THE STRANGER IN CRIMSON HOLLOW

The bus hissed to a stop, its brakes squealing in protest as the doors creaked open. Selene Hart stepped off with a battered leather bag slung over her shoulder, the scent of pine and rain wrapping around her like a forgotten lullaby. Crimson Hollow looked exactly like its name promised—ancient trees cloaked the town in shadow, their blood-red leaves crunching under her boots as twilight crept in like a secret.

She glanced around.

Quiet. Too quiet.

The small town nestled between two mountain ridges didn’t seem like much. A general store, a crooked chapel, and rows of timber-framed houses surrounded by fog. She hadn’t come here for the sights. She came to forget.

Selene’s boots echoed on the gravel as she walked toward the boarding house she'd found online—one that didn’t ask too many questions.

Mrs. Granger, the landlady, was a short, wiry woman with faded curls and eyes too sharp for comfort. She gave Selene a spare key, pointed upstairs, and offered a bland “Don’t wander too far at night.”

Selene didn’t ask why.

That night, she lay in the creaky bed staring at the ceiling. A distant howl sliced through the stillness. Not a dog. Deeper. Wilder. It curled around her spine and made her press her thighs together, startled at the warm pulse it stirred.

She shut her eyes tightly.

No. She wasn’t here for complications.

The next day, she explored the town. It wasn’t until she stepped into the market that she felt it.

The air changed.

The scent of woodsmoke and meat drifted around her, but underneath was something else—musk, earthy and dangerously male. She turned.

He stood across the square. Towering. Dressed in a black shirt rolled to his elbows, veins etched down forearms like stone. His jaw was shadowed, and his dark hair tousled like he’d just rolled out of someone’s bed. But it was his eyes—golden and unblinking—that locked her in place.

Kael Virek.

Alpha. Though she didn’t know that yet.

Their gazes held, a tug in her gut pulling her forward before she could stop it. She blinked and looked away, heart thundering.

Selene had seen beautiful men before. But not ones that looked at her like they knew her scent.

Later, she found herself in the forest trail, drawn without knowing why. Every crack of twig or flutter of wing made her spin. Dusk fell fast, and the light drained from the sky. She should have turned back—but that feeling came again.

Like someone was watching.

Breathing slowed, heart racing, she called out, “Hello?”

Nothing.

Until—

A growl. Low. Right behind her.

She turned—and saw nothing. Just trees. Mist. But her skin prickled like someone had brushed a hand down her back.

She walked faster.

And then she saw it—two glowing yellow eyes in the dark.

They blinked—and disappeared.

Back in her room, she shut the door hard and locked it. Her breaths came short, shallow. She peeled off her clothes, not bothering with modesty, and slipped into the shower. Warm water couldn’t wash away the heat building inside her—not from fear.

From something else.

She pressed her palm against the tile wall as her other hand slid between her thighs, eyes fluttering closed. That growl replayed in her mind. So did those eyes. Her body betrayed her, responding to the primal force she’d felt in the woods.

When she came undone, she bit her lip hard to keep from crying out.

Across the forest, Kael stood naked under the moonlight, steam rising from his skin as his transformation receded. The wolf had sniffed her out, followed her scent like a drug.

Selene Hart.

Not from the Hollow. But something ancient ran through her blood.

And it called to him.

Kael clenched his fists, eyes burning as he stared at the dark town below.

He should stay away.

But he wouldn’t.

Not now that he’d found his mate.