn't playful this time. It was sharp, dangerous.
I forced myself to look away from him, to push down the strange twist in my chest. No. This was still Kieran—the over-pompous King who thought saving a girl twice gave him bragging rights for life. I wasn't about to start seeing him differently.
"Careful, little wolf," his voice drawled lazily, cutting through my thoughts. "If you keep staring at me like that, I might forget this is just a game and take it as an invitation."
My heart stopped. Heat burned up my neck. "I was not staring," I hissed, glaring at him.
His smirk deepened, sharp and wicked. "Oh? Then tell me, was it my mouth you were studying, or the way my hands fit around a sword? Don't worry, you can admit it. Most girls do."
I nearly choked. "You're impossible!"
"And yet," he leaned close enough that I felt his breath ghost my ear, voice dropping to a sinful murmur, "you still can't look away from me."
But before I could spit out a comeback, his entire demeanor shifted. The teasing melted from his face, leaving something sharp and alert in its place. He crouched, brushing his fingers over the damp earth.
"What is it?" I whispered, throat dry.
"Footsteps," he muttered, the playfulness gone. "Two sets. Fresh. Damien and Serena, most likely."
My stomach twisted. "That's… good, right? We found them?"
His jaw flexed, eyes flicking to the shadows ahead. "Not exactly. They weren't alone."
The air thickened, laced with the metallic tang of blood.