Chapter 1
"The Night I Should Have Died"
The forest was too quiet.
Not the peaceful kind of quiet…
The kind that made your heart beat louder than your footsteps.
I shouldn't have been there.
Every instinct in my body was screaming at me to turn back, to run, to hide—but I didn't.
Because I had nowhere else to go.
My fingers tightened around the thin shawl wrapped around me as the cold wind cut through my skin. The night felt wrong. Heavy. Like something was watching me.
No… not something.
Someone.
I stopped walking.
The crunch of leaves beneath my feet suddenly sounded too loud, too noticeable. My breath hitched as I looked around, my eyes struggling to adjust to the darkness.
"Hello…?" my voice came out weaker than I expected.
No answer.
Of course there wouldn't be.
This forest was known for one thing—
no one who entered after dark ever came back the same.
Or at all.
A shiver ran down my spine.
"Great," I muttered under my breath. "Amazing decision, really."
But what choice did I have?
Going back wasn't an option.
Not after what happened.
( A few hours earlier… )
"Get out."
Those two words had been enough to end everything.
I could still hear them. Cold. Final. Without even a hint of hesitation.
"Please… I didn't do anything wrong," I had begged, my voice trembling as I stood in the middle of the hall.
Dozens of eyes were on me. Watching. Judging.
Enjoying.
"She's lying."
The accusation came sharply, cutting through the air like a blade.
I turned to look at her—the one who had started all of this.
A soft smile was on her lips, but her eyes…
Her eyes were full of something far more dangerous.
Victory.
"She's been sneaking around at night," she continued, her voice calm and convincing. "Talking to outsiders. Who knows what secrets she has already leaked?"
"That's not true!" I stepped forward, panic rising in my chest. "You know it's not true—"
"Enough."
That single word silenced me instantly.
Because it came from him.
The Alpha.
The most powerful man in the entire pack.
The one person who could decide my fate with just a word.
And right now… he wasn't even looking at me.
His gaze was cold, distant, as if I didn't even exist.
"I trusted you," he said, his voice low but firm.
My chest tightened painfully.
"I didn't do anything," I whispered, my eyes stinging.
For a second… just one second… I thought he would look at me.
That he would see the truth.
But he didn't.
Instead, he turned away.
"Leave the pack," he ordered.
Just like that.
No trial. No proof. No second chance.
Nothing.
( Back to the present… )
I exhaled shakily, forcing the memory away.
It didn't matter anymore.
Nothing did.
I am alone now.
Completely… and utterly alone.
The wind grew colder, rustling the leaves above me. The deeper I walked into the forest, the darker it became, until even the moonlight could barely reach the ground.
A twig snapped somewhere behind me.
I froze.
Slowly… very slowly… I turned around.
"Who's there?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
Silence.
But this time, it wasn't empty.
It was watching.
I could feel it.
My heart started racing as a strange, suffocating pressure filled the air.
And then—
A low growl echoed through the forest.
My breath hitched.
That wasn't human.
Every survival instinct in my body screamed at me to run.
So I did.
Branches scratched against my arms as I ran blindly through the darkness, my feet stumbling over roots and uneven ground.
The growl came again.
Closer this time.
Too close.
Tears blurred my vision as panic took over.
"Please… please…" I whispered, not even knowing who I was begging anymore.
I could hear it now.
Heavy footsteps.
Fast.
Hunting.
And I was the prey.
A sob escaped my lips as my foot caught on something, sending me crashing to the ground.
Pain shot through my body, but I didn't have time to think about it.
Because the forest had gone silent again.
Dead silent.
My breathing was loud. Too loud.
I slowly lifted my head.
And that's when I saw it.
Or rather…
him.
He stood a few feet away from me, emerging from the shadows like something out of a nightmare.
Tall.
Terrifying.
Power radiated from him in a way that made the air feel heavier, harder to breathe.
His eyes…
They glowed.
Not human.
Not even close.
A deep, dangerous gold that locked onto mine like I was the only thing in the world.
My heart stopped.
For a moment, neither of us moved.
I couldn't.
Fear had rooted me to the spot.
This was it.
This was how I died.
In a cursed forest, hunted by a monster I never even had a chance against.
I squeezed my eyes shut, my body trembling.
"Please…" I whispered brokenly.
But the attack never came.
Seconds passed.
Then—
"Why are you here?"
The voice was low. Deep. Dangerous.
My eyes snapped open.
He was still there.
Still watching me.
But now… there was something else in his gaze.
Something I didn't understand.
Confusion?
No…
That wasn't it.
It was something far more unsettling.
Interest.
I… I didn't mean to come here," I stammered, my voice shaking. "I'll leave. I swear. I won't tell anyone—"
He took a step closer.
I flinched.
My back hit the ground as I tried to move away, but there was nowhere to go.
He was too fast.
Too close.
"Human," he said slowly, as if testing the word.
The way he looked at me made my skin prickle.
Like he was trying to figure me out.
Or decide something.
My throat went dry.
"I'm not a threat," I whispered.
A faint smirk touched his lips.
"A human," he repeated, almost amused. "In my territory."
My heart dropped.
My territory.
Oh God.
I had made a mistake.
A terrible, fatal mistake.
Because everyone knew what lived beyond this part of the forest.
Not just wolves.
Something far worse.
He crouched down in front of me.
Close enough that I could feel his presence—overwhelming and suffocating.
Close enough that if he wanted to kill me…
He already would have.
But he didn't.
Instead, his gaze locked onto mine again.
And this time—
It burned.
Not with anger.
Not with hunger.
But something far more dangerous.
Something that made my heart pound in a completely different way.
"You should be dead already," he said quietly.
A tear slipped down my cheek.
"I know…"
His eyes followed that tear.
Then, slowly… deliberately…
He reached out.
My breath caught as his fingers brushed against my skin.
Warm.
Too warm.
A sharp, unfamiliar sensation shot through me, making my entire body tense.
What… was that?
His expression changed.
Just slightly.
But enough for me to notice.
And that's when he said something that made my blood run cold—
"Interesting…"