Page 2 of When Two Worlds Collide (Fated Mates, Stubborn Hearts #1)

He’s enormous—coal black with silver markings across his chest and muzzle.

His shoulders stand higher than my waist, muscled power evident in every controlled movement.

But it’s his eyes that truly unnerve me—silver-gray and utterly uncompromising, holding an intelligence that belies his animal form.

Zane Blackthorn. It can only be him.

The massive wolf circles me once, his scent enveloping me—pine, earth, and something primal that makes my panther stir with instinctive recognition of an apex predator. He stops before me, head tilted in what appears to be contemplation.

Then, in a fluid surge of movement, he shifts. The transformation is seamless, far faster than any shifter I’ve encountered. One moment, wolf, the next man—though “man” seems inadequate to describe him .

He towers over me, standing well over six feet, his body a map of corded muscle and old battle scars.

His black hair falls past his shoulders, silver streaks matching the markings of his wolf.

He makes no move to clothe himself, utterly comfortable in his naked human form, unembarrassed and unashamed.

“Ambassador,” he says, and his voice is deep, rough-edged, as though human speech is an afterthought to wolf howls. “You trespass on Shadow Wolf territory.”

“This land belonged to the settlements long before your clan emerged from the Wild Territories.”

“You’re wrong,” he says firmly. “This land belonged to the Shadow Wolves for a thousand years before your kind built your little wooden dens. We’ve merely returned to claim what was always ours.”

I sense movement around us—more wolves shifting to human form, surrounding us in a loose circle. Unlike their alpha, they pull on simple leather garments that must have been stashed nearby.

“The settlements have legal claim,” I counter. “Documentation dating back generations.”

Zane’s laugh is harsh. “Paper means nothing in the wild, Ambassador. Claw marks and blood—those are the only claims that matter.”

“Is that what you want? Blood?” I challenge, heat flaring along my arms. “Because if you threaten those settlements, you’ll have war with Haven’s Heart.”

“War?” He moves closer, intimidation in every line of his massive frame. “You civilized shifters have forgotten what real war looks like. Playing at politics with vampires and dragons has made you soft.”

My temper flares, fire flickering visibly across my skin. “Test me and find out how soft I am. ”

Interest flashes across his face, the first real emotion I’ve seen there. “The little house cat has claws,” he mocks, but there’s something assessing in his expression now.

“Fire panther,” I correct him coldly. “And I didn’t come to trade insults. I came to establish boundaries that will prevent unnecessary conflict.”

“The boundaries are established.” He gestures to the forest around us. “Everything north of the settlements belongs to the Shadow Wolves now. The settlements themselves...” He shrugs massive shoulders. “We’ll decide their fate once we’ve settled in.”

“That’s unacceptable,” I state firmly.

“I think you mean ‘inevitable,’” he says. “The barriers are failing, Ambassador. The Wild Territories are collapsing. More clans will emerge, and most will be far less... diplomatic than mine.”

There’s something unnerving about his certainty, like he has knowledge I don’t possess. “The settlements are under my protection,” I insist. “I propose a formal negotiation. Representatives from both sides, on neutral ground.”

“There is no neutral ground,” Zane says flatly. “And I have no interest in your civilized talks.” He turns as if to leave.

“You’re afraid,” I call after him, a deliberate provocation.

He stops, and the air around us seems to chill despite the summer evening. Slowly, he turns back to me, his expression gleaming with dangerous intensity in the gathering darkness. “Explain yourself before I forget my momentary amusement with your boldness.”

I stand my ground. “You’re afraid to negotiate because you know your claim won’t hold up to scrutiny. It’s easier to threaten and intimidate than to prove your right to this land. ”

He growls, the sound building and rumbling outward from his chest like distant thunder. The wolves around us tense, shifting stance in anticipation of their alpha’s rage.

Instead, Zane steps closer until barely a foot separates us. I have to tilt my head back to maintain eye contact, but I refuse to step away.

“Tomorrow,” he says, each word precise. “Midday. The large clearing two miles north of the river settlement. Bring your documentation.” His lip curls in disdain at the word. “Bring guards if it makes you feel safer. It won’t matter.”

“I’ll be there,” I reply evenly. “And I expect you to control your pack. Any harm to the settlements before then will end negotiations permanently.”

“You mistake me, Ambassador.” He leans down, close enough that I feel his breath against my face. “This isn’t a negotiation. It’s an opportunity for me to explain why my clan will take what belongs to us, and why your civilized ways have no place in the coming storm.”

Something strange happens as he speaks—a sudden shock of awareness races through my body like lightning, foreign yet somehow familiar. I notice the momentary change in his expression, and I know he feels it too, though neither of us acknowledges it.

“Tomorrow,” I say, stepping back to break whatever peculiar connection has formed. “Midday.”

He straightens, nodding once before turning away. The other wolves melt back into the forest shadows, but Zane pauses, looking back over his shoulder.

“A word of advice, fire panther. When you return, come as a warrior, not a diplomat. I respect the former—the latter is just prey with fancy words.”

With that, he shifts—the transformation even faster than before—and bounds into the darkening forest, his pack following in silent formation.

I release a breath I haven’t realized I was holding, feeling the strange electrical awareness slowly fade from my skin. Whatever just happened between us, I can’t afford to dwell on it. I have less than a day to prepare for a negotiation that my opponent has already declared meaningless.

As I make my way back toward the settlements, the forest feels different—alive and watchful in ways it wasn’t before. The Shadow Wolves have awakened something primal here, something that resonates with a part of myself I’ve kept controlled and contained within Haven’s Heart’s civilized boundaries.

Tomorrow, I’ll need to be both diplomat and warrior. Because Zane Blackthorn is right about one thing—the world is changing. And the line between wild and civilized has already begun to blur.