"Mu Lei! Elder Shen! They're here—the full Wolf Clan patrol, not just the scouts! Five of them, armed and moving like they own the forest!"
The shout came from the village lookout, a young fox shifter whose voice cracked with panic as he burst into the clearing. Qinglan's head snapped up from where she had been pretending to doze by the fire. Her heart slammed against her ribs so hard she felt dizzy. The repaired water skin and the perfectly smoking meat rack were still hidden behind the furs, but that small comfort vanished the second the vines at the cave entrance were yanked aside.
Mu Lei was already moving, his golden-spotted shoulders tensing as he stepped fully into the opening like a living shield. "Stay back, little female," he growled without turning around. "Don't let them see your face if you can help it."
Elder Shen appeared a breath later, breathing hard, his wrinkled hands clutching a staff he rarely used. "Ancestors protect us," he muttered, voice low enough for only her to hear. "The Wolf Clan doesn't send a full patrol for rumors. They must have caught your scent on the wind. Keep your eyes down. Speak only if they force you. Remember the rules I taught you yesterday."
Qinglan nodded shakily, pulling the fur cloak over her head until only a sliver of her pale face showed. Inside, her modern mind was racing—counting the footsteps she could already hear crunching up the path, noting the heavy, deliberate rhythm that screamed trained warriors. But outwardly she was the perfect frail orphan: small, trembling, helpless.
The patrol arrived like a storm rolling in.
Five tall figures emerged from the tree line, all in human form but carrying the unmistakable aura of predators. Their leather wraps were marked with the Wolf Clan's sharp silver runes, and each man moved with the quiet confidence of someone who had never lost a fight. The leader—a broad-shouldered wolf shifter with cold gray eyes and a scar across his jaw—lifted his head and inhaled deeply. His nostrils flared.
"Human," he said, the single word cutting through the sudden silence of the entire village. "Pure. Female. And close."
The other four spread out in perfect formation, blocking every escape route from the clearing without even seeming to try. One of them, younger with sharper features, stepped forward and pointed straight at the cave. "There. The scent is strongest from that cave. Elder, you were warned to bring her out yesterday. The Alpha does not like waiting."
Mu Lei's growl rumbled deep in his chest, loud enough to make the air vibrate. "She's too weak to travel. Elder Shen has guardianship. You can't just—"
The scarred leader cut him off with a single raised hand. His gray eyes locked onto the cave entrance like twin blades. "Show yourself, girl. The Wolf Clan does not ask twice."
Qinglan's breath caught. The mate bond in her chest exploded into a roaring flame, so intense it stole the air from her lungs. It pulled harder than ever before, straight toward the scarred leader—no, past him, toward whatever waited deeper in the Wolf Clan territories. Toward Helian Xuan himself. The sensation was terrifying and magnetic all at once, like her soul was trying to answer a call it had been waiting for its entire reborn life.
She forced her legs to move, keeping every step small and unsteady. Elder Shen stayed at her side, one hand lightly on her elbow for support. When she reached the entrance and lowered the cloak just enough to show her face, the entire patrol froze.
The scarred leader's eyes widened a fraction—the first crack in his icy mask. "By the ancestors… a real human female. So small. So fragile." His voice dropped, almost reverent. "The Alpha must see this. Immediately."
One of the younger wolves stepped closer, nostrils flaring again. "Her scent is… different. Sweet. Rare. The whole clan will fight for her if we don't bring her back now."
Mu Lei moved like lightning, positioning himself between Qinglan and the patrol. "She stays. She's not strong enough to—"
The leader's hand dropped to the bone knife at his belt. "Stand down, leopard. This is Wolf Clan business. The Alpha's orders are clear: any rare female spotted in the outer villages is to be escorted to the main camp at once. Resistance will be seen as defiance."
Elder Shen's grip tightened on Qinglan's arm, but his voice stayed calm. "She nearly died in the river. One more day of rest, at least. Tell your Alpha we are loyal subjects. We only wish to keep his future treasure alive."
The scarred leader stared straight at Qinglan, ignoring the elder completely. His gray eyes bored into her, searching, and for one terrifying second she was sure he could see every hidden trick, every modern thought she had buried.
"You," he said quietly, voice carrying the full weight of the Wolf Clan's terrifying reputation. "Look at me, little human. Do you wish to come peacefully… or shall we carry you?"
The mate bond screamed inside her chest, so strong her knees almost buckled for real this time. Somewhere far beyond the forest, golden wolf eyes were already turning her way.
Qinglan kept her gaze lowered, voice barely a whisper—the perfect frightened orphan.
"I… I'll go where I'm told."
But inside, the reborn woman from another world was already calculating every possible escape.
The ruthless Wolf Clan patrol had finally spotted her.
And the real hunt had just begun.