Chapter One: The Beast in the Woods

THE wind swirled, and thunder roared in the sky. She wanted to run away from the excruciating burning feeling in her chest. She didn't care about the heavy rain and had no sense of direction. Slagle was the cause of her suffering.

She had come a long way before realizing she was in the middle of the woods. The rain never stopped pouring; it grew harder, and lightning slashed across the dark sky. She continued to walk in the dark woods, the only light provided by the lightning as it played across the sky.

The pouring rain continued, and she could hear the wind swirling through the trees all over the woods. Her whole body shivered from the cold, and she wrapped herself tighter to lessen the chill.

As she walked, she heard a loud moan and a faint growl, as if someone were in pain. She walked toward the sound and saw a wounded wolf, an animal in nature, nearly fainted. At first, she hesitated to move closer, afraid that this beast would harm her. But then she realized that this wolf needed her help despite his appearance. She removed her scarf and tried to wipe the blood from his fur.

"Hey, are you okay?"

The beast just moaned and slightly opened his eyes. She hurriedly pulled the werewolf toward a shelter that shielded them from the heavy rain. The wounded werewolf panted and growled in pain.

"Who are you?" the beast asked her, his voice strained.

"I'm Adhara. You're wounded; you must get treatment. You've lost too much blood."

He pried his eyes open and smelled the woman who saved him. Her scent overwhelmed his nostrils, and it could only mean one thing: she belonged to him. His instinct urged him to imprint on her. But he wouldn't do that; he was no ordinary wolf. He could choose not to, and he'd only put her life in danger.

Adhara glanced at him and continued wiping his wounded body. The rain barely stopped. She decided to look around for some herbal medicine to stop the bleeding of his wounds.

She found some herbs and went back to where she had left the wounded wolf. Adhara hurried back, knowing it was important to cure him and stop the bleeding. She ground the herbs and applied them to his wounds. After a while, his wounds stopped bleeding, and he felt relaxed, the pain lessened.

She helped the wounded werewolf stand, and they searched for a place to stay. They walked along the edge of the woods, and not far away, Adhara saw a small hut where they could spend the night.

She laid the wounded werewolf on a pallet and covered his body. She made a fire to keep them warm, then took off her clothes and wrapped herself in a blanket from a small basket. They were lucky that the owner of this hut had left some useful things, as if intended for them.

She woke up and realized she was only covered by a blanket. She retrieved her clothes, which had dried by the fire, and turned her gaze to the wounded werewolf, the beast she found in the woods.

She moved closer to the beast and, to her surprise, he had transformed into an ordinary man. She stared at his face for a long time, trying to memorize every part of his body. She smiled when she realized how attractive his body was, something she hadn't noticed the night before—his thick eyelashes and red lips thrilled her.

She was suddenly pushed back when the stranger growled, and all of a sudden, he shouted in a loud voice, which startled her. The beast who turned into a human suddenly got up, panting, seemingly disoriented. Adhara approached him, trying to comfort him.

"Are you okay?"

The wounded man didn't answer her; he just looked at Adhara and scanned the inside of the hut. He tried to move, but he felt pain with every movement. He sat back down to make himself comfortable.

His green eyes kept staring at Adhara, and he said nothing. Suddenly, he remembered his bad dream, a nightmare that always brought back the night his mother was killed. He looked at his hands and cringed in resentment. He could quite imagine that his mother had died at his hands, something his brother Slagle resented.

Adhara approached him and gave him a glass of water. He raised his gaze and stared at Adhara again. He took the glass of water and drank before speaking.

"Are you the woman who saved me last night?" he asked calmly.

"Yes, I am." Adhara smiled at him, trying to avoid looking at his naked body.

Jarckon gave her a sudden look, thinking, Does this woman even know who I am? Isn't she afraid of me?

Jarckon was the most powerful and vicious Alpha of the wolf clan. Adhara had no idea that on that night, she had saved the Alpha king of North Oregon. He had encountered a battle with a group of soldiers from South Oregon. Many were wounded, and the bloody war had ended before Adhara arrived. The soldiers of South Oregon left him, believing him lifeless. Jarckon eyed Adhara suspiciously and glanced at her once again before asking a question.

"If you don't mind, can I know what you are doing in the woods?"

Adhara breathed heavily and sat facing Jarckon.

"I'm Adhara from southern Oregon. I got lost in the forest, and I don't know how to get back."

Jarckon was stunned by what he learned about this woman. South Oregon was his brother Slagle's kingdom. He stared at Adhara skeptically again, thinking perhaps she was one of those Slagle had sent to track him down.

Adhara approached him and handed over the clothes she found inside the hut. She turned back and let Jarckon put on the clothes. He realized he was naked in front of this woman.

"You can face me now," Jarckon said to her.

She handed him the herbal medicine and sat beside Jarckon. She put the herbal medicine on his wounded body and then on his face, where he had bruises.

She was jolted when she saw a vision as she touched him.

She saw herself with Jarckon, a wedding, a life with him, and carrying a child in her womb—a child that gave her a reason to stay with Jarckon.

Adhara suddenly stood and moved away from him, her actions startling him.

Adhara saw her life with Jarckon and was stunned by the realization that this man was her mate.

She panicked and felt agitated. He held her hands and tried to talk to Adhara.

