Chapter 1

“What sound is that?” Clara whispered. She stopped and listened carefully. The noise grew louder and closer. It was a growl.

Clara’s heart pounded as she looked around. It was quiet, with no birds or insects making a sound. The trees stood tall, thick bushes filling the spaces between them. Clara tried to use her phone to contact her team, but there was no signal. Only then did she realize she had wandered deep into the forest and was lost.

The growling sound came again from beside her. Clara turned towards the moving bushes. A second later, her eyes widened in shock as she saw a creature emerge from the undergrowth.

“Oh, no! What is that?!”

Clara froze, her mouth agape. She wanted to run, but her feet felt glued to the ground. Cold sweat drenched her body.

A huge wolf stepped out from the bushes. It was much larger than normal. Its dark grey fur covered its body, and its yellow eyes stared sharply at Clara.

“N-no! Don’t come closer!”

Clara’s voice trembled. Instinctively, she stepped back. The wolf growled again but paused for a moment, sniffing Clara’s scent before crouching low, ready to pounce.

“D-don’t…!!”

Panic took over Clara. She tripped on a root and fell to the ground. She closed her eyes, certain there was no escape, as tears ran down her cheeks.

At that moment, just as the wolf leaped at her, someone ran in and pulled her away. They rolled on the ground, safe from the wolf’s claws, which hit the spot where Clara had been.

“Clara, get up! What are you doing here?!”

A man shouted coldly. Clara looked up. Zevko Volkov, her coworker and supervisor, stood firm, blocking her from danger. He glared at Clara, then turned to face the hungry wolf. For a brief moment, doubt flickered in Zevko's mind—he had not planned to reveal himself, not yet. But seeing Clara in danger forced his hand. Zevko fought to keep his expression unreadable, pushing aside a wave of frustration and something almost like fear. He needed to stay in control.

“Damn! Why is he here? I’m in trouble. He’ll fire me for being reckless or tell the directors,” Clara muttered under her breath.

Clara slowly stood up, watching Zevko’s back. She thought she heard a low growl from him, but couldn’t see his face. Oddly, the fierce wolf stepped back, looking frustrated at missing its prey.

Zevko grabbed a broken branch and swung it hard as the wolf came closer. The branch hit its snout, making the animal back away further.

“Clara, get ready! We’re getting out of here,” Zevko said coldly.

When the opportunity came, Zevko immediately grabbed Clara’s hand and pulled her.

“Run! Now!”

Clara nodded and followed Zevko. They ran through the underbrush, jumped over large roots, and turned quickly along paths that were hard to see, even for experienced explorers.

Clara tried to look back. She could barely see the wolf still chasing them, but it was slowing down. She also noticed a few other wolves blocking its path.

“Clara, don’t look back! Focus on the path ahead,” Zevko barked, as if he knew what Clara was thinking.

“Sir, do you know the way out?” Clara asked, breathless.

“Just follow if you want to survive,” Zevko said shortly. He stayed calm and focused, which felt strange in such a tense moment.

A few minutes later, they saw village lights in the distance. They finally left the forest. Clara looked back and saw the wolf was gone.

They stopped. Clara nearly collapsed, her body shaking and her legs too weak to stand. Zevko helped her sit down against a tree trunk.

“You’re safe now,” Zevko said flatly, his face nearly expressionless. He stood again, facing the forest.

“Th-thank you.”

Clara spoke softly, but Zevko heard her. He slowly turned to face her, his gaze cold and sharp as he studied the trembling girl in front of him.

“Thank you? Is that necessary?” Zevko asked, intimidating. “Clara, answer me! What were you doing alone in the forest?!”

Clara gasped. The man who had just saved her was now yelling at her. Anger flashed in his eyes, so intense that his pupils seemed to narrow before returning to normal. Clara shuddered, feeling as if she had escaped one danger only to face another.

“I-I was with the team and the guide. I only stopped briefly to take some photos of the location and didn’t realize I was separated from the team.”

