CHAPTER 6

The wolves lunged.

Claws tore through the leaves. Teeth gleamed. Their bodies arched in the air, shadows streaking toward me with a hunger that filled the entire forest.

I did not even have breath to scream.

Then a sound split the night.

A snarl thundered through the trees, so violent and deep that the earth shook beneath me. It crashed over my skin like a shockwave, rattling my ribs and freezing the air in my lungs.

Every wolf stopped.

Their bodies jerked in midair as if seized by invisible force. Fur bristled. Eyes widened in shock. Then they slammed to the ground with yelps of submission, sprawling across the forest floor in instant obedience.

Silence followed, thick enough to choke on.

My breath came in tiny, broken gasps. My hands shook so much I could barely press them into the dirt.

Then he appeared.

A massive black wolf burst from the darkness between two ancient trees. He was enormous, larger than any beast I had ever witnessed. His fur rippled like night wind. His eyes burned with a molten, fiery glow that cut through shadows and made the forest itself draw back.

Every wolf in his pack flattened to their bellies.

Heads lowered.

Bodies stretched across the ground in full, groveling bows.

The enormous wolf’s gaze swept over them once, sharp and dominant. The pack whimpered, terrified, utterly submissive in his presence.

Then his eyes found me.

Heat pierced straight through my chest. My breath hitched. I pressed myself against the fallen log behind me, trembling from head to foot.

The great beast took a single step forward.

Branches cracked beneath his paws.

The air around him shimmered.

Bones cracked.

Fur retreated into skin.

Limbs twisted and reshaped, stretching into human form. The change rippled through him in a wave of shifting sound and light. Where the monstrous wolf had stood only heartbeats before, a tall man now rose to his full height, breath steady, eyes still glowing faintly like embers.

The pack remained bowed, not daring to lift their heads.

The man was enormous, power carved into every line of his body. Muscles shifted beneath taut skin. His hair was dark, tousled, falling around a face sculpted by shadows and sharp edges. His jaw clenched with authority. His shoulders held the confidence of one who commanded without question.

A necklace of black stone rested against his collarbone, pulsing faintly with power.

He looked like a warrior forged from night and storm.

He looked at me. Seeing that he was fully naked, I quickly looked away. But I could sense every movement he was making.

Time fractured.

I sucked in a breath so sharp it burned.

My voice trembled. “Stay back. Stay far from me.”

He stepped forward anyway, hands raised slowly, palms open to show he held no weapon.

“It is alright,” he said, voice deep, steady, calm. “I am not here to hurt you.”

His words were simple, but they rolled into me with strange certainty.

Another tremor shook my hands. My fingers curled weakly against the ground. Fear coiled up my spine.

“Who are you?” I managed, though my voice was barely audible. “What manner of creature are you?”

“I am Marek,” he said. “Alpha of this territory.”

Alpha.

The word meant nothing to me, yet it vibrated with force. With power. With something ancient and dangerous.

He took another step closer.

I scrambled backward so fast I slipped, my elbow hitting the log behind me. Pain jolted up my arm. A raw scream tore from my throat.

Marek stopped instantly, his posture shifting into alert caution.

“I am not going to hurt you,” he repeated. “Do you hear me? You are safe.”

Safe.

The word sounded foreign. Unreal. Almost cruel.

The last time someone told me I was safe, they chained me, dragged me across a throne room, and hurled me through a portal.

My breath hitched in panic.

Marek’s eyes softened, though the steel beneath them never weakened.

“Tell me your name,” he said gently. “Please. I need to know who you are.”

“I cannot.” My voice cracked. “I do not trust you. I trust no creature here. I don’t know where I am or why beasts walk beneath the moon.”

His brow lowered slightly. “Beasts? You mean wolves?”

“Wolves?” I whispered. “Wolves do not grow to such monstrous size. They do not change into men. What realm is this?”

The pack shuffled nervously, ears pressed flat.

Marek lifted a hand and gave a single sharp command.

“Back.”

The wolves obeyed instantly, backing away several paces, lowering their heads in submission. Some even whined, tails pressing against their legs.

The authority in his voice sent a shiver down my spine.

