(POV: The Wolf)
I learned what he was the hard way.
Blood.
That was always how it started.
The first time I crossed his path, it wasn't planned. It never was with him. Just a trail—fresh, careless, leading somewhere it shouldn't.
I followed it.
I always did.
Territory mattered.
Balance mattered.
He didn't.
I found the body first.
Drained.
Discarded.
Left out in the open like it meant nothing.
Like they meant nothing.
My jaw tightened as I crouched beside it, the metallic scent thick in the air, still fresh enough to burn.
Too recent.
He was close.
I could feel it.
That cold, wrong presence that didn't belong anywhere near the living.
"You're getting bold," I had muttered back then.
That was the first time I saw him.
Standing just beyond the shadows, like he had been waiting.
Watching.
Amused.
"You're territorial," he had said, his voice smooth, almost bored.
"And you're careless."
He smiled at that.
Not amused.
Interested.
That was the problem with him.
He didn't fear consequences.
He didn't respect boundaries.
He hunted wherever he wanted.
Killed whoever he wanted.
And every time I found him—
It ended the same.
Claws.
Fangs.
Violence that never quite reached a conclusion.
Because he was fast.
Too fast.
And I—
I was stronger.
And he knew it.
That was why he never stayed.
That was why he always came back.
We weren't enemies by choice.
We were enemies by nature.
Predator.
Monster.
Two sides of something that was never meant to coexist.
And yet—
We kept crossing paths.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Tonight was no different.
I smelled him before anything else.
Blood.
Fresh.
Human.
My body reacted instantly, muscles tightening as I shifted direction without thinking.
He was close.
Too close.
And judging by the strength of the scent—
He had just fed.
My jaw clenched as I moved faster through the dark streets, silent, controlled, but ready.
Always ready.
"This ends tonight," I muttered under my breath.
It never did.
But I told myself that every time.
The alley came into view.
And there it was.
Exactly as expected.
A man.
Pinned.
Barely alive.
And him—
feeding.
Like nothing else in the world mattered.
Like death was routine.
Like it was nothing.
"You're sloppy," I said, my voice cutting clean through the silence.
He didn't react immediately.
Of course he didn't.
Then slowly—
he lifted his head.
Turned.
Those red eyes locking onto mine with that same familiar irritation.
"You always ruin the moment," he said.
"You always leave a mess."
His lips curved slightly.
"I'm not the one playing guardian."
"I'm not guarding them," I replied coldly. "I'm stopping you."
A pause.
Tension thickened between us instantly.
Old.
Familiar.
Dangerous.
We had stood like this before.
Too many times.
Always one step away from tearing each other apart.
Always unfinished.
Always unresolved.
But then—
Something changed.
Subtle.
Almost unnoticeable.
But I felt it.
My instincts sharpened.
There was something else here.
There had to be.
But I couldn't—
I couldn't find it.
No scent.
No presence.
Nothing.
That wasn't possible.
Every living thing left something behind.
Every heartbeat echoed.
Every fear lingered.
But this—
This was empty.
Wrong.
I frowned slightly, my gaze shifting just enough to scan the edges of the alley.
And then—
I saw her.
Standing there.
Frozen.
Watching.
Human.
That was my first thought.
Human. Fragile. Completely out of place.
My second—
Why is she still alive?
Because he had seen her.
I could tell.
The way his body stilled.
The way his focus shifted.
Locked.
Sharp.
Obsessive.
He had noticed.
And yet—
She was still breathing.
That wasn't like him.
At all.
She moved.
A small step back.
The sound of gravel scraped loudly against the ground.
And everything broke.
He dropped the body.
Like it didn't matter.
Because it didn't.
Not anymore.
Now—
It was about her.
She ran.
And he followed.
Of course he did.
My instincts surged instantly, snapping into place as I moved without thinking.
Fast.
Silent.
Focused.
But even as I moved—
That feeling stayed.
Wrong.
There was still no scent.
Not hers.
Not fear.
Not anything.
It was like chasing something that didn't exist.
She stumbled.
Fell.
And he—
He was already there.
Standing over her.
Watching.
Too close.
Something inside me snapped.
Not anger.
Something deeper.
More instinctive.
More dangerous.
Mine—
No.
I shut it down instantly.
That didn't make sense.
I didn't know her.
She was nothing to me.
So why—
I didn't let the thought finish.
Didn't let it take shape.
Because right now—
None of that mattered.
What mattered was him.
And the fact that he was about to kill her.
I stepped forward.
The air shifted.
Heavy.
Charged.
And then—
I let it out.
A sound ripped from my chest.
Deep.
Feral.
Dominant.
A warning.
A command.
A claim.
The howl tore through the night, shaking the air, forcing everything to stop—
Including him.
And just like that—
Everything changed.