The world is a blur.
Lucian's grip closes around my wrist—not harsh, but unbreakably firm—and he pulls me out of the office just as the two men in black flank us. The hallway feels colder than before, like something unseen is sucking the air out of the floor.
"What's happening?" I choke out, trying to stay upright as we move.
Lucian doesn't answer.
He just moves with lethal precision, long strides that force me to almost run to keep up. His men follow closely, eyes scanning the shadows like they expect monsters to crawl out of the walls.
Maybe they do.
My shoulder burns hotter with every step, like the mark itself is reacting to the building. Or to him. Or to whatever danger is suddenly coming for me.
We reach a glass door near the end of the hallway. It scans Lucian's face and opens with a hiss.
Inside is a smaller room—dim lights, metal cabinets, a massive digital screen tracking something in red dots.
Security room.
Lucian turns to his men. "Report," he growls.
The shorter one swallows. "Rogue activity surged near the building. They were tracking her scent."
Her.
Me.
I grip the edge of a table. "Why me? Why would they be looking for me?"
Lucian's jaw tightens, but he doesn't answer.
The taller guard hesitates. "Alpha… the barrier didn't hold. They're getting closer."
Lucian's eyes flare silver so bright it throws shadows against the wall. "Find the breach. Seal it."
Both men shift instantly, rushing out.
When the door shuts, silence falls.
Just me.
And the man who claims to be the werewolf that marked me under a blood moon.
Lucian turns toward me slowly, the predator in him just barely restrained. His eyes drag over my face, my shoulders, my shaking hands—reading me too well.
"Are you hurt?" he asks.
It's not gentle.
It's a demand.
I shake my head, though my lungs are tight and my shoulder feels like it's on fire.
He steps closer.
Too close.
The air thickens with something electric—dangerous and warm at the same time. His scent, dark and sharp like cedar and frost, fills my lungs.
"You shouldn't have come here alone," he says quietly. "You have no idea what follows you.
"I came for answers," I whisper. "You owe me that."
Something flickers in his eyes—pain? Regret? Anger?
I can't tell.
"You're safer not knowing," he says.
I laugh under my breath, but it comes out shaky. "Safe? You just dragged me into a security room because something out there wants to kill me. I think the time for keeping secrets is over."
His jaw clenches once. Hard.
And he turns away
Like he wants to tell me—but won't.
Like the truth itself is dangerous.
What curse? Why me? Why that night? Why mark me at all?
My hands tremble with frustration. "Lucian. Tell me."
He goes still.
And then, slowly…
He says, "The blood moon chooses its own victims."
I swallow. "Victims?"
He turns, his silver eyes colder than they were minutes ago.
"It wasn't just a moon. It was an omen. A warning of an ancient curse tied to both our families."
My heartbeat stutters. "My family has nothing to do with this."
He steps toward me—one step, then another—until I'm backed against the wall, his shadow swallowing mine.
"That's where you're wrong."
His breath brushes my cheek. His voice drops to a low rumble.
"Your father knew."
My blood runs cold.
"My father…? No. He never—"
"He hid it from you," Lucian cuts in. "He hid you. He spent years keeping your identity covered, suppressing the mark as much as he could."
Suppressing the mark?
I shake my head, confused. "I don't understand. My father was an engineer. He wasn't part of some—some supernatural feud."
Lucian tilts his head slightly.
"That's what you think
A chill crawls down my spine.
"What curse?" I whisper. "Why mark me?"
Lucian's eyes soften—not much, just the barest flicker—but enough to make my stomach twist.
"It wasn't supposed to be you," he says quietly.
My breath catches.
"What?"
He steps back then, like the memory hurts him.
"That night, five years ago… the rogues were hunting someone else. Someone connected to the curse. Someone I was sworn to protect."
His jaw tightens.
"But you were there instead."
My pulse races. "You mean—I was attacked by mistake?"
He nods once.
"And when I intervened… I marked you. I didn't mean to."
My throat tightens. "So I was an accident?
The words taste bitter. Stupid. Small.
But he steps forward again, eyes burning. "No."
His voice is sharp, urgent.
"You were fate's correction."
I blink, stunned. "I don't understand."
Lucian's expression shifts—dark, conflicted, raw.
"When the moon touched your skin, the mark woke. My wolf chose you. Not because of the curse. Not because of destiny." His voice drops lower, rougher. "Because he saw you."
Heat flushes through me, confusing and terrifying at the same time.
"But a wolf claiming a mate under a blood moon…" His voice trails off. "It binds you deeper. It ties our lives. Our strengths. Our weakness."
Weakness?
"What does that mean?" I whisper.
But he doesn't answer.
Instead, he lifts his hand—slowly, almost reluctantly—and brushes his fingers near my shoulder.
Not touching.
Just close enough for heat to radiate between us.
The mark beneath my skin pulses wildly.
"Lucian…" My breath trembles. "What happens if the curse… wakes fully?"
His eyes turn colder than winter.
"It already has."
My stomach drops.
"What does it do?"
He steps back like he's forcing himself to create space.
"To you?" He hesitates. "It binds you to my wolf. It amplifies your senses. Makes you a beacon I can always find." He swallows hard. "But it also paints a target on your back. Rogues will hunt you. The blood moon's energy will draw them."
My knees weaken. "And to you?"
Lucian's throat works as he forces the words out.
"To me… it means I die if you do."
My breath stops.
He looks away, voice gravel.
"My strength is tied to yours now. My life. My wolf. Everything."
"But why would the moon do that?" I whisper.
His eyes flick back to mine with something dark in them. "Because the curse demands a sacrifice."
My skin prickles. "What kind of sacrifice?"
Lucian's face hardens.
"That's the part…" He breathes out sharply. "That I won't let you know."
Won't let me?
Anger flares in my chest.
"You don't get to drag me into this, claim I'm cursed and hunted, and then decide what I am or am not allowed to know!"
His eyes flash.
"My job is to keep you alive."
"And how am I supposed to stay alive if you won't tell me the truth?"
His voice breaks just slightly—barely there, but real.
"Because the truth will destroy you."
Silence.
Thick. Heavy. Suffocating.
Then the security monitors flicker.
Red dots multiply—fast.
Lucian stiffens. "They're breaching the perimeter."
My pulse spikes. "The rogues—?"
He grabs my wrist again. "We're leaving."
"Where?"
"Somewhere they can't track you."
The room trembles slightly—like the building itself feels the threat outside.
Lucian reaches into a cabinet and pulls out a dark coat, yanking it over my shoulders.
"Stay close to me. Don't fall behind."
"I want answers," I insist.
"And you'll get them—when you're safe."
I open my mouth to argue again, but the alarms cut through the floor—sharp, violent, echoing down the hallway.
Lucian curses under his breath.
He pushes the door open and pulls me behind him.
The hallway is darker now. Emergency lights flicker. The floor vibrates under our feet.
"Lucian—what's happening?!"
He doesn't look back.
"They're here."
My stomach twists.
The sharp smell of smoke and earth hits the air.
And then
A howl.
Not human. Not animal.
Something in between. Something feral.
Lucian's wolf surges behind his eyes, turning the silver into a molten glow.
"Arielle," he murmurs, voice low and dangerous, "whatever happens, don't run from me."
He pulls me tight against his side as shadows shift at the end of the hallway—fast, too fast.
"And don't look back."
My breath catches.
Another howl.
Closer.
Lucian bares his teeth, a sound rumbling from deep in his chest.
"Because tonight," he growls, "the curse is coming to collect."
And as the shadows rush toward us, the mark on my shoulder bursts into flame—
And everything goes black.