Chapter 6

_Aria's POV_

I couldn't move.

The enormous black wolf stood only a few feet away from me. Its golden eyes were glowing beneath the moonlight. My heart hammered so hard that it hurt. A few moments ago, that wolf had torn through three rogues as if they were nothing.

Now it was staring directly at me. Every instinct told me to run. The problem was that my legs refused to cooperate. The wolf tilted its head slightly. Then, before my eyes, its body began to change.

I gasped. Bones shifted. Muscles moved beneath dark fur. The massive wolf slowly shrank until a man stood where it had been only seconds earlier. The transformation happened so quickly that I barely had time to process it.

The man was tall....very tall. He had broad shoulders and a powerful build. Dark hair fell slightly over his forehead and his dark eyes studied me carefully.

For several seconds neither of us spoke. The forest seemed unusually quiet...almost as if it were waiting. Finally, the stranger broke the silence.

"You're staring."

I blinked. "What?"

A faint smile appeared on his face. "Either you're staring or you've forgotten how to blink."

Heat rushed to my cheeks. I immediately looked away. "I almost got killed."

"That's true."

"You turned into a wolf."

"Also true."

"You fought three rogues by yourself."

His expression remained perfectly calm. "That happened too."

I frowned. "Why are you acting like that's normal?"

One dark eyebrow lifted. "Because for me it is."

I didn't know what to say to that. The stranger folded his arms.

"Do you have a name?"

The question caught me off guard. I hesitated. The last thing I wanted was to tell a complete stranger everything about myself. Especially after tonight.

"Why?" I asked.

His eyebrow rose slightly higher. "Because calling you 'the girl who almost became rogue food' feels unnecessarily long."

Despite everything, a small laugh escaped my lips. The stranger immediately noticed.

"There."

I frowned. "There what?"

"A laugh."

"I didn't laugh."

"You did."

"I didn't."

"You absolutely did."

I crossed my arms. He looked entirely too pleased with himself. Something about that annoyed me. At the same time, it made me feel strangely less afraid. After everything that had happened tonight, it felt nice to talk about something normal...even if only for a few seconds.

The stranger extended a hand. "My name is Rowan."

I looked at his hand. Then at him.

"Just Rowan?"

He placed a hand dramatically against his chest. "You wound me."

I stared. "Should there be more?"

"Would Lord Rowan the Magnificent sound better?"

I rolled my eyes. The smile on his face widened. For some reason, I found myself smiling too. But it disappeared quickly.

The reality of my situation returned immediately. I was alone in the forest. I had nowhere to go. And I was standing beside a stranger who could probably kill me without much effort.

"My name is Aria," I finally said.

His expression changed slightly. Just enough for me to notice.

"Aria."

The way he said my name made something feel strange. As if he was memorizing it. I pushed the thought aside. Rowan looked around the forest. Then he looked back at me.

"What were you doing out here?"

The question immediately made my stomach tighten. I looked away. I couldn't tell him the truth. I couldn't tell him that I had been publicly rejected by my mate. I couldn't tell him that half the pack had watched my humiliation. The memory still hurt too much.

Rowan waited patiently. He didn't pressure me.

Eventually, I sighed. "I left my pack."

That part wasn't a lie. His expression remained unreadable.

"Why?"

I hesitated. Then I decided to use part of the truth. "I'm wolfless."

For the first time, genuine surprise appeared in his eyes. "You don't have a wolf?"

I shook my head. "No."

Something flickered across his face, pity. Then it disappeared.

"My pack never liked me," I continued quietly. "Most of them treated me like a burden."

Again, this was not a lie.

"They made it very clear that I wasn't wanted."

Rowan studied me carefully....long enough to make me uncomfortable. Finally, he spoke.

"They threw a young woman into the forest alone at night because she doesn't have a wolf?"

I shrugged. "It happens."

"No." His voice became unexpectedly cold. "It shouldn't."

The firmness in his tone surprised me. For a moment, he almost looked angry. Not at me but at whoever had treated me that way. I wasn't sure why. We had only just met.

"Well," I said softly, "it did happen."

Silence settled between us. The forest breeze moved through the trees. Far above us, the moon shone brightly. Eventually Rowan sighed.

"You need somewhere safe to stay."

My entire body immediately tensed. "No."

One corner of his mouth lifted. "I wasn't asking."

"I'm not going with a stranger."

"Smart."

I blinked. "What?"

"Most people would have immediately accepted." He shrugged. "You at least have survival instincts."

I narrowed my eyes. "You're still a stranger."

"That's true."

"You could be dangerous."

"Also true."

I stared at him. He stared back. Then he sighed dramatically. "This conversation isn't helping my case, is it?"

"No."

His shoulders slumped. "Unfortunately."

Despite myself, I almost laughed again. Rowan gestured toward the darkness. "My home is nearby."

"That's not reassuring."

"It has walls."

"Walls which can be used to imprison me."

"Fair point."

I folded my arms. "I'm not going."

Rowan nodded. "Okay."

The answer surprised me. "Okay?"

"Okay."

I blinked. "You're just giving up?"

"I can't exactly drag you there." He paused. "Well, I could."

That wasn't comforting.

"But I won't."

I frowned. "Why not?"

His expression softened slightly. "Because you've had enough of people making bad decisions for you."

The words hit harder than they should have. For a moment, I couldn't respond. How had he guessed that so easily?

Rowan looked away first. "You can stay here if you want."

I glanced around the dark forest. My stomach tightened. The image of the rogues immediately returned. The feeling of being completely helpless.

Rowan followed my gaze. Then he looked back at me. I sighed. He wasn't wrong. As much as I disliked admitting it, staying alone in the forest wasn't a good option.

"How far is your house?"

"About twenty minutes."

I hesitated. Then nodded reluctantly. "Fine."

A victorious grin appeared on his face. "I knew you were smart."

"Don't make me change my mind."

"No promises."

We started walking through the forest. The silence between us wasn't uncomfortable. Mostly because Rowan seemed perfectly capable of filling it himself.

"So," he said after several minutes.

"What?"

"You don't trust me."

"Correct."

"At all?"

"Not even a little."

He looked genuinely offended. "I saved your life."

"Suspicious people can save lives too."

He considered that. "That's technically true."

"I know."

"You've clearly thought about this."

I ignored him. A few minutes later, the trees began thinning. Then I saw it. My feet stopped moving.

"What..."

The word escaped before I could stop it. A massive stone mansion stood among the trees. Moonlight reflected from dozens of windows. It looked elegant and expensive...completely out of place. The building belonged in the center of a powerful pack. Not hidden in the middle of nowhere.

I slowly turned toward Rowan. "You live here?"

"Last time I checked."

I looked at the mansion again...then back at him....then at the mansion. "This is suspicious."

Rowan sighed. "There it is again."

"A giant mansion in the middle of the forest is suspicious."

"I prefer mysterious."

"I prefer suspicious."

His lips twitched. The closer we got, the stranger everything felt.

Who was this man?

Why did he live here?

Why was he alone in the forest?

And how could someone who lived in a mansion fight like a warrior?

Questions continued filling my mind. Questions that didn't have answers. Rowan pushed open the front doors. Warm light spilled outside.

For a brief moment, I stood frozen on the steps. My instincts told me to be careful, to stay alert and remember that I barely knew this man. Yet another part of me couldn't ignore what had happened earlier.

If Rowan hadn't appeared when he did, the rogues would have caught me. I would probably be dead.

Rowan glanced back. "You coming?"

I looked into the mansion. Something told me my life had just changed again. And somehow, I wasn't sure whether that was a good thing or a very dangerous mistake.