Selene didn't move at first.
She stood frozen in the dim light of her room, listening to the soft, deliberate crunch of leaves just beyond her window. It wasn't the wind. It wasn't an animal wandering too close.
This sound had weight.
Purpose.
Her breath hitched.
The mark beneath her collarbone pulsed once hot, urgent. A warning.
Selene stepped back slowly, heart hammering against her ribs. Shadows gathered near the edge of the trees, stretching long and crooked across the yard. The sense of being watched pressed so heavily against her spine that she felt sick.
"Please… not again," she whispered.
But the presence outside didn't move away.
It came closer.
She could feel it like a cold hand sliding down her back.
Her mother's voice drifted faintly from downstairs. "Selene? Are you all right?"
Selene pressed herself against the wall, shaking her head even though her mother couldn't see it.
"I..I'm fine!" she called out, trying to keep her voice from cracking.
Footsteps paused downstairs… then continued toward the kitchen.
Her mother didn't know. Couldn't know.
The floorboards beneath Selene's feet felt like they might splinter from the pounding of her pulse. She took another step back, and her heel knocked against her desk.
A soft thud.
Outside, something shifted sharply like claws scraping against bark.
Selene clamped a hand over her mouth.
Her eyes flicked to the window. The glass reflected only a ghostly outline of herself… trembling, pale, terrified. But beyond it between the reflection and the darkness she caught a flicker of movement.
A shape.
Large.
Low to the ground.
Her throat tightened until she could barely breathe.
"No… no, please…" she whispered.
The shape moved again. Closer, this time. The moonlight caught a glint of silver fur just for a second before the darkness swallowed it again.
Selene stumbled backward and nearly tripped over her bed. The mark on her neck burned so intensely she had to grip the bedframe to stay upright.
She squeezed her eyes shut.
Think. Think, Selene.
Her gaze darted to the wardrobe across the room too far. The door too loud. The window.
No. She didn't dare get closer to it.
The presence outside circled slowly, like a predator testing its prey. And she could feel it not through sound,not through sight,
but through something older, deeper, pulsing in her blood.
It's looking for me, she thought.
It knows I'm marked.
A floorboard creaked softly downstairs.
Selene tensed.
Then.
The doorknob to her room moved.
Just a twitch.
Barely a click.
But enough to punch the air from her lungs.
"No… no, not here…" she whispered, stepping back until her shoulders pressed into the wall.
The knob twisted again.
Slow. Quiet.As if someone or something was testing it.
Her fingers dug into the wall.
"The door is locked," she mouthed soundlessly.
But the fear didn't loosen.
The knob rotated a third time.
Then stopped.
Silence spilled into the room like cold water.
Selene's breath hitched once, twice.
Then the mark flared so hot it felt like fire under her skin.
Pain shot across her chest. She clutched her collarbone and dropped to her knees with a soft gasp.
Images slammed through her vision:
Silver fangs.
Blood on leaves.
A wolf with wild golden eyes.
A distant heartbeat fast, uneven, desperate.
And a voice his voice low and ragged.
"Run."
Selene's eyes flew open, her pulse stumbling.
Kael.
She didn't know how but she knew it was him.
Her own heartbeat synced with the warning echoing inside her chest. The mark flickered wildly like it wanted to peel out of her skin.
Outside, the thing whatever it was growled softly.
Close.
Too close.
Just on the other side of the wall.
Selene forced herself to her feet, legs trembling so violently she had to hold the bedpost for balance. Her breath came in shallow gasps.
"Please… someone…" she whispered, though she knew no one human could hear her.
The growl deepened.
Something massive pressed its weight against the wood of the door.
The frame shuddered.
Selene staggered back until she hit the far side of the room.
The mark blazed white-hot.
The thing outside pushed harder.
And the doorframe cracked.
The doorframe groaned again wood splintering under a deliberate, heavy pressure. Dust drifted from the hinges, catching the moonlight in thin, trembling lines. Selene's lungs refused to move. Her body felt locked in place, suspended between instinct and terror.
She took one step back.
The creature outside responded with a low, rumbling snarl that vibrated through the floorboards.
It knew she moved.
It was listening.
Selene's breath hitched. She covered her mouth with both hands, willing herself silent, willing her heartbeat to quiet
but the mark pulsing at her throat was a traitor.
It glowed beneath her skin, brighter, hotter, drawing attention to her like a flare in the dark.
"No, please… not now…" she whispered, tears burning behind her eyes.
The hulking shadow outside shifted, scraping the wood again.
It nudged the doorknob gently… almost curiously.
As if deciding whether to tear the door off its hinges or simply wait for her to break.
Selene stumbled sideways and reached for the bedside drawer. Her hands shook violently as she yanked it open, grabbing the only thing inside that resembled a weapon.
A rusted letter opener.Pathetic.But it was all she had.
She tightened her grip, knuckles white. The metal trembled in her hand.
