Chapter 2: The First Seal

I didn’t even have time to fight back. In a split second, my body was yanked into a dark passage hidden behind an old wall I thought was solid. Everything turned black—damp, narrow, suffocating…

Then a voice whispered in my ear—deep, sharp, and hauntingly familiar. "Not here, Willow. You’ll kill anyone who sees you shift."

I gasped, trembling. Before I could ask who he was, the darkness swallowed us both.

"What pack are you from?" he asked at last. The question hit me like thunder in a storm. No pleasantries, no distractions. Just a demand for raw honesty.

I eyed him warily. “Why do you want to know?”

He raised an eyebrow, stepping closer with calm, deliberate steps. “Because I’m a werewolf too.”

I straightened up, still shaking. “Xander… You’re—?”

I didn’t have time to think. But I knew him—he was my college mate, different major, but familiar.

My body trembled violently. It felt like a thousand needles danced beneath my skin—sharp, searing, torturous. My breathing was ragged, the air too thin for my burning lungs.

“I—I can’t… Xander, I—”

My knees gave out, collapsing into the muddy ground. My nails grew in rapid, violent bursts, shredding through my shoes. The sound of cracking bones fused with distant howls piercing the night sky.

Xander ran toward me. His face was tense, but not panicked. He knew what was coming. Yet he didn’t shift. Beneath the full moon, he remained human. Unmoving. Unhowling.

“Willow,” he said gently, but with authority, “Look at me. Don’t let yourself get lost.”

But the voice inside me roared louder. Release. Destroy. Hunt.

My vision burned red. The world blurred. Only his voice kept what was left of me from slipping away.

Then suddenly, he reached out and touched my face, his fingers brushing the fur beginning to grow across my skin. “Easy… I’m right here,” he said, and something in his touch unlocked a door sealed for ages.

Oh god… for the first time, I shifted—in the arms of a stranger.

****

The wolf inside me pulled back… but something wasn’t over. I was still in Xander’s arms. I don’t know how long. My body went limp. My breath was shallow. My eyes were wet with something I couldn’t name.

But Xander. His face changed. His eyes lit up. His breath turned ragged. And in those eyes… there was shock—not from what he saw, but from what he felt. As if something ancient had awakened between us.

Matebond.

I felt it too. That pull. That primal magnet linking blood and bone. Like my soul recognized something in him—something too deep, too close… too dangerous.

“Willow…” he whispered, voice cracking with conflict. “I don’t know why… but I can’t stop myself…” Before I could speak—he leaned down and bit me. Right where my neck met my shoulder.

A wave of heat exploded from the mark. My body tensed, then melted into something unexplainable—painful, but warm… like I’d just been sealed by a force older than time.

My blood surged. My limbs trembled. My heart pounded so loud it hurt.

Xander pulled away slowly. His eyes met mine—shocked, terrified. “What have I done…” he murmured.

I touched my neck, still in disbelief. My breath trembled. My whole body is still shaking—not from the shift, but from something deeper.

We just stood there, staring. The world fell quiet. Then he said my name in a voice barely audible—

“Willow…” as if my name was the only spell he could speak.

I wanted to ask. I wanted to shove him away. I wanted to scream. But I didn’t do any of those things.

Xander kissed me.

His lips brushed mine—gentle, but with an intensity that left no room for thought. I froze. Not in fear. But in truth: it was my first kiss.

And he stole it.

I wasn’t frozen just from the shock… but from the sin I knew would summon my father’s wrath.

Since I was little, he always said: “No one touches you, Willow. There are things in your blood that must not awaken before their time.”

I never understood what he meant. I only nodded, obeyed. But now… with a stranger’s lips on mine, something inside me cracked open.

Not just warmth. Not just the flutter of firsts. But a calling. Like a voice buried in ancient time. And I was afraid… because maybe my father was right. Maybe this wasn’t just a kiss. Suddenly, Xander’s eyes snapped open. Sharp. His pupils dilated. He looked at me—frightened. Confused.

Then he shoved me.

Not harshly—but hard enough to push me back. His breathing was heavy. His gaze was wild—like he’d just seen a ghost.

“Who… who are you, really, Willow?” he asked, voice raspy like he’d just woken from a nightmare. He shook his head, eyes blank… then slowly filled with doubt and urgency.

“I… I saw—”

“What did you see?”

“I saw it again… the blood… the screams… your face.”

I froze. “Xander?”

“So… you’re the one from my nightmares?”

“What are you talking about?”

Before I could press further, Xander suddenly turned away. “I have to go. I… I need time.” And without waiting for a response, he disappeared into the shadows.

I stood there, heart pounding like thunder in my chest.

What did he see? Who am I… in his eyes?

I stayed frozen, even after the sound of his footsteps vanished. The air felt sticky, like his scent still clung to my skin.

I lifted my fingers to my lips. The warmth of his kiss hadn’t faded… but in my chest, the feeling turned bitter.

And it wasn’t just that—he marked me. The bite still burned, like a tiny brand flaring every time I thought about it.

“Like some shameless bastard,” I muttered into the air. “Claiming me like that, then running when the consequences show up.”

I pulled my coat tighter around me. The night air bit harder—or maybe that was just the anger I hadn’t let out. I was the daughter of Alpha Moonveil. I wasn’t some cheap girl to be kissed and discarded without a word.

My eyes locked onto the end of the passageway—now quiet, empty. “Does he think I’ll chase after him? Beg for answers? Cry?”

I made my decision.

Pathetic. Even now… I still wanted to know why. But enough. I stood, dusting myself off.

I wouldn’t let a man like Xander shake me any further. If he wanted answers, he could come find me. I wasn’t begging for clarity.

The sky was lightening. But then I froze. Wait—he’d said he saw blood and screams…Just like the dreams that haunt me?