2. The Alpha's Claim

The howls started up again, this time much closer and longer. Luna's heart hammered in her chest as she watched the wolves gather outside the broken warehouse doors. Their eyes glowed like tiny lanterns cutting through the rain. They didn't come inside, though. They were just waiting, watching. For her.

Darius Blackwood stood between Luna and the entrance, his shoulders tense beneath his soaked coat. He'd been staring into the darkness ever since he introduced himself. "Stay behind me," he commanded.

Luna crossed her arms. "You really love telling people what to do, don't you?"

His jaw tightened. "And you really love ignoring me."

"I don't take orders from strangers."

"You already met one tonight." His gaze flickered to the dead man on the warehouse floor. "He tried to kill you."

Luna swallowed. The body had shifted back into a normal, pale, lifeless human form. If she hadn't seen it happen, she'd have thought it was impossible. "I'm calling the police." She reached for her phone, but the screen was cracked, with no signal and no battery. "Nothing."

"That won't help," Darius said.

"How do you know?"

"I do."

"And why's that?"

"Because the police can't arrest werewolves."

A heavy silence fell between them. Luna let out a short, humorless laugh. "Right."

His expression didn't change. "You seriously expect me to believe that?"

"I don't expect anything."

"Good, because that's just insane." Darius turned to face her. For the first time, Luna noticed the blood soaking through the side of his black shirt where the creature had clawed him. The wound was already closing, skin knitting itself back together right before her eyes. Within seconds, only torn fabric remained.

She blinked. "No..." Her voice was barely a whisper. "That's impossible."

"It isn't." He pulled his ruined coat closed, as if healing from a near-fatal injury was just another Tuesday.

Luna took another step back. "This can't be happening."

"It already is."

She laughed again, louder this time, a little unhinged. "I must have hit my head."

"You didn't."

"I'm hallucinating."

"You're not."

"I've officially lost it."

His eyes softened, just a fraction. "No, Luna." The way he said her name sent a strange warmth through her chest. "You're just finally seeing what's real."

She shook her head hard. "No."

"You released power that's been asleep in you your whole life."

"No."

"You're not human."

"No!" The word echoed through the warehouse, silencing even the wolves outside. Luna wrapped her arms around herself. "I have a job," she said, her voice shaking. "I pay rent. I drink terrible coffee every morning. I binge old shows when I can't sleep." Tears welled in her eyes. "I'm normal."

Darius watched her quietly. "No," he said at last. "You've just been living a normal life." That distinction scared her more than anything else he'd said.

A sharp crack echoed from outside. One of the wolves stepped into the light. Unlike the others, it didn't lower its head toward Darius. It stared straight at Luna, its silver eyes looking... familiar.

Darius growled, and the wolf answered with one of its own. The sound rolled through the warehouse like thunder. Another wolf stepped forward, then another. Within moments, nearly a dozen stood in the rain. None attacked, none left. They were waiting.

"What do they want?" Luna whispered.

Darius answered immediately. "You." A chill ran down her spine. "Why?"

"Because they felt you wake up."

"I don't even know what that means."

"I do." He finally turned fully toward her. "And that's exactly why we need to go."

Luna glanced toward the open doorway. "Go with you?"

"Yes."

"I don't know you."

"You will."

"That's not exactly comforting." A faint smile tugged at his mouth, changing his whole face. For a second, he looked younger, less dangerous, almost... handsome. Luna immediately hated that she'd noticed. "You smiled."

His expression went blank again. "Did I?"

"I wasn't imagining it."

"No."

"It looked weird." One dark eyebrow lifted. "Weird?"

"I didn't think people like you smiled."

"People like me?"

"Dangerous." Something flickered in his eyes. "You should probably keep thinking that."

Before Luna could respond, every wolf outside lowered itself to the ground, not in surrender, but in preparation. Darius reacted instantly. "Run."

The wolves exploded forward, and chaos hit the warehouse. Darius moved incredibly fast, not fully shifting but close. His claws lengthened, his muscles expanded. Golden eyes flared as he met the first wolf head-on, the impact shaking the concrete beneath Luna's feet. Another wolf slipped past him, straight for her.

She turned and ran. Her shoes splashed through puddles as she burst out the back of the warehouse into the alley. She didn't know where she was going, only that she had to get out. Snarls followed her, claws scraping pavement. Someone shouted her name.

"Luna!" Darius.

She didn't stop. Her lungs burned. The city blurred under sheets of rain. A car horn blared. She sprinted across an empty street, headlights flooding her vision. Brakes screamed. The vehicle skidded sideways. Luna froze, realizing she wasn't going to make it.

Then strong arms locked around her waist, and the world flipped. They hit the wet asphalt together just as the SUV slammed into a lamp post where she'd been standing seconds earlier. Silence. Just rain.

Luna realized she was on top of Darius, his arms still around her, his face inches from hers. They stared at each other, neither moving. She could feel his heartbeat, slow, strong, steady. He looked at her with an intensity that stole her breath. "You never listen," he muttered.

"I almost died."

"You almost got yourself killed."

She pushed against his chest. "You followed me!"

"I saved you."

"I didn't ask you to."

"No." His eyes flicked briefly to her lips before meeting her gaze again. "You didn't." Heat rushed to her face, and she scrambled up. Darius stood a second later.

Neither of them noticed the old woman watching from across the street. Hidden under a black umbrella, she smiled. "The prophecy begins," she whispered, then vanished into the rain.