The creature outside inhaled sharply.
Her stomach dropped.
It could smell her fear.
Selene swallowed hard and forced her legs to move, edging toward the corner of the room. Her heart hammered so loudly she was sure the thing outside could hear it.
Then.
Tap.
She froze.
Tap… tap…
Claws.
Tapping against the wood.
Not scratching.
Not tearing.
Tapping.
As if the thing outside had intelligence.
As if it was communicating.
I know you're in there.
A whimper escaped her throat before she could stop it.
The creature answered with a deep, vibrating growl.
Selene backed further into the corner, chest heaving. "Someone… please…" she choked, knowing full well no neighbor, no villager, no human would dare approach a predator like this.
She wasn't sure anyone human could help her now.
Her eyes darted around the room window, wardrobe, desk looking for anything, any escape, any place to hide.
Then the mark blazed like molten silver. Selene screamed silently and dropped to her knees, clutching at her collarbone.
Images slammed into her mind:
A wolf barreling through the forest with impossible speed.
Trees bending out of its path.
Golden eyes burning with fury.
A heartbeat sync hers and someone else's merging, racing, panicking.
Kael.
He was coming.
Not walking.
Not running.
Charging.
Selene gasped for air, her lungs burning. Pain flickered through her veins like lightning.
The creature outside must have sensed it too its growl sharpened, eager, vicious.
It knew she was weakening.
It wanted her now.
The doorknob twisted sharply.
Selene scrambled backward, gripping the letter opener with both hands even though she knew it was useless.
The wood splintered louder. A crack shot through the frame.
Her pulse spiked with terror so intense it felt like drowning.
The creature pressed its weight harder.
The door shuddered violently.
The doorframe groaned again wood splintering under a deliberate, heavy pressure. Dust drifted from the hinges, catching the moonlight in thin, trembling lines. Selene's lungs refused to move. Her body felt locked in place, suspended between instinct and terror.
She took one step back.
The creature outside responded with a low, rumbling snarl that vibrated through the floorboards.
It knew she moved.
It was listening.
Selene's breath hitched. She covered her mouth with both hands, willing herself silent, willing her heartbeat to quiet
but the mark pulsing at her throat was a traitor.
It glowed beneath her skin, brighter, hotter, drawing attention to her like a flare in the dark.
"No, please… not now…" she whispered, tears burning behind her eyes.
The hulking shadow outside shifted, scraping the wood again.
It nudged the doorknob gently… almost curiously.
As if deciding whether to tear the door off its hinges or simply wait for her to break.
Selene stumbled sideways and reached for the bedside drawer. Her hands shook violently as she yanked it open, grabbing the only thing inside that resembled a weapon.
A rusted letter opener.
Pathetic.
But it was all she had.
She tightened her grip, knuckles white. The metal trembled in her hand.
The creature outside inhaled sharply.
Her stomach dropped.
It could smell her fear.
Selene swallowed hard and forced her legs to move, edging toward the corner of the room. Her heart hammered so loudly she was sure the thing outside could hear it.
Then.
Tap.
She froze.
Tap… tap…
Claws.
Tapping against the wood.
Not scratching.
Not tearing.
Tapping.
As if the thing outside had intelligence.
As if it was communicating.
I know you're in there.
A whimper escaped her throat before she could stop it.
The creature answered with a deep, vibrating growl.
Selene backed further into the corner, chest heaving. "Someone… please…" she choked, knowing full well no neighbor, no villager, no human would dare approach a predator like this.
She wasn't sure anyone human could help her now.
Her eyes darted around the room window, wardrobe, desk looking for anything, any escape, any place to hide.
Then the mark blazed like molten silver. Selene screamed silently and dropped to her knees, clutching at her collarbone.
Images slammed into her mind:
A wolf barreling through the forest with impossible speed.
Trees bending out of its path.
Golden eyes burning with fury.
A heartbeat sync hers and someone else's merging, racing, panicking.
Kael.
He was coming.
Not walking.
Not running.
Charging.
Selene gasped for air, her lungs burning. Pain flickered through her veins like lightning.
The creature outside must have sensed it too its growl sharpened, eager, vicious.
It knew she was weakening.
It wanted her now.
The doorknob twisted sharply.
Selene scrambled backward, gripping the letter opener with both hands even though she knew it was useless.
The wood splintered louder. A crack shot through the frame.
Her pulse spiked with terror so intense it felt like drowning.
The creature pressed its weight harder.
The door shuddered violently.
Selene squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for the impact she knew was coming.
The door didn't just crack this time
it snapped.
Wood exploded inward.
And in the shattered frame stood a massive wolf, its jaws dripping red, its fur streaked with moonlit silver. Its eyes locked onto Selene with feral hunger as if the bond beneath her skin wasn't a warning, but an invitation.
It stepped forward.
And the last thought Selene had before the creature lunged was that the man who marked her…
…was still miles away.