chapter 5

:THE WOLF

The agonizing pain in my chest finally dulled to a throb, and I kept running, driving myself deeper into the oppressive darkness of the forest. I didn’t stop until the dense trees suddenly parted, opening up to a hidden, breathtaking waterfall.

Even in the dead of night, the basin seemed to glow.

Thousands of fireflies buzzed over the water, lighting up the humid air like living sparks. The pool below was a brilliant, sparkling blue, reflecting the full moon above. A soft, breathless "wow" escaped my lips.

"It’s beautiful out here," I whispered to myself, my eyes fixed on the rushing water.

For a second, the fear evaporated. Then I heard it.

The unmistakable crunch of a twig shifting behind me. My heart slammed violently against my ribs.

I spun around, my voice trembling in the dark. "Hello?" I called out. The sound only echoed back at me mockingly.

"Is anyone there...?"

Regret flooded my system instantly. Why did I run blindly into a dark forest? What is wrong with me? A low, terrifyingly animalistic growl tore through the silence.

I jumped, my hands flying over my mouth to smother a gasp. Pure panic took over. I stumbled backward, my breath catching as a massive, mangled wolf stepped out of the shadows. Its dark fur was matted with dried blood, its ribs showing through torn skin. Its eyes were a feral, sickly yellow.

It didn't smell clean, it smelled like rot, desperation, and a hunger that had gone too long without a kill. I wanted to scream, but my throat was bone-dry. The rogue wolf began to circle me, its eyes locked onto my neck, coiling its muscles to strike.

“Oh God. Is this how I die?” Tears slipped down my cheeks as I backed up against the slick rock of the waterfall. The rogue lunged without warning, hitting the air right where I had been standing a second ago as I threw myself to the dirt.

I braced for the lethal bite, squeezing my eyes shut.

Suddenly, a deafening, raw howl ripped through the forest a sound so powerful it made the very leaves on the trees shake and the ground beneath me tremble. Before the rogue could turn, a massive midnight black beast, standing a terrifying seven feet at the shoulder, exploded from the bushes.

It didn't hesitate. It caught the rogue’s snapping jaw cleanly in its lethal teeth and slammed the creature into the dirt hard enough to crack the stone beneath them.

They rolled in a horrific flurry of fur, fangs, and savage snarls. The rogue fought dirty biting at its eyes, clawing at its exposed belly but the black wolf fought with brutal, calculated efficiency.

Every movement was a lethal strike.The rogue managed one lucky strike, burying its teeth deep into the black wolf's foreleg. It roared, a sound that made my knees buckle twenty feet away. It twisted its massive torso, snapped its neck forward with blinding speed, and clamped its jaws directly down on the rogue’s throat.

Crunch.

The rogue went entirely limp.

The midnight black wolf stood over the corpse, its massive chest heaving, fresh blood dripping from its muzzle onto the stained earth. Its glowing red eyes scanned the perimeter, listening, waiting for more threats.

Silence returned to the clearing. Slowly, his massive head turned. His gaze found me immediately. I went pale, hyperventilating, but still standing against the rock face. The moment our eyes locked, the terrifying red in its irises faded into a warm, molten gold. It dropped its snout low to the dirt, letting out a soft, vulnerable whine, an apology for making me witness such brutality.

Then, the shift happened right before my eyes. Bones snapped back into place with agonizing cracks. The black fur receded, melting into smooth skin that rapidly knit itself together, leaving behind only thin scars.

“LEONHART?”

Suddenly I didn't know how to breathe properly. He fell to one knee, naked, breathing heavily as blood and dirt streaked across the hard lines of his chest. He looked up at me. A low rumble still vibrated in his throat, his inner beast hovering just beneath the surface.

I wanted to run but I couldn't, my breath hitching in my throat as I stared down at the naked, towering king kneeling before me in the moonlight. He didn’t move to cover himself. He didn’t stand. Water from the falls misted over the hard, chiseled contours of his body, but his dark eyes never left mine. They were angry. Completely possessive.

The air between us became too thick to breathe, suffocating me with his sheer presence. And then, he broke the silence, his voice dropping into a low register that sounded like a vow and a threat all at once.

"Going somewhere, kitten?”