02

After a long, awkward silence settled between us all, Nova clapped her hands with a sharp, sarcastic smile. “Well, we should all listen to the king and get to our posts,” she announced, tilting her head slightly. “Wouldn’t want to make His Majesty any more pissed off than he already is.” Her smirk held just the right amount of sass.

“Which direction should we take?” Cliff asked, nodding respectfully toward her. He seemed genuine—maybe even a bit too polite to be part of a wolf pack.

“Uh—either the crop fields or the open plains, it’s your call,” Nova said, folding her arms as she turned to the only other woman in their group.

The female—Kagura, if I remembered right—smiled coolly before getting to her feet and following Gabriel and the king out. “Guess my delinquent and I will just have to figure it out,” she muttered with a laugh, then tossed a sultry glance back at the group. “Of course, I’d be the one who gets stuck with the one ready to sink his teeth into us.” Her eyes narrowed with flirtation, and she stood there almost too confidently, the picture of seductive calm.

“Just focus on the task, Kagura,” my partner Ethan said, his voice cutting through her antics as he walked toward her. “Ignore his comments—if he makes any at all. Or better yet, tell their king.” He subtly nodded toward me when he said “their.”

“Understood, Beta,” she purred, planting a kiss on his cheek before slipping out of the room.

“Well, let’s go, partner. I guess we’ll take the crop fields,” Nova said with a shrug. Her heels clicked sharply against the stone floor as she sped toward the door. “Keep up, dog!” she called out, disappearing at lightning speed.

Ethan and Cliff exchanged an amused glance before Cliff took off after her, leaving just the two of us.

“So—” Ethan began, looking at me with a serious, unreadable expression. “Where’s the front gate?”

His sudden question caught me off guard. I snapped my eyes to his, momentarily breathless. “Oh—uh, follow me,” I said quickly, lowering my head as I turned to exit the war room.

Ethan walked beside me with ease, keeping perfect pace, even in his human form. The silence between us stretched long and comfortable. Honestly, I preferred it that way. I didn’t necessarily agree with everything King Eric was doing, but if he believed this was our best shot—or our last resort—I was willing to follow through. For him.

Once we stepped outside, the cool breeze swept over my face, and I took a few eager steps forward, inhaling deeply.

“Ahhh,” I exhaled in relief, my shoulders relaxing as the fresh air washed over me.

From beside me, Ethan chuckled. I turned to look at him, confused, but said nothing and continued on.

Even though you could see the land from the round table room’s window, the grazing fields were far enough from the castle to justify a run. We jogged there at a consistent pace, I kept slightly ahead, just enough to make sure he could keep up. Eventually, we arrived at the towering gates leading to the animal farm.

I slowed to a stop, peering through the bars at a cluster of cows grazing lazily nearby. One mooed at me, which made me turn around awkwardly, unsure what we were supposed to do now. The king really wanted us to just… stand here all night?

“We should patrol east first,” Ethan suggested, pointing down the length of the gate. “Circle through the crop lands, then loop back west.”

As he stretched his arm to demonstrate, I couldn’t help but notice how his muscles tensed beneath the black fabric of his shirt. My eyes involuntarily trailed over to his other arm, which was decorated with inked tribal tattoos crawling from his wrist up his neck and vanishing beneath his shirt. “Sound good to you?” he asked, catching my gaze.

I gave a small nod and began walking past him toward the east, head down.

Ethan trailed about five feet behind me for nearly two hours, neither of us saying much—until suddenly, his voice broke the quiet, startling me.

“You’re half-human?” he asked, completely out of nowhere.

I shot a glance over my shoulder at him, then turned my head back forward.

“Does that make you nervous?” I replied, deliberately leaving the question open.

Being a newborn—born from a human mother but with vampire blood—came with its own set of stereotypes. I’d dealt with it all my life. People assumed I couldn’t control my hunger, my rage. But that had never been an issue for me. I’d always had… a tender heart.

“Not at all,” Ethan said, chuckling lightly. “It’s interesting though…” He suddenly appeared beside me, matching my stride.

My brows furrowed. “What?” I asked, keeping my eyes forward, even though I could feel the heat from his body bleeding into mine.

