The air shifted. Every sound, every breath seemed to hush as he stepped forward from the shadows. Tall, broad, and impossibly still, he moved like a predator that knew every inch of its territory.
Luna's wolf stirred violently in her chest, claws scratching at her mind, teeth gnashing. Fear? Desire? She didn't know. It was all tangled into a single pulse of raw energy.
"You've drawn attention," the figure said, voice low, smooth, and lethal. The amber glow in his eyes burned straight through her. "Danger doesn't frighten you… yet."
Luna swallowed hard. Her throat felt dry. He knew. Knew what she had only barely glimpsed. Her heart pounded, wolf instincts thrumming in sync with his presence.
Caius and the other boys fell back, their earlier bravado crumbling. Even their bravest steps faltered.
The King tilted his head, appraising her like a hunter sizing up prey. But it wasn't cruelty in his eyes—it was fascination. Possession.
"Who… who are you?" Luna managed, voice barely a whisper.
"I am the Alpha you've been running from, the one you cannot outrun," he said, his tone both warning and promise. "And now… you are mine."
Luna felt her wolf surge, instinct screaming approval even as her mind shrieked caution. She stumbled backward, caught between fear and an almost unbearable pull toward him.
The yard seemed to shrink, shadows stretching and twisting, as if the world itself bent around his presence. Every hair on her arms stood on end. Every heartbeat echoed in the empty space between them.
And Luna realized, with chilling clarity: she was no longer safe. And somehow… she didn't want to be.