The air around the cave grew ice-cold. It was a sign that a high-ranking Alpha was near. Thorne was close, and he was bringing his anger with him.
The stranger—the Shadow King—didn't let go of my hand. His grip was a silent promise of protection, but I could feel the tension in his muscles. He was like a predator waiting for the right moment to strike.
"Can you feel him?" the stranger asked softly.
"Yes," I whispered. "It feels like a heavy weight on my chest."
"That is the bond," he hissed, his eyes glowing. "Even though he broke it, a small string remains. He is using it to track you. He thinks you are his property."
Suddenly, the bushes at the mouth of the cave exploded outward. A massive, charcoal-grey wolf leaped into the clearing. It was Thorne. He was larger than any other wolf in the pack, his fur bristling with power. He landed with a heavy thud, his claws digging deep into the earth.
He didn't stay in his wolf form for long. In a blur of movement, he shifted. Thorne stood before us, naked and breathing heavily. His eyes were wide and wild, scanning the cave until they landed on me.
"Elara," he growled. His voice was thick with a strange emotion—it sounded like a mix of rage and something that almost felt like relief.
Then, his gaze shifted to the stranger holding my hand.
The temperature in the room seemed to drop another ten degrees. Thorne's face twisted into a mask of pure hatred. "Take your hands off her, rogue. You have no idea who you are touching."
The Shadow King didn't flinch. He actually stepped closer to me, pulling my back against his chest. I could feel his heart beating—slow, steady, and terrifyingly calm.
"I know exactly who she is," the stranger replied. His voice was smooth, mocking Thorne. "She is the girl you threw away. The one you called 'weak' in front of your entire pack. Why are you here, Alpha? Did you forget to say one last insult?"
Thorne took a step forward, his hands curling into fists. "What happens in my pack is my business. Elara is Blackwood blood. She belongs to the pack, which means she belongs to me. I don't care who you are—give her to me now, or I will tear this mountain down with you inside it."
I looked at Thorne, and for the first time in my life, I didn't feel like a servant. I felt a spark of the white wolf's fire in my soul.
"I don't belong to you, Thorne," I said, my voice surprisingly steady. "You rejected me. You sever the bond. You told me to leave or be hunted. Well, your hunters came, and they failed."
Thorne flinched as if I had slapped him. His eyes moved over me, noticing the oversized black shirt I was wearing—the stranger's shirt. His jaw tightened so hard I thought his teeth might break.
"You're wearing his clothes," Thorne whispered, his voice vibrating with a dangerous, low growl. "You've been with him for only a few hours, and you've already forgotten your place?"
"My place was scrubbing your floors," I snapped. "I'm done with that."
Thorne roared, the sound shaking the loose stones in the cave ceiling. He didn't wait any longer. He lunged forward, his body mid-shift. He was a blur of grey fur and white teeth, aiming straight for the stranger's throat.
The Shadow King didn't move until the very last second.
As Thorne's jaws were inches away, the stranger's shadow exploded. It rose up like a wall of solid ink, catching Thorne mid-air. The shadow wrapped around the Alpha's massive body, pinning his limbs to his sides.
Thorne thrashed and snapped, but the shadows were like iron chains. The more he fought, the tighter they squeezed.
The stranger walked forward until he was standing right in front of the trapped Alpha. He reached out and grabbed Thorne by the throat, lifting the massive wolf off the ground with just one hand.
"You talk about strength," the stranger said, his voice echoing with a dark, supernatural power. "But you are nothing but a boy playing with a crown. You had a goddess in your lap, and you were too stupid to see it."
The stranger's hand began to glow with a dark red light. Thorne let out a whimpering sound—a sound an Alpha should never make.
"Stop!" I cried out.
The stranger froze. He looked back at me, his eyes dark and hungry. "Why? He deserves to die for what he did to you."
"Not like this," I said, stepping forward. I looked Thorne in his golden wolf eyes. I wanted him to see me. I wanted him to see the girl he had broken. "If he dies now, he won't see what I become. I want him to live. I want him to watch as I build a life better than anything his pack could offer."
The stranger stayed silent for a long moment. Then, he let out a short, cold laugh.
"You have a cruel heart, Elara. I like that."
He flicked his wrist, and the shadows threw Thorne out of the cave like he was a piece of trash. Thorne tumbled down the rocky slope, crashing through the bushes below. We heard him hit the ground hard, followed by a pained howl.
The stranger turned to me. The darkness in the room began to fade, but the air remained charged with tension. He walked toward me, stopping so close that I had to tilt my head back to see him.
He reached out and traced the line of my jaw with his thumb. The touch was light, but it sent a bolt of heat straight to my core.
"He will be back," the stranger whispered. "And next time, he will bring his entire army. He is obsessed now. You are the one thing he can't have, and that will drive him mad."
"What do we do?" I asked, my breath catching in my throat.
The stranger's eyes dropped to my lips for a split second before returning to mine. "We go to the Shadow Kingdom. We train. We wake up that white wolf inside you until she is strong enough to swallow the sun."
He leaned in, his face inches from mine. "But tell me one thing, Elara. When you look at him... do you still want him?"
I looked at the cave entrance where Thorne had disappeared. Then I looked back at the mysterious man who had saved me twice in one night.
"I want him to regret the day he ever met me," I said firmly.
The stranger smiled—a real, dangerous smile. "Then let's get started."
He turned to grab his gear, but as he did, I saw something on his back that I hadn't noticed before. Under his shirt, there was a glowing mark—a brand that looked exactly like the one I had seen in my dreams during my shift.
My heart stopped. He isn't just a rogue king, I realized. He's linked to my past.
Before I could ask him about it, a loud, thunderous crack echoed from deep inside the mountain. The ground began to shake violently.
"The seal," the stranger hissed, his face turning pale. "The Alpha's roar... it woke the Elders."