The forest had never felt so suffocating.
Eve stumbled through the underbrush, branches clawing at her arms, her heart battering her ribs. She told herself she wouldn't look back, that she didn't care if they followed. But every nerve screamed that she wasn't alone. That something moved in the shadows just beyond her sight, pacing her steps, waiting.
She burst into a clearing, bent double, lungs burning. Her bare feet were scratched raw from roots and stones, her sweater damp with sweat and dew. The night pressed close, thick with silence, broken only by the wild rush of her own breathing.
"Run all you like," a voice rumbled from the dark.
Her head snapped up.
He stepped from the shadows with the grace of a predator, silver eyes gleaming under the moon. Kaelen. His presence filled the clearing, towering, coiled, every line of him dangerous and steady. The memory of his near-loss of control in the woods still clung to her, raw and vivid, but here he was again, calm on the surface, wild beneath.
"Stay away from me." Her voice broke against the demand, trembling but fierce. "I don't want any part of this—whatever this is."
He tilted his head, unreadable. "You already are part of it."
"I don't even know what 'it' means!" The words tore out of her, shrill with fear and fury. "I wake up after a car crash with barely a scratch, I overhear two strangers talking about me like I'm cursed, and then—" Her breath shuddered. "Then your eyes—God, what are you?"
For the first time, something flickered across his face. Not amusement. Not cruelty. Weariness, sharp and bitter.
"You shouldn't have come into the woods tonight," he said.
Her laugh was harsh. "Like I had a choice? Do you think I wanted this?" She jabbed a finger at her chest, at the invisible ache that still pulled her toward him, that burned every time she tried to deny it. "Something is wrong with me. You did something to me."
Kaelen's jaw tightened. His gaze seared into her, and for a heartbeat she thought he might walk away. But then he spoke, each word heavy, deliberate.
"You're mine."
Eve froze.
"No." The denial burst out of her, sharp and desperate. "No, I don't belong to anyone."
"It isn't a matter of belonging," Kaelen said, his tone edged with steel. "It's a bond. A tether woven by the Moon Goddess herself. You're my mate."
The clearing tilted beneath her. She stumbled back a step, shaking her head violently. "Mate? Moon Goddess? Do you hear yourself? That's insane."
"It's truth."
"It's a cult, that's what it is," she spat, though her voice wavered. "Some crazy backwoods story to justify stalking me, dragging me into this nightmare. I'm not yours. I'm not anyone's."
His expression hardened. "You think I want this?" His voice dropped, dangerous and raw. "You think I asked the Goddess to bind me to a human who doesn't even believe in what she's seeing? This bond is a curse. But it's real. And whether you accept it or not, it's already inside you."
Eve's pulse roared in her ears. "You're lying."
Kaelen's lips curled back, not in a smile but in something darker. "Then see for yourself."
Before she could speak, he stepped back. His body shuddered, muscles bunching as though something clawed beneath his skin. His eyes flared brighter, molten silver, and a low growl reverberated from his chest, so deep the ground seemed to hum with it.
Eve stumbled away, pressing against a tree trunk. "What—what are you doing—"
The sound twisted into a snarl. His frame rippled, warped, bones cracking in sickening succession. His shoulders widened, his spine lengthened, his hands twisted into claws. Clothes tore against the sudden surge of muscle and fur.
Eve's scream caught in her throat. She couldn't look away.
Where Kaelen had stood, a wolf now rose.
Massive, impossibly massive, its dark coat gleamed with silver streaks under the moon. Its paws sank into the earth, claws glinting like onyx. And those eyes—those same silver eyes—locked onto hers, alive with power.
Her breath came in shallow gasps. Every instinct shrieked at her to run, but her legs refused. She was transfixed, terror warring with awe. He was beautiful. Terrible. Sacred. Impossible.
The wolf lowered its head, snarling low, then stilled. Those silver eyes held hers, unblinking. And in that moment, the tether inside her snapped taut.
Heat blazed through her chest, spreading to her limbs, searing her veins. She clutched at her ribs, gasping, as though her heart were being pulled from her body and pressed into his. The bond.
"No," she choked. "No—this isn't real—"
But denial crumbled under the weight of sensation. The world narrowed to the space between them, to the silver thread burning through the night, stitching her soul to his.
She staggered forward despite herself. Every part of her screamed to resist, but her body betrayed her, drawn to him as if her blood knew him, as if her bones had waited for this moment all her life.
The wolf stepped closer, silent, predatory grace belying its massive size. The bond thrummed louder, a drumbeat in her blood. Her skin tingled, alive with electricity. She could feel him—not just see him, not just hear him—but feel him, a presence threading through her veins, an echo of his breath against her lungs, the weight of his heartbeat alongside her own.
She gasped, tears springing unbidden. "Stop… please stop…"
But the wolf didn't move. It only watched her, its eyes blazing, every ounce of restraint trembling in the way its muscles coiled, its claws sank into earth.
And then, with a shudder, the pull dulled just enough for her to collapse to her knees. The wolf threw its head back and released a howl, long and raw, that shook the trees and rattled her bones. The sound carried through the forest, not just a call but a claim.
Eve pressed her hands over her ears, but it didn't matter. She felt the sound inside her, reverberating through her marrow.
When it ended, silence crashed down. The wolf stepped back, fur bristling, silver eyes dimming slightly as though Kaelen fought to cage the beast again. His body twisted, cracked, reformed. In moments, the man stood before her once more, breath ragged, chest heaving, sweat slicking his skin.
Eve stared at him, throat raw, unable to form words.
Kaelen's gaze burned with the same intensity, but his voice was rough, restrained. "Now you know."
Her stomach lurched. She scrambled to her feet, stumbling backward. "No," she whispered, shaking her head so hard it made her dizzy. "No, I didn't see that. I didn't—I can't—"
"You can't deny it." His tone was iron. "The bond is real. You feel it as much as I do."
Tears blurred her vision. "I don't want it."
"Neither do I." The confession cracked from him, harsh and sharp. "But want doesn't matter. Fate doesn't care what we want."
The words cut deep. She wrapped her arms around herself, shivering, though the night air had nothing on the cold inside her. The bond still throbbed beneath her skin, pulsing like a second heart. Every time she looked at him, it flared hotter, undeniable.
Eve's voice broke as she whispered, "What happens to me now?"
Kaelen's jaw clenched. He looked away, toward the trees, silver eyes shadowed. "That's what I intend to find out."
And though he spoke with control, Eve felt the truth burning between them: whatever had begun tonight could never be undone.