“Don’t move, Raine. He’s watching you.”

Mara’s whisper shot like ice down my spine. Her grip tightened on my wrist, nails digging into my skin.

I swallowed hard, trying to slow my pulse, but it was useless. The growl that had been following us since the ridge rattled the night air again low, primal, a sound no human throat could ever make.

“Mara,” I whispered back, “tell me you didn’t drag me into their territory.”

“It wasn’t their territory last week.” Her breath came in sharp, panicked bursts. “Something’s changed.”

The underbrush cracked behind us. Not clumsy like a deer or a bear. Controlled. Deliberate.

Every nerve in my body screamed.

Mara yanked me forward, but then

A voice.

“Too late.”

It wasn’t hers. It was smooth, masculine, but threaded with something feral.

We both froze.

A man stepped from the shadows. No, not a man. His eyes caught the moonlight and burned molten gold. His smile was sharp, wrong. His presence coiled around us like smoke.

I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t move.

“You shouldn’t be here,” he said, though his gaze locked on me and only me. “This forest belongs to the Bloodfang Pack.”

Mara’s hand trembled against mine. “Bloodfang’s extinct. Everyone knows that.”

The man chuckled, low and cold. “Do I look extinct?”

His stare was unbearable, like he could peel my skin away and read what pulsed underneath. Something in my chest reacted to the heat blooming where there should have been only terror.

“Run,” he told Mara.

“No way ”

The growl that left his throat wasn’t a sound. It was a force. Mara staggered back, face white as ash, then bolted into the trees.

I should’ve run with her. My legs wouldn’t move.

The stranger stepped closer. He didn’t walk like a predator. He glided, smooth, sure. His voice dropped to a murmur.

“You smell wrong.”

“Excuse me?” My voice cracked.

“Not fully human. Not fully wolf. Something in between.” His nostrils flared as he breathed me in. “Your blood sings too loud.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I stammered, but my body betrayed me. My pulse pounded against my throat.

“Yes, you do,” he whispered, so close his breath brushed my cheek. “And I want it.”

Then he moved lightning fast. His hand caught my jaw, pressing me against the rough bark of a pine. The world spun with his strength, the heat of him overwhelming.

I opened my mouth to scream.

He didn’t give me the chance.

“You’ll belong to me.”

His teeth sank into my neck.

Pain exploded. White-hot, searing, ripping through every nerve in my body. I gasped, the sound strangled, the forest whirling into a blur. My knees buckled.

And then

Darkness.

When I opened my eyes, the world was different.

Every sound screamed louder. The rustle of a mouse under the leaves. The whisper of Mara’s distant sobbing. The hammering of my own heart.

But he, the golden-eyed stranger, was gone.

Someone else crouched before me.

This one wasn't a shadow. He was a storm. Broad-shouldered, taller, dressed in black that clung to his frame like armor. His eyes weren’t gold, they were steel-grey, sharp and unyielding.

“You’re alive,” he muttered, voice gravel against the silence. His jaw was tight, every word forced out like he’d rather not be saying it.

“Barely.” My throat burned. My whole body burned, like fire lived under my skin now.

His gaze cut over me, not lingering, but searching. Assessing. Like I was a weapon he wasn’t sure belonged in the world.

“What did he say to you?”

“What?”

“The one who bit you.” His tone sharpened. “What. Did. He. Say.”

I blinked at him. “I don’t even know who he was.”

Something flickered in his eyes, recognition, maybe anger but he masked it quickly.

“He was supposed to be dead,” the man muttered, more to himself than to me. His hand flexed against his knee, knuckles cracking. “If Luka’s alive ”

“Who?”

He looked at me then. Fully. Grey eyes pinning me with a weight that stole the air from my lungs.

“Listen to me carefully.” His voice dropped, every syllable a command. “From this moment, you’re not safe. Not from him. Not from anyone. If you want to survive, you stay with me.”

I forced myself to sit up, glaring even though my body trembled. “And you are?”

“Killian Voss,” he said. His jaw clenched like the name was both a shield and a curse. “Beta of the Nightfang Pack.”

I swallowed. Pack. Beta.

And then he added, voice lower, sharper, cutting through the night:

“And whether you like it or not, you’re mine now.”

The word echoed.

Mine.

The golden-eyed stranger had said it too.

Two different voices. One human. One monster. Both burning the same claim into my skin.

And the terrifying part?

Every nerve in my body responded like it wasn’t a warning…

but a promise.

“Yours?” My voice cracked, half disbelief, half fury. “I don’t even know you.”

Killian didn’t flinch. His storm-grey eyes pinned me to the ground more effectively than the golden-eyed stranger’s claws had.

“You will.”

“I don’t take orders from strangers in the woods.”

His mouth twitched not quite a smile, not quite a sneer. “You think you’re in a position to argue? You were bitten. You’re changing. You don’t have the luxury of choices anymore.”

My stomach lurched. “Changing into what?”

His silence was worse than any answer. He studied me, scanning my face like he was trying to read whether I could handle the truth or whether it would break me.

Finally, he said, low and deliberate, “Into one of us.”

The words slid into the night air and settled like a weight I couldn’t shove off.