"Calm down. Are you okay?" Jarckon asked her.

All that had happened to her these two consecutive days felt like two pieces of a bubble that separated her from reality. Her brain was nearing an aneurism. How could strange things happen one on top of another? But she would not admit her feelings for this stranger.

She just glanced at Jarckon and sat a few feet away from him, afraid that she might see her future with this man.

"I'm fine. I just need fresh air."

It was already dark when Adhara returned to the hut. She had some fruits that they could share for dinner and herbs that she would apply to Jarckson's wounds. She offered the fruit to Jarckson to fill his empty stomach, and she made a soup to warm them. After they had dinner, Adhara applied some herbs to his wounded body, but now she let Jarckson apply herbs to his face; she was afraid that she would see an image of her future.

She went outside and decided to take a bath in the lake. She took off her clothes and descended into the cold lake. She washed her body and enjoyed the running water that touched her. She rubbed her body to clean it and refresh herself. As she enjoyed the bath, she felt someone else staring at her, and from afar, she could see Jarckon standing, wearing nothing and naked as she was.

Jarckon dove into the lake to bathe. She almost screamed when she saw that Jarckon was in front of her.

"Oh, my God, you startled me."

Jarckon just laughed at her, and he sprinkled water on her face. Adhara didn't know what to do; should she do the same to him? She felt a bit uncomfortable being here in the lake, naked with Jarckon, her destined wolf.

She just turned around and went back to her bath, but Jarckon moved closer to her and grabbed her to face him. Adhara was surprised by what Jarckon did. Dumbfounded by what he just did, she intended to push him away, but his deep green eyes and red lips were too inviting. She could do nothing but stare at this man; she melted in his stares, a reason Adhara could not control Jarckon's feelings.

Adhara wanted to stay away from Jarckon, but his green eyes attracted her. She could do nothing but stare at this man. She had melted in his stares, a reason Adhara could not control Jarckon's feelings.

She lowered her gaze, but Jarckon kissed her on her lips, softly and sweetly. Adhara just stared at Jarckon. She enjoyed his kisses and felt she wanted more, allowing him to feel his kisses over and over, and she had no power to stay away from Jarckon or even refuse him.

Jarckon touched her face, his hand moving to her lips. She tried to move away, but at that moment, Jarckon kissed her again, softly at first, but it grew more intense as time passed. Adhara kissed him back and wrapped her arms around his neck. Their kisses grew so heated that they could no longer control the desires of their bodies.

Jarckon pulled her closer, lifted her, and carried her inside the hut. He laid her down and stared at her beautiful body before kissing her deeply on her breast, which made Adhara moan. She couldn't control Jarckon; this man wanted her entirely—her body, her femininity—and he wanted to possess it.

Jarckon caressed her body, igniting his manhood. Adhara wanted to escape his embrace, but she couldn't. She would admit that Jarckon drove her crazy. She felt that Jarckon had claimed her; he was inside her, and she felt every move, every breath he took, which caused her to make sounds, moaning with every moment of their lovemaking. The fire inside the hut witnessed the warmth of their bodies.

But then, Jarckon regretted what had happened between him and Adhara. It seemed as if everything had changed in Adhara's personality since that night with Jarckon.

Jarckon suspected that Adhara had come to him because she wanted to be his Luna, which made Adhara furious and angry. In her anger, Adhara slapped Jarckon.

How could this beast say such things to her after she had given him her body that night? She fell silent, and sadness washed over her face after all Jarckon had said.

Adhara was shocked by what she had done, so she ran out of the hut and went to the lake, where she released her anger toward Jarckon.

She liked the night she and Jarckon had shared, and she couldn't explain why. Despite that, she felt fear of Jarckon, the man who turned into a beast, a wolf, and she couldn't shake the images she had seen when she touched Jarckon's face—a life with him.

How could this happen? Jarckon was fated to her, but it never occurred to her that she wanted to be the Luna.

Jarckon looked at her from afar, regretting what had happened between him and Adhara. He shouldn't have been so aggressive; he had given in to the heat of his body and the calls of the flesh.

He knew from the beginning that Adhara was his mate. He had to do something to protect her.

He thought twice, and the only solution he could think of was to bring her to his castle and imprison her. In that way, he could protect Adhara, the woman destined to be his mate.

Because he was the strongest alpha of the wolf clan, he could do anything he wanted, and no one could stop him.

On her way back to the hut, someone blocked her path. They were men who turned into werewolves. To her surprise, she immediately ran back toward the hut, but to her astonishment, she saw Jarckon transform into a wolf as well. She wanted to run, but the other werewolves stopped her.

And because of her fear, she just hugged herself. After a while, the werewolves and Jarckon transformed back into humans.

"Bring her to my castle," Jarckon ordered his men.

"Castle?" she said to herself.

Adhara did nothing but follow them, and they walked away from the hut with Jarckon. She had no idea why Jarckon was suddenly taking her to his castle.

Adhara kept silent, following Jarckon and the other human werewolves. The castle—what am I going to do in the castle? These were the questions whispering in her head.

She glanced at Jarckon, who was too serious. She didn't know what he was thinking.

Jarckon kept an eye on Adhara, suspecting that this woman had another plan, that Adhara worked with the person who had harmed him.