⭐ CHAPTER TWO — THE ALPHA OF FULL-MOON CITY
Nora didn't sleep much. Every time she closed her eyes, her mind flashed back to the moment Evan Wolfe's body had shifted in front of her-the crack of his bones, the glow of his eyes, the rumble in his chest that was both terrifying and mesmerizing. The shriek of the shadow creature still echoed in her ears. And those claw marks on her wall. those seared themselves into her memory the hardest. She turned on every light in her apartment several times, half expecting something to crawl out of the darkness. But nothing came. Nothing moved. Nothing explained itself.
By dawn, this would be succeeded by disbelief, which would almost convince her that she had imagined it all. She did not imagine the claw marks, though-the deep, glowing cuts fused with something unnatural under the morning light. She tried to rationalize, but there was nothing logical that could carve perfect, evenly spaced marks with superhuman force and then burn her name beneath them.
Her reporter instincts went on overdrive. Fear intermingled with adrenaline, mixed into something sharper: curiosity. Dangerous curiosity. She made coffee with shaking hands and sat down at her tiny wooden table, opening her laptop. She typed the word "Lunar." Nothing came up other than vague rumors and censored threads. She searched "Evan Wolfe." Nothing. "Silver eyes," "shadow beast," "Full-Moon City secrets"—nothing useful. Everything was scrubbed clean. Someone had been hiding all of it. Somebody with power. Someone like Evan.
Aside from the fact that he was not human, her mind kept straying back to him because of the way he had looked at her-as if he knew exactly what she was, right down to her heartbeat. As if with one breath, he saw through the layers of her. She was either a problem he needed to control or a danger he was afraid he was unable to. A sharp knock jolted her from her thoughts.
Her heart seized. Setting down her mug, grasping a heavy flashlight like a weapon, she stepped toward the door. When she opened it, her breath caught. Evan stood in her doorway.
He appeared different in daylight, less a creature of shadows, more a man painfully out of place under the sun. His hair was still damp; his dark clothes clung to broad shoulders, and though his silver eyes were dulled now, they still seemed to gleam faintly like moonlight behind clouds. He appeared exhausted; tension etched hard lines into his jaw. For quite some time, neither of them said anything. Then he stepped inside, without waiting for permission. Nora's anger flared. "Excuse you—" "You're in danger," he said, his tone low, tight. "And your door was unlocked." "It wasn't."
He turned a frustrated glance her way, something softer underlying his gaze. "I can hear locks. Yours wasn't engaged." Her stomach twisted. She didn't remember unlocking it. "Did someone come in—?"
"Yes," Evan cut in, "They waited until you slept."Who? The things from last night?"
He turned toward the claw marks, and his face darkened. "Not things. Wolves."
Her pulse stumbled. "Wolves," she repeated, anger replacing fear. "I think you owe me more explanation than one-word answers."
He expelled one sharp breath out his nostrils—the sound she'd just recently come to know as Evan being one breath away from losing control. "I didn't come here to explain anything." She crossed her arms. "Then why are you here?"
He stepped closer, and the shadows seemed to cling to him, as if attracted by his presence. "Because last night, someone marked you. That makes you a target. And until I figure out who did it, you're not safe alone." "Marked me." She swallowed. "What does that even mean?
Evan stared at her for a long moment, his eyes flashing with an inner conflict of fear, anger, and resignation. Then he said, "It means someone claimed you. Her skin prickled. "Claimed me? Like property? His jaw clenched. "I told you—you weren't supposed to see my world."
She moved closer, despite the instincts screaming at her not to challenge him. "But I did. And I'm part of it now, whether you like it or not."
His eyes flashed silver. The air between them thickened, charged with tension that wasn't just fear. It was something deeper. Something neither wanted to name.
Evan broke the stare first, pacing the length of her living room with wild, barely constrained energy. It was strange, watching him move-too graceful, too predatory. He didn't pace like a frustrated man. He paced like a caged wolf."You need to leave the city for a while," he said suddenly."What? No.
"Nora, listen—""This is my home.""It won't be if you're dead."
She froze. Absolutely no sugarcoating. He did not soften his words to spare her. As a fact, as a certainty, he said it."You think I'm going to run?" she asked quietly. "I think you should." Slowly, she shook her head. "I don't run from truth. And I'm not running from this."
Evan ran a hand through his hair and looked as though he wanted to punch a hole through her wall. "You are the most stubborn human I've ever met.""And you're the most evasive… whatever-you-are I've ever met."