“How did a half-human end up in an all-vampire territory?” he questioned, his tone curious, but sharp. “And not only survive—but rise to a top-ranking officer?” He eyed my uniform. “A Major, no less.”

His expression was smug, like he already knew the answer—or at least thought he did. His words had me spiraling, if only for a second. A brief image of my mother flashed in my mind—her sobbing, holding my hand. Then it shifted. Her lifeless eyes stared into the distance, frozen in terror.

I picked up my pace, needing distance from the memory and from him. But suddenly, I was shoved gently yet firmly against the gate, Ethan’s piercing eyes locked on mine.

“Why do you hate me?” he asked softly, like he already knew the answer but needed to hear it out loud.

I gave him a quick once-over before shifting my gaze just past him. “Who said I hate you?” I snapped. The attitude wasn’t intentional—it just happened. Like muscle memory. He was a werewolf, and I was a vampire. What was there to like?

“You shouldn’t,” he said coolly, leaning in slightly.

“And why is that?” I asked, struggling to ignore how close he was… how his scent didn’t seem to trigger my instincts at all.

“Because we both have beating hearts,” he murmured, eyes searching mine. I turned away quickly, trying to avoid getting caught in his gaze.

Then, he bent down and inhaled just behind my ear, the tip of his nose brushing my skin lightly. The sensation sent my entire body into a meltdown. My eyes fluttered closed as heat surged to my core, catching me completely off guard.

My hands slammed into his chest, shoving him away with enough force to kick up dust.

He stumbled back, brushing himself off with a smirk.

“I guess you don’t,” he mumbled, turning and walking away.

I stood frozen, watching his retreating back. Why had he gotten so close? It was obvious I didn’t want to talk—so what gave him the audacity?

“Don’t you dare touch me again,” I called out sharply. Even though he was now several yards away, I knew he heard me.

Ethan froze in place, tension snapping in the air like a whip. “At your discretion,” he replied before continuing on.

I fixed my uniform and followed behind, now walking at a steady pace, keeping my thoughts buried.

“We should be allies, you know,” he said without turning back.

I ignored him.

“There’s no reason we shouldn’t be. You’re here for business, and when this is over, I won’t have to see you again,” I replied coldly. I still didn’t understand why King Eric thought this alliance was a good idea. For all we knew, they could be working with the rogues.

“Might be a while, though,” Ethan called over his shoulder. “Might as well get used to each other.”

“Yeah, whatever,” I muttered, eyes scanning the terrain.

A low snarl broke the quiet.

I froze, peering toward the thick brush to my left. My claws extended, and I bared my fangs.

“Come out slow. I won’t hurt you,” I said, voice calm.

The snarling intensified. Then, without warning, a brown wolf burst from the darkness.

I leapt directly into its chest, taking it down in one fierce motion. We hit the ground with a thunderous crash, dirt and rocks exploding around us. The wolf snapped its jaws, and I punched hard, landing a blow to its jaw. Before I could strike again, a sleek black wolf launched into the fray.

Its movements were flawless—more like a dance than a fight.

Within seconds, the brown wolf lay whimpering and limp.

Ethan—now in wolf form—placed a single paw on its head and howled into the sky before striking one final blow that knocked the rogue unconscious. The body shifted back into its human form, naked and bruised.

Ethan turned to face me on all fours, our gazes meeting. His black fur glistened in the moonlight, muscles rippling beneath it. He stood tall—at least eight feet in height—and licked his fangs, his gaze unreadable.

He was… breathtaking.

He signaled to me, then darted behind a tree. I remained where I was, watching the rogue’s body.

Only one? I thought, scanning the area. A breeze rolled by, calming the nearby animals.

“That’s odd,” I said aloud.

“What is?” Ethan reappeared, now clothed again.

“There’s only one rogue,” I said, biting my lip.

He nodded, catching on. “They’re smart,” he murmured, then looked at my belt. “Put the cuffs on him.”

I knelt, pulled out the wolf tamer cuffs, and fastened them around the rogue’s wrists.

“We’ll wait until sunrise to bring him in. Until then, we keep patrolling.”

“Okay,” I said quietly, agreeing—for once.