Chapter 2

_Emma's POV_

I didn't sleep that night. Every time I closed my eyes, the same scene replayed in my mind. The wolf. The blood. The terrifying sound of the fight. The way that creature had stood in front of me as if it was trying to protect me. And then there was that one word.

Mate.

I sat on the edge of my bed and stared blankly at the empty space in front of me. My apartment was silent. Usually, I loved the quiet. After spending hours at the animal clinic listening to barking dogs, crying cats and worried owners, coming home to my small apartment was peaceful. It was the one place where I could relax and forget about the world.

But tonight, the silence felt different. It felt heavy....like something was waiting in the darkness. I pulled my blanket closer around myself and tried to calm my racing thoughts.

"Emma, you are just tired," I whispered.

I needed to believe that. Maybe I was exhausted from work. Maybe the storm had scared me and my mind had created something impossible. That had to be the explanation. Because the truth was impossible. A man cannot turn into a wolf.

And the strangest part wasn't even that. It was the way he had looked at me. As if he knew me. Like he had been searching for me for years and couldn't believe he had finally found me.

I shook my head, trying to push the thoughts away.

"This is crazy."

I stood up and walked toward the kitchen. I was hoping that making a cup of tea would help me calm down and clear my head.

Maybe after a few hours of sleep, everything would feel like a strange nightmare and tomorrow I would wake up and realize none of it had happened.

But deep down, I already knew one thing. The man from the rain was real.

I picked up my phone and stared at the screen for several minutes, unsure of what I should do.

Should I call someone?

Should I tell Lily what happened?

The thought of hearing her reaction made me hesitate. She would think I had finally lost my mind. How could I explain it to her?

"Hey, Lily. I saw a man turn into a wolf last night and he called me his mate."

Even I knew how crazy that sounded. No, I couldn't tell her. I needed someone who would listen without judging me.

The police.

That was the logical choice. I grabbed my jacket, took my keys and drove to the police station. The entire way there, I kept checking the rearview mirror. I expected to see someone following me. Maybe the strange biker would appear.

But the road behind me remained empty. When I finally arrived, I walked inside and approached the front desk. I took a deep breath before explaining everything that happened.

The officer sitting behind the desk listened quietly. "So let me make sure I understand everything," he said slowly. "You stopped because you saw a motorcycle accident?"

"Yes."

"And the rider attacked another man?"

"Yes."

I swallowed, already knowing how unbelievable it sounded.

"And then you are saying..." He paused and looked at me carefully. "That he turned into a wolf?"

The room became silent. The officer stared at me. Then he looked toward the other officer sitting nearby. They exchanged a look. My stomach tightened. I knew that look. They didn't believe me.

"I know how it sounds," I said quickly, feeling the need to defend myself. "I know it sounds impossible but I saw it. I was there. I saw everything."

The officer leaned forward. "Miss, did you hit your head during the storm?"

"No."

"Were you drinking?"

"No."

"Did you take any medication?"

I felt frustration building inside me. "No. I am telling you the truth."

The officer sighed. "Look, we found no report of an accident on that road."

My eyebrows pulled together. "What?"

"There was no motorcycle crash, no injured man and no body."

I stared at him. "That's impossible."

He looked at me with sympathy. Like he thought I was confused. "Maybe you were frightened and your mind filled in the details."

My chest tightened. "I know what I saw."

The officer gave me a card. "If you remember anything else, call us."

I took the card but I already knew. They would never believe me. I walked out of the station feeling worse than before. Because now I had a new fear.

Maybe I really was losing my mind.

______________

The next morning, I went to work and tried my best to pretend that everything was normal. I smiled at customers and treated injured animals. But my mind was somewhere else.

No matter how hard I tried to focus, my thoughts always returned to the same night. Every time I heard footsteps nearby, my heart jumped. I hated feeling this way. I was not a weak person.

I spent my days taking care of injured animals. Some of them were scared and dangerous. I had handled frightened dogs, helped animals in pain and stayed calm during emergencies when other people would panic.

I knew how to deal with difficult situations but this was different. Because I wasn't facing an injured animal or a normal emergency. I was facing something I couldn't understand. Something that shouldn't exist.

During my lunch break, I sat alone in the back room with my phone in my hand. I stared at the screen for a long time. I couldn't stop thinking about the motorcycle and the wolf.

There had to be an explanation. There had to be some proof. A person like him couldn't just disappear without leaving anything behind. I opened my browser and started searching. At first, I typed simple words.

"motorcycle accident forest."

Nothing. I tried again.

"black motorcycle injured man."

Still nothing. Frustration started building inside me. I hesitated before typing another search.

"strange biker wolf."

The moment I saw the words on my screen, I felt embarrassed. It sounded completely ridiculous like something from a fantasy story. I quickly deleted it.Then something came back to my mind.