His lips twitched; a ghost of a smile pulled at the corner. "I'm not evasive," he said softly. "I'm protecting you." A knock-loud, violent-smacked against her door. They tensed up simultaneously.
Evan breathed in sharply, nostrils flaring. Again his pupils thinned. "Shadow wolves."
Fear sliced through her. "From last night?"
"No." His voice dropped to pure predator. "Worse."
The pounding came again, rattling the frame. Evan stayed in front of her, body tense, every muscle drawn like a bowstring. The air thickened with primeval energy. The doorknob twisted. Wood splintered.
Evan growled-not loudly, not theatrically, but a deep, spine-shivering rumble that felt older than the city. It vibrated through her chest.
The door exploded inward. Three masked wolves stepped inside, tall, humanoid figures, with claws and snarling jaws, all hidden partially beneath obsidian masks carved with runes. Their eyes, like dying embers, glowed in the dark.
Nora stumbled backward, but Evan didn't budge."Get behind me," he ordered. She did, before she knew it. The first wolf leaped.Evan met it mid-air.
It was a brutal clash: speed against claws, steel-like strikes. Evan moved as fast as lightning, dodging and countering, tearing them to shreds with terrifying precision. Inhuman. There could be no two ways about it now.
He fought like a creature forged for war.
Nora watched, breathless, pressed against the far wall, her heart pounding. For every step the wolves took toward her, Evan blocked, slashed, or threw them aside. He moved with raw power and deadly grace, protective fury burning in every motion. One wolf managed to slash his shoulder, drawing silver blood that glimmered unnaturally, but Evan didn't react. He grabbed the creature by the mask and slammed it into the wall hard enough to crack plaster.
Afraid, the wolves hung back.
Evan snarled, and they ran through the broken doorway, dissolving into smoke before they reached the hall.
The silence thickened in the apartment, with Nora taking sharp, trembling breaths.
Evan stood in the centre of the room, his chest heaving, silver blood dripping down his arm. His eyes glowed fully now, molten silver, wild and unrestrained.
Nora approached carefully. "You're hurt."
"I'll heal." His voice was rough, strained. "But we can't stay here."
"Evan, what are those things? Why did they come for me?"
He looked away. "Because someone wants you dead."
"Who?"
"I don't know yet." His jaw tightened. "But I know who can tell us."
Her heart hammered. "Who?"
Dark, conflicted, war-torn eyes met hers. "My pack."
She stiffened. "The same pack who marked my wall?"
"No," he said, and his voice was almost gentle. "Not mine. A rogue. A traitor. Someone who shouldn't exist."
She swallowed hard. "So where are we going?"
Evan took another step closer to her. She could feel the heat radiating off him, smell the faint earthy musk clinging to his skin. His voice dropped low, intimate, dangerous.
"Full-Moon City has secrets you're not ready for, Nora. But you've been dragged into them now, and the only place I can keep you alive is the one place I swore a human would never go."Her breath caught. "Where?"
He kept her gaze, his silver eyes ablaze with something she couldn't fathom yet-fear, desire, anger, fate.
The territory of the Alpha."
Her voice was trembling. "Your territory."
"Yes." His jaw clenched, and for the first time, he looked uncertain-vulnerable."I don't want you there," he said. "My world is not safe for you. And once you enter it, there is no turning back."
Nora lifted her chin. "I wasn't safe here either." He exhaled and defeat flashed across his face. "No, you weren't. "So take me." "Nora…" His voice cracked slightly, surprisingly to them both."Take me," she repeated.
Something inside him snapped-something he did not want to decide on, yet could not avoid. Slowly, he reached out and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. The touch was so gentle it made her heart ache."If anything happens to you," he whispered, "it will destroy me."Her breath caught. "Why?"
He stepped back suddenly, shutting down, walls rising behind his eyes. "I'll explain when we're safe." He grasped her hand-not rough, but firm-and pulled her toward the broken doorway. The hallway lights flickered as they moved. Outside, the world felt colder, heavier, as if the shadows themselves watched them. Nora didn't know where they were headed. She didn't know why she mattered. She didn't know why Evan protected her with such ferocity. But she knew two things with absolute certainty. She was in danger. And Evan Wolfe—whatever he was—would burn the city down before letting harm touch her. "Stay close," he said, his voice low, protective. She didn't let go of his hand.