Chapter 2: Into the Wolf's Den

Kaelen’s POV

The first thing I see is bare feet.

Small. Soft. Human.

Trespassing.

On my land.

I rub a hand over my face, already annoyed. I'm shirtless—because, well, wolves don’t shift with clothes—and the last thing I expect is a human girl stumbling right into the heart of the forest like she owns the place.

Who in the moon’s name wanders in here?

I step out from behind the trees.

“Hey!” my voice snaps through the clearing. “You’re trespassing.”

She spins so fast she almost trips over a root.

Big eyes. Flushed cheeks. Breathless. Terrified.

…Pretty.

No. Not pretty.

Familiar.

My chest tightens. My heart pounds once—hard. My wolf surges so violently that I stagger.

Her scent hits me like a punch.

Moonlight. Silver. Destiny.

My vision flashes gold.

No. No. It can’t be—

But it is.

Mate.

My wolf drops to its knees inside me.

My legs buckle.

My lungs seize.

I—Alpha Kaelen Vrynn—almost collapse to the ground.

This isn’t supposed to happen.

Not here.

Not now.

Not with a human.

But my soul recognizes her. Every piece of me tilts toward her, pulled by something ancient and terrifying.

She, however…

…stares at me like I’m a serial killer.

“D-don’t come closer!” she squeaks.

I blink. “I’m literally trying to tell you you’re in danger—”

Her gaze drops to my bare chest.

Her eyes widen.

Then she screams, “KIDNAPPER!”

What.

Before I can say a word—

THWACK.

A rock hits my shoulder.

She threw a rock at me.

An Alpha.

Her fated mate.

ME.

“Did—you—just—throw a rock at me?” I ask, stunned.

Her hand is already reaching for another.

My wolf is outraged.

My pride is wounded.

My heart… is hopelessly enchanted.

Before she can attack me again, I raise my hands slowly.

“I’m not a kidnapper.”

“You’re shirtless!”

“I’m a werewolf!”

She gasps as if I confessed to murder.

“I KNEW IT!”

I scrub a hand over my face. This is a disaster. A catastrophe. The Moon Goddess is laughing at me.

I take a step toward her—carefully.

Big mistake.

The bond slams into me again.

My knees buckle.

My breath catches.

The urge to kneel—to submit—is almost unbearable.

Not because I’m weak.

Because she’s mine.

“Please don’t faint,” I mutter to myself. “Not in front of the trespassing human.”

She backs up, holding the rock like a weapon.

“You stay right there!”

“Fine,” I say, exasperated. “I’ll stay right here.”

Silence.

Wind.

Trees.

A human girl ready to assault me.

A powerful Alpha ready to fall at her feet.

This is NOT how fated mates are supposed to meet.

I try again, gentler this time.

“What’s your name?”

“None of your business!”

“It’s sort of my business if you’re on my land—”

She throws the second rock.

I dodge this one.

Barely.

“Stop throwing things at me!”

“Then stop being suspicious!”

I exhale through my teeth. This is unbelievable.

Before I can explain anything—

Before I can even breathe properly—

The bond surges one more time and the words slip out of me like a prayer, raw and uncontrollable.

“Please…”

My voice cracks.

“…marry me.”

The forest holds its breath.

She does too.

Her jaw hangs open.

I internally scream at myself. WHY DID I SAY THAT OUT LOUD?!

From the trees nearby, two of my warriors—Blaze and Rowan—step into the clearing.

They freeze.

They see me.

They see her.

They hear what I just said.

Blaze mouths silently,

‘Did our Alpha just propose to a human?’

Rowan whispers:

‘Is he sick? Is he cursed? Should we call the healer?’

I want to disappear.

The girl—my mate—stares at me like I’m mentally unstable.

Then she says the words that shatter me in the dumbest, funniest way possible:

“NO. I don’t marry kidnappers OR shirtless men!”

She turns to run.

The forest’s barrier flares.

Magic crashes.

Wind howls.

The trees pulse with moonlight.

She can’t escape.

Her hair lifts from the energy.

Her eyes widen.

The forest responds to her.

It recognizes her.

My breath stops.

Silver blood.

Moonborn.

The lost princess.

And she doesn’t even know.

She turns back to me, eyes terrified.

“What—what was that?”

“You,” I whisper, stepping toward her slowly, reverently, brokenly,

“are not human.”

Her lips part in shock.

Then—

Her knees buckle.

She faints straight into my arms.

My wolf howls with joy and panic at the same time.

Behind me, Blaze mutters.

“So… you proposed. She fainted. You caught her. This is the most romantic kidnapping I’ve ever witnessed.”

I snap, “I’m not kidnapping her!”

Rowan smirks. “Sure, Alpha. Sure.”

I glare at them.

Then, I look down at her sleeping face.

Soft. Frightened. Familiar.

My mate.

My Moonborn.

My lost destiny.

I lift her gently into my arms—bridal style—and carry her toward the pack house.

Because whether she likes it or not…

Everything just changed

To be Continued....