The jacket.

The biker's black leather jacket had a symbol on it. A black wolf head with red eyes. I didn't know why but I felt like that symbol mattered.

I searched for it. For a few seconds, nothing appeared. Then the results loaded. My heart started beating faster. A name appeared on the screen.

The Devil's Pack Motorcycle Club.

I clicked on the page and the moment it loaded, my expression changed. There were dozens of stories and rumors. People were talking about a motorcycle club that most seemed to fear. The more I read, the more uncomfortable I became.

The Devil's Pack was not just an ordinary group of bikers. According to the articles, they were dangerous and violent. They were a group of men who lived by their own rules and stayed away from everyone else.

Then I saw a name mentioned again and again. The leader of the club. His name was:

Ryker Blackthorn.

I stared at the screen. For some reason, that name felt familiar. Something inside me reacted the moment I saw it. It was strange...as if I knew him.

I scrolled through the articles. The descriptions were not good. People called him dangerous. Some even called him a murderer.

My fingers slowly moved across the screen until I found a picture. The second I saw it, my breath caught. It was him. The biker with the golden eyes. The man who had turned into a wolf.

I quickly locked my phone and placed it on the table.

"No."

I shook my head, trying to push the thoughts away. I didn't want to know more about him. I didn't want to be connected to someone like him. But no matter how much I tried to deny it, one truth remained in my mind.

He had saved my life.

___________

That night, I returned home completely exhausted. The moment I stepped inside my apartment, I locked the door behind me. Then I checked it again.

I knew I was being paranoid and a part of me felt ridiculous for doing it, but I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

I changed into comfortable clothes and made myself dinner, trying to convince myself that everything was fine. For a few minutes, it almost worked.

The familiar sounds of my apartment, the quiet room and the warmth of being home made me feel safe again. Then I heard it.

A sound.

It was coming from near the window. My body instantly froze. The fork in my hand stopped halfway to my mouth as I listened carefully.

There was nothing.

"Probably just a tree branch," I whispered, trying to calm myself.

But then I heard it again. This time, I knew it wasn't my imagination. Something moved outside. My heart started beating faster as I slowly placed my fork down.

I stood up carefully and looked toward the window. Every instinct inside me told me not to move closer. But before I could reach it...

The glass shattered. I screamed as a man jumped inside. I stumbled backward, my body hitting the floor. The man was dressed in dark clothes and his face was covered, hiding his identity.

"Where is she?" he asked.

My breathing became uneven. "What?"

His eyes moved around the room. "The girl."

"I don't know what you are talking about."

He slowly stepped closer. "The woman from the road."

My blood turned cold. He knew about that night.

"You need to come with me," he said.

I quickly moved backward. "Who are you?"

He ignored my question. Instead, his voice became more threatening.

"That woman must die."

What? Why would someone want me dead?

I looked around desperately, searching for something I could use to protect myself. But there was nothing close enough.

The man reached toward me. And then suddenly, a loud crash came from behind him. The attacker was thrown across the room. A scream escaped my lips. I stared in shock as another person stepped between us.

It was Ryker.

My heart stopped the moment I saw him. He was the monster I had been trying so hard to forget. But standing in my apartment, he looked different. There was something terrifying about the way he stood there, like nothing in this world could hurt him. His golden eyes burned with anger as he stared at the attacker. The man slowly pushed himself up from the floor.

"You."

Ryker didn't answer. He didn't need to. The anger in his eyes was enough. Before I could even understand what was happening, he moved. The fight happened so quickly that my mind struggled to follow. One second they were standing across the room. The next, Ryker had the attacker against the floor. Within seconds, it was over.

The apartment became completely silent. I stood there frozen, staring at Ryker. The same fear I had felt on the road returned.

"You killed him," I whispered.

Ryker looked at me. For a moment, his expression softened.

"No."

His voice was calm. He looked back down at the man on the floor.

"That is not why I came here."

I shook my head, unable to forget what I had seen.

"You killed someone before."

My voice trembled. His golden eyes met mine.

"And I saved you tonight."

The words left me speechless. Because he was right. I was afraid of him....of what he was. But if he hadn't appeared, I didn't know what would have happened to me. The same man I feared was also the reason I was still alive. Slowly, Ryker turned his attention back to the attacker.

Then something caught his eye. There was a tattoo on the man's wrist. The moment Ryker saw it, his entire expression changed.

"Ryker?"

He didn't respond. His eyes remained fixed on the symbol like it was the most dangerous thing he had ever seen. Then, he whispered:

"They found you."

A chill moved through me. I stared at him. I was confused and terrified.

"What does that mean?"

Ryker slowly looked back at me. And for the first time since I met him...

I saw fear in the eyes of the monster.