Page 27

27

LANDON

T he forest was too damn quiet.

Landon stood frozen in the dim blue wash of moonlight, surrounded by silence that pressed in like a held breath.

His body was vibrating with a kind of heat that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

He couldn’t explain it, couldn’t name it, but something deep in his chest shifted like a storm rolling in.

He was trying to forget what he thought he heard earlier.

Sonya’s voice, low and tense.

Roman’s smugness wrapped in silk and poison.

And that pit in his gut that said she chose him.

Only… she hadn’t said anything.

Not really. Not no. Not yes.

Just silence.

And silence could be deadly.

He turned in a slow circle, trying to push back the ache building behind his ribs.

He told himself to walk away.

Keep going. Find shelter.

Let it go.

But then it hit him.

Not a sound at first. Not even a scream.

It was feeling.

Raw.

Ragged. White-hot and violent like a blade driving straight through his chest. Panic laced with pain.

And her voice like a whisper that shouldn’t have reached him but did.

Landon.

He snapped his head toward the echo, eyes wide.

“Sonya?”

But she wasn’t there.

Just wind. Just trees.

Suddenly, he smelled it.

Blood.

Not just the coppery tang of a fight.

But her.

Then laughter.

Cruel and sharp.

That’s all it took.

He ran.

Branches whipped his arms and face as he bolted through the undergrowth, legs eating the ground like he was possessed.

His heart pounded against his ribcage, not from exertion but from fury.

No. Not her. Not now.

The air shifted again, and he changed.

There was no time to think.

No choice. No hesitation.

It happened.

Bones cracked.

Muscles stretched. His back arched with fire and freedom as he fell forward into the dirt—and rose again on four massive paws.

He wasn’t just a wolf.

He was something more.

His fur blazed the color of deep autumn—red auburn threaded with gold.

His eyes glowed with unnatural heat, a fierce emerald green laced with lightning bolts of gold that shimmered in the dark.

The forest around him recoiled.

Even the night knew what he was now.

Landon, the guy who never belonged was gone.

In his place was something ancient.

Regal. Alpha.

He barreled through the last line of trees and into chaos.

Sonya was on the ground, her body twisted, blood pooling at her side.

Her hair was matted, face bruised, but her eyes were still fierce, lips curled in a snarl as she tried to rise again.

Three wolves circled her—one in human form, two half-shifted, their claws dripping red.

One of them sneered, raising a fist to strike.

Landon hit him like a wrecking ball.

The sound of bone snapping echoed like a gunshot as Landon’s massive form slammed into the man’s torso and sent him flying.

He crashed into a tree with a sickening crack and slid down, unmoving.

The others didn’t have time to react.

Landon twisted, eyes glowing like fire, teeth bared in a roar that made the earth tremble.

One of them lunged, teeth flashing—Landon caught his throat mid-air and ripped him to the ground.

Blood sprayed.

The third ran.

Coward.

Landon let her.

Sonya was coughing, trying to get to her feet, blood smearing down her arm.

“Landon…” Her voice cracked.

He turned, stepping toward her slowly, ears pinned back.

His wolf’s chest was heaving, eyes locked on hers—not with rage now, but something deeper.

Recognition.

She blinked.

“You… you shifted. ” A faint, broken laugh escaped her lips.

“Took you long enough.”

He let out a soft whine and stepped forward.

She reached up, trembling fingers brushing the side of his massive muzzle.

“I thought you left me. I thought…” Her breath hitched.

“Gods, I thought I’d lost you.”

He nosed against her jaw, careful and gentle.

Then, without warning, he shifted back.

One moment, wolf.

The next, man.

Naked, bruised, covered in blood that wasn’t his—but human again.

His chest rose and fell like a drumbeat, and his eyes were still glowing faintly, burning with emotion he hadn’t learned how to name.

He knelt beside her, cupping her face in his hands.

“I thought you betrayed me,” he admitted, voice hoarse.

“I heard you with him. I didn’t wait to hear the rest.”

“I didn’t say yes.” Her voice was a whisper.

“I didn’t say anything because there’s nothing to say. I would never choose him. I chose you. ”

He swallowed hard.

“Why?”

She gave a broken laugh.

“Because you’re the only one who ever let me choose anything. Because I see you, Landon. And I love what I see.”

He kissed her.

It wasn’t soft. It wasn’t sweet.

It was desperate. Messy.

Fierce.

His hands tangled in her blood-matted hair, her fingers clutching his back like she couldn’t get close enough.

They were dirt-covered and broken and bruised—but alive.

Together. Real.

When they finally pulled apart, she touched his jaw.

“You saved me.”

“No,” he said, pressing his forehead to hers.

“ You saved me. From thinking I wasn’t meant for anything.”

She smiled, tears trailing down her cheeks.

“You were meant for this. All of it. Leading. Fighting. Loving.”

He kissed her again, softer this time.

“And I’m not running again.”

“Good,” she whispered, voice steady now.

“Because we’ve got a war coming.”

And for the first time, Landon didn’t feel fear. He felt ready.