Page 32

twenty-five

. . .

Mia

W here the wolf stood moments before, a naked man now rises to his full height. He’s tall and wiry, with the same silver-gray hair as his wolf form. His eyes remain unchanged—cold, calculating, hungry.

“Holy shit,” I gasp, stumbling backward until my back hits the rough bark of a tree. “You were a wolf, and now…”

“Shifted,” the man finishes for me, his voice a raspy growl that still carries traces of his animal form. He takes a step toward me, completely unbothered by his nudity. “They’ve kept you very sheltered, haven’t they? Their precious omega.”

My fingers dig into the tree bark behind me, seeking purchase, seeking stability in a world that keeps tilting off its axis.

“What do you want?” I demand, trying to keep the tremor from my voice.

He stops a few feet away, tilting his head as he studies me like I’m a fascinating specimen. “What do I want? That’s simple. I want to understand how you’re still alive.”

“What?” The question knocks the air from my lungs. “What does that mean? ”

“You shouldn’t exist,” he continues, circling me slowly, predatory. “Your father was given orders.”

“My father?” The word feels foreign on my tongue. I’ve never known my birth parents; my adoptive family made that clear from an early age. “What do you know about my father?”

His lips curl into a cruel smile. “Only that he was a traitor to his own kind. A disgrace to all werewolves.” He inhales deeply, nostrils flaring.

My heart pounds so hard I can hear it in my ears. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t know anything about my real parents.”

“No?” He edges closer, and I press myself harder against the tree, wishing I could melt into the bark. “Then you don’t know what happens to the offspring of traitors in our world?”

Fear claws at my throat, but curiosity burns even stronger. This person knows something about my background. About why I was given up.

“Tell me,” I whisper.

His hand shoots out surprisingly fast, gripping my chin with bruising force. “They’re eliminated. Wiped out. To prevent the spread of... disloyalty.” His thumb traces my lower lip, and I fight the urge to bite it. “Yet somehow, you escaped.”

Before I can respond, a low, menacing growl ripples through the clearing. The man’s head whips around, his hand dropping from my face as he takes a defensive stance.

Three enormous wolves emerge from between the trees—one black as midnight, one russet brown, and one with sandy gold fur. Their teeth are bared, hackles raised, and eyes glowing with supernatural light. I know instantly it’s Kane, Finn, and Jace.

“Well, well,” the silver-haired man drawls, his body tensing immediately. “The local pack has arrived to protect their new toy.”

The black wolf lunges forward with a snarl that makes the ground beneath my feet vibrate. The man dodges with inhuman speed, shifting in midair as his body contorts and reforms into his wolf shape. The silver wolf lands on all fours, teeth snapping as he faces off against my three alphas.

The wolves collide in a fury of teeth and claws, their growls and snarls filling the forest. The silver wolf is outnumbered but fights with desperate ferocity, managing to slash a long gash in the golden wolf’s flank before the russet wolf clamps powerful jaws around his hind leg.

The silver wolf howls in pain, twisting to snap at Finn, but Kane uses the distraction to lunge for his throat.

Teeth gleam in the dappled sunlight before sinking into fur and flesh.

Blood sprays across the forest floor, spattering the pine needles and ferns with crimson droplets.

The silver wolf thrashes, but Kane’s grip is relentless, his massive jaws crushing bone and severing arteries.

I slide down the tree until I’m sitting on the ground, unable to look away from the brutal fight between werewolves.

This is real. This is happening. These are not men pretending to be animals. These are predators protecting what’s theirs.

The silver wolf’s struggles weaken, his movements becoming erratic as blood pools beneath him. With one final, vicious shake, Kane ends it. The silver wolf goes limp in his jaws, and Kane drops the lifeless body to the ground, muzzle dripping red.

All three wolves turn to look at me, their glowing eyes somehow retaining their human intelligence despite their animal forms. The golden wolf, Jace, whines softly, limping toward me with blood, matting his beautiful fur.

Finn remains vigilant, scanning the surrounding forest for further threats.

And Kane stands over his kill, blood-soaked and victorious, watching me at the same time.

The air shimmers around them, and I watch in fascinated horror as they shift back to their human forms—bones cracking, fur receding, bodies elongating until three naked men stand before me.

Kane is splattered with blood, Jace clutches his wounded side, and Finn’s expression is as stoic as ever, though his eyes burn with protective fury.

“Are you hurt?” Kane demands, striding toward me without bothering to wipe the blood from his face or chest.

I stare up at him, my mind reeling from everything I’ve witnessed, everything I’ve learned.

“No,” I say tersely, my voice sounding hollow to my ears.

“What were you thinking, wandering off alone?” He crouches beside me, his hands moving over me, checking for injuries despite my answer. “Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?”

“You lied to me,” I whisper. “About everything. About what I am. About what you are.”

His jaw tightens. “We didn’t lie. We waited until you were ready.”

“Ready for what? To be bitten? Claimed? Possibly knocked up?” My voice rises with each question, hysteria bubbling just beneath the surface. “When were you going to tell me I’m an omega? When were you going to mention that other packs see me as a target?”

“We need to get you back to the house,” Kane says instead of answering. “It’s not safe out here. If he found you, others will too.”

“There’s more of them?” Fear makes my voice crack.

“Yes,” Finn answers simply. “Your scent carries far now that you’ve been claimed. It draws them.”

“Like moths to a fucking flame,” Jace adds, grimacing as he prods at his healing wound.

Kane stands, offering me his hand. “Come. We can talk more about it when we’re safely behind walls.”

I stare at his outstretched hand, smeared with drying blood. Part of me wants to refuse, to demand answers now, to scream at him for everything he’s kept from me. However, the dead wolf lying a few feet away is a stark reminder of the dangers that lurk in these woods.

I take his hand and let him pull me to my feet. My legs are unsteady, and my mind is still struggling to process everything I’ve seen and heard. Kane’s arm slides around my waist, supporting me as we begin walking back toward the house.

“What happens to him?” I ask, glancing back at the silver wolf’s body.

“We’ll burn it,” Finn says, his voice devoid of emotion. “No trace can remain.”

I nod numbly, letting Kane guide me through the forest. My mind keeps replaying the silver wolf’s words about my father.

As we walk, another thought forms, heavy and terrifying in its implications.

My hand drifts unconsciously to my stomach, flat and unchanged beneath the sundress.

After last night’s claiming, after taking Kane’s knot, after being filled with his seed again and again- I could be carrying his child right now. A baby wolf. A pup, as they call it.

The weight of this realization makes my steps falter.

Kane’s arm tightens around me, steadying me without question.

He thinks it’s the shock of the attack, the revelation about my father.

He doesn’t know that I’m imagining my body changing, swelling with his child, becoming a mother to a species I didn’t even know existed until yesterday.