Episode 2: Bloodlines and Secrets
The forest was quiet again, but the tension from the night before hadn't left me. I could still feel him—Lysander—in my veins, like a pulse I couldn't control. My claws itched, my fangs ached for action, yet my mind betrayed me. I was an alpha, a predator, a leader. I wasn't supposed to feel this. And yet… I did.
Riven, my beta, padded silently beside me, his eyes sharp, alert. "Kael… you've been avoiding the pack today," he said. His tone was cautious but teasing. "Something happened last night?"
I gritted my teeth and shook my head. "Nothing. Nothing happened. Focus on the patrol."
But he didn't believe me. He never did.
We moved through the forest, the frost crunching under our feet, eyes scanning the treeline. Something about Lysander wasn't normal. He wasn't just another rogue human or a stray. I knew that instinctively. The scent of him lingered in the air, a dangerous perfume that called to me whether I wanted it or not.
And then… I saw it.
A mark on a tree—a slash, not from claws but from some strange ritual. The symbols were old, dangerous. I crouched, sniffed the air, and froze.
He had been here.
My heart slammed. Not with fear. Not just anger. Something deeper. Something forbidden.
Riven crouched beside me, noticing my tense stance. "Kael… what is it?"
"Someone's been here," I said softly. "Someone marked this territory… but not like any ordinary intruder."
Riven's eyes narrowed. "You're talking about him, aren't you? That boy from last night?"
I didn't answer. I couldn't. My mind replayed the brush of his fingers, the fire in his gaze, the pull that had shaken me more than any enemy ever could.
And then, without warning, a rustle in the trees. I snapped to my full height, fangs bared, claws ready. A figure emerged, tall, shadowed—but unmistakably him. Lysander.
"I told you… I don't take warnings seriously," he said, stepping into the clearing. His eyes glinted with a mixture of amusement and challenge.
"Why are you here?" I demanded. "Do you want to die?"
He tilted his head, a sly grin forming. "No. I want answers. And I think you do too, Kael."
I growled low, circling him like a predator, but the truth was… I was circling him for another reason entirely. Desire. Curiosity. Fear of what he might do to me.
"You're dangerous," I said. "And I don't let dangerous people live in my forest."
"Dangerous?" His grin widened. "Kael… I've already touched your mind. Felt your heart. You're already mine."
Every instinct screamed at me to kill him, push him away, make him leave. But another part—the part I'd buried deep beneath fangs and steel—thrummed with a terrifying truth: he was right. I was his.
Riven stepped between us. "Kael… I think you need to control yourself," he said quietly. "He's no ordinary threat. And neither are you…"
Lysander chuckled, stepping closer. "Oh, I like him. Loyal. Fierce. But… a little predictable. I wonder how far you'll go before you give in, Kael."
I felt my pulse spike. My pack's territory, my rules, my control—it didn't matter. Not when he was here. Not when he existed.
I lunged, claws ready, but he wasn't just fast—he was precise. He moved with an elegance I couldn't match, sidestepping and brushing past me, leaving an almost electric tingle on my skin.
"You can't fight me forever," he whispered, voice low, dangerous, intimate. "And I don't think you want to."
For the first time in years, I wasn't sure of anything. My enemies had always been clear. My pack had always been my strength. But Lysander… he was chaos. He was fire. And he had already claimed me, whether I wanted it or not.
The forest around us seemed to vanish, leaving only the two of us, circling, testing, teasing. And deep down, I knew the war that was coming wasn't just outside these trees—it was inside me.
Because Lysander had marked me. Not with claws, not with blood. But with something far more dangerous: my heart.
And that… was the beginning of my undoing.