He looked back at me. “They will not hurt you. Not while I am here.”

I shook violently, unable to stop trembling. My teeth chattered. Cold sweat dampened my temples. The world tilted at its edges.

“What sorcery is this?” I whispered. “What cursed ground have I been condemned to?”

Marek knelt slowly, lowering himself so he would not tower over me. Despite his size, his movements were controlled. Gentle. Measured.

“You came out of nowhere,” he said. “The portal opened in the sky. I saw you fall. You are lucky you survived.”

I gasped softly. My chest tightened with pain and disbelief. My ribs ached. My arms stung with cuts. My entire body shook so violently my bones felt loose.

“Tell me your name,” he said again, more firmly now. “Please. I need something to call you.”

“I am Princess Aveline Asteria Laurel of the High Realm,” I whispered. “Daughter of King Rowan Laurel. Wrongly banished. Wrongly condemned. Wrongly cast from my land.” My voice broke. “And I don’t know where I am.”

Marek stared at me as if I had spoken a language he only half understood.

“You speak like someone from another world,” he said quietly.

I swallowed hard. “That is because I am.”

Silence settled between us. He watched me intently, eyes flickering with calculation and caution.

Then something hit him.

His body stiffened.

He inhaled sharply, a sound so faint I almost did not hear it.

His gaze snapped to mine with sudden intensity. Heat flared in his eyes. His jaw tightened. His fingers curled against his thigh as if gripping the earth itself.

The air changed.

Thickened.

Trembled.

I felt nothing.

But something had struck him like a force.

Something powerful.

Something terrifying.

His chest rose sharply.

He masked it instantly, slamming down whatever flicker had shaken him, but not before I saw the truth flash across his face.

Recognition.

Bond.

Claim.

Destiny.

I shrank back, breath trembling. “What is wrong with you? Why do you look at me like that?”

“Nothing,” he said quickly. “Nothing at all.”

His voice was too even. Too careful.

He rose to his full height, looming over the wolves and forest, radiating command.

“Everyone fall back,” he ordered his pack. “Now.”

They obeyed instantly, slinking into the shadows but not far enough to be out of sight. Their eyes glowed faintly from the dark, watching every movement.

My vision tilted. The ground swayed beneath me.

I pressed a hand to my forehead. “I feel ill.”

“You just fell from the sky,” Marek said. “Your body is in shock. You hit the earth hard. You lost a lot of blood.”

It was true. My arms were streaked with dried crimson. My dress was torn. The cuts from the branches throbbed.

Still, my voice shook. “Stay back. Please. Stay where you stand. I know not what you are or what you intend.”

“You are in danger if you stay on the ground,” Marek said. “You can barely sit upright. Let me help you.”

“No,” I breathed. “You shall not touch me.”

His jaw clenched with patience rather than anger.

“You are trembling. You are confused. You are bleeding. I am not leaving you here.”

“I do not need your mercy,” I gasped. “I need to return home.”

His eyes softened. “There is no portal. Whatever brought you here did not leave a way back.”

My stomach twisted. Tears burned my eyes. My breath turned thin and sharp.

“No,” I whispered. “No, you are mistaken. There must be a way. There must be a path. I cannot be trapped in this foreign land. I must return. I must find my father. I must save him.”

Marek stepped closer.

I recoiled, but the world spun so hard I could not move fast enough.

“Aveline,” he said quietly.

Hearing my name in his voice made my chest tighten.

“You need to breathe,” he said. “Slow breaths. You are going to faint if you do not.”

“What care have I for fainting?” I whispered. “I have already fallen farther than anyone should fall.”

My limbs weakened.

My vision blurred.

“Aveline,” he said again, more urgently. “Look at me.”

I tried.

The trees tilted.

My heartbeat thundered in my ears.

His figure blurred into shadows and moonlight.

My knees buckled.

I pitched sideways, the ground rushing up toward me.

I did not hit it.

Strong arms caught me before the earth could claim me.

My breath hitched.

Marek held me against his chest, steady and unyielding.

The forest spun.

My eyes fluttered shut.

His voice rumbled above me, low and steady, the last thing I heard before darkness pulled me under.

“I have you.”