Zevko snorted at Clara’s answer. “Where’s your brain, Clara! You’re a senior analyst, but you act like an intern who doesn’t understand field safety protocols!”

Clara bowed her head and squeezed her cold hands. She felt chilled all over. Still, she tried to steady herself, not wanting to be intimidated because it wasn’t all her fault. She took a deep breath and looked up to meet Zevko’s gaze.

“Yes, I admit I was a bit careless. But that doesn’t mean I don’t know field SOPs,” Clara retorted fiercely. “And you, what were you doing in the forest? Why did you suddenly appear? You're not on the team today, are you?”

Zevko didn’t answer and only gave Clara a strange, unreadable look. But Clara was not easily intimidated. She met his stare, knowing Zevko Volkov was her superior, but her curiosity kept her head high. For a moment, their eyes met before Zevko snorted again and snapped, “None of your business!”

Zevko stood up right away and walked off, leaving Clara stunned. Without thinking, Clara glanced at the forest, her courage fading as memories of her near-death experience came back to her.

With effort, Clara rose and tried to catch up with Zevko.

“Mr. Zevko, wait!”

‘Damn, why does it have to be like this?’ Clara thought. Today, she had a field survey assignment for a resort construction project at the edge of the forest. As a project analyst, she was used to doing field surveys to check if a project was possible.

Earlier that day, she left the office with several technical team members and a local guide. But she got separated from the group while taking pictures of interesting spots. She only realized she was lost deeper in the forest when her phone signal disappeared.

Clara sighed deeply. Today, she had almost become a wild animal’s meal. Goosebumps rose as she remembered what happened. If Zevko hadn’t arrived just in time, she might only be a memory now.

But now her problem wasn’t the wolf that almost attacked her. It was Zevko, the supervisor in charge of her task. Clara’s career could end because of that cold man.

Zevko stopped, and Clara limped after him. She had twisted her ankle earlier when she tripped over a large tree root. If Zevko hadn’t pulled her, she would have fallen.

“Zev—uh, Mr. Zevko, sorry. I didn’t mean to…”

Before Clara could finish, Zevko suddenly turned and swiftly picked her up.

“Hey, what are you doing! Put me down!”

Zevko didn’t answer, continuing to walk while carrying Clara.

“Put me down! I can walk myself.”

Zevko stopped for a moment, his eyes still fixed forward. His face was rigid and cold like a stone statue.

“If you can’t be quiet, I’ll throw you back into the forest.”

“Oh, n-no. Y-yes, I’ll be quiet.”

Clara didn’t dare say another word. She curled up in the arms of the strange man who had saved her. Clara didn’t really like being close to Zevko. He was arrogant and mysterious, and he didn’t tolerate opposition. But the project required Clara to work directly under Zevko’s supervision.

Zevko brought Clara to his car. But before he could open the door, a man hurried over to them.

“Miss Morgan, are you okay?”

Clara looked up, wanting to get down, but Zevko didn’t let her. She recognized the middle-aged man. He was the local guide who had accompanied her team.

“I’m fine, sir. Just a sprain.”

“What actually happened, miss? Your friends were frantic looking for you.”

“Oh. By the way, where are my other friends, sir?”

“They’ve returned to town. I was just about to call the rescue team to search for you.”

“No need!” Zevko cut in sharply. The guide gasped, so happy to see Clara safe that he hadn’t realized who was carrying her.

Suddenly, the guide stared at Zevko. His face turned pale, and cold sweat dripped down his temples. Zevko glared at him with a warning look, his eyes flashing in a way that made the guide shiver with fear.

“O-oh, n-no need. Of course not. Since Miss Clara is safe,” the man stammered, bowing his head, not daring to look at Zevko again. “E-excuse me.”

Without waiting for a reply, the local guide quickly turned away, staggering as he almost fell.

Seeing this, Clara frowned, puzzled by why the guide was so afraid of Zevko. The guide was a local who knew the forest well, so why was he so scared of someone from the office like Zevko?

“Sir, does the guide know you? What did you do to make him so scared?”