I shook my head. “No. That’s impossible. I’m not ”

“Not what?” Killian cut me off, stepping closer. His scent hit me: clean, sharp like pine smoke and rain-soaked earth. “Not human? You already know that. Not wolf? Your blood disagrees. Luka smelled it the second he saw you. And now he’s marked you.”

I stumbled back until my shoulders pressed against a tree trunk. “Who the hell is Luka?”

His jaw flexed, muscles ticking. For the first time, a flash of something like unease crossed his face. “The wolf who bit you. The one I thought was buried six years ago. The one who should never have crawled out of his grave.”

The name slithered into me like venom. Luka. The golden-eyed stranger. His voice, his claim, still burned in my ears.

“You’re lying,” I whispered.

Killian stepped closer, too close, until his shadow swallowed mine. His voice dropped, barely more than a growl.

“Look me in the eye and tell me your skin isn’t burning. Tell me your senses aren’t sharper. Tell me you don’t feel the shift beginning.”

I opened my mouth to argue but stopped. Because I did.

Every rustle, every snap of a branch, every flicker of wind carried new meaning. My blood was too loud. My skin too hot. The world too bright.

“No…” The word came out broken.

Killian’s gaze softened for the first time. Just a flicker, quickly buried under steel. “It’s already started. And if you fight it, it’ll kill you.”

A bitter laugh tore out of me. “Great. So I just…what? Roll over and accept that some psycho bit me, and now I’m a ”

“Not some psycho,” Killian cut in sharply. “Luka. And he’s not finished with you.”

The night thickened with his words.

A chill crawled up my spine. “What do you mean?”

Killian leaned in, his breath brushing my ear. “The first bite is never the last. If Luka marked you, he’ll come back for you. He’ll hunt you until you’re his.”

I stiffened, pulse thundering.

Mine. Luka’s voice.

Mine. Killian’s voice.

Both echoing, clashing inside me until I couldn’t tell which terrified me more.

I shoved at his chest. “Then I’ll run. Leave this town. He won’t find me if I’m gone.”

Killian caught my wrists, holding me still. His grip was firm but not crushing, his eyes blazing with something fierce and unyielding.

“You don’t get it,” he said. “There’s nowhere you can go that he won’t find you. Wolves don’t lose their scent once they’ve claimed it. And you ” His gaze dipped to the puncture wounds on my neck. “You reek of him.”

My breath caught. The weight of his stare pressed against my skin harder than his hands did.

“And you?” I asked, forcing defiance into my voice. “What do you want with me?”

His silence stretched. For a heartbeat, I thought he wouldn’t answer. Then

“I want to keep you alive.”

The rawness in his tone made me falter.

Before I could speak, a howl shattered the night. Long. Piercing. Echoing through the forest like a promise of death.

Killian’s head snapped toward the sound, every muscle in his body tensing. He released my wrists and growled a sound so deep it vibrated in my bones.

“Too late,” he muttered. His eyes cut back to me, sharp, urgent. “They’re already here.”

The howl split the air again, closer this time. My bones rattled with it.

Killian’s eyes snapped back to me. “Move.”

“What?”

He didn’t wait for me to argue. His hand clamped around my wrist, tugging me into motion. My feet scrambled over roots and rocks as he half-dragged, half-guided me through the trees with terrifying precision.

“Wait Mara ”

“She’s gone. If she’s smart, she’s already out of the forest.”

“And if she’s not?”

“Then pray she runs faster than Luka.”

The casual way he said it made my blood freeze.

We broke through a thicket, branches clawing at my arms. The forest pressed in tighter the deeper we ran, shadows shifting in ways they shouldn’t, like the dark itself was alive.

Another howl split the night. Answered by a second. Then a third.

I stumbled. “They’re surrounding us.”

“No,” Killian said, scanning the trees. His voice had dropped to a lethal calm. “They’re herding us.”

“Toward what?”

His jaw clenched. “Toward him.”

The earth seemed to tilt under me. Luka.

I dug my heels into the dirt, forcing Killian to halt. “I’m not going any farther.”

He turned on me, grey eyes burning. “You don’t get to decide that right now.”

“I’m not your prisoner!” My voice cracked with both rage and terror. “You think you can just ”

He grabbed my shoulders, holding me still. “I don’t think. I know. If Luka touches you again tonight, you’re his. Entirely. You won’t come back from it.”

The words hit harder than his grip.

Before I could respond, the forest erupted with movement. Shadows lunged between the trees massive shapes, too fast, too silent. Golden eyes flared in the dark.

Killian shoved me behind him, dropping into a crouch so fluid, so primal it wasn’t human. His teeth bared in a snarl that didn’t belong to any man I’d ever met.

The pack closed in. Five. No six of them. Wolves, but wrong. Larger, darker, their bodies stretched and twisted with something monstrous. Their eyes locked on me.

And then he stepped through them.

Luka.

Tall. Smiling. His golden eyes gleamed like fire.

“Raine,” he said smoothly, like we were old friends instead of predator and prey. “You didn’t run.”

My pulse thundered in my ears.

Killian growled, the sound vibrating through the air. “You’re supposed to be dead, Luka.”

“Supposed to be,” Luka repeated, tilting his head. “But here I am.” His gaze slid past Killian, locking on me. “And here she is.”

Every instinct screamed at me to run. But my body betrayed me again. Heat rippled under my skin at his stare, the bite on my neck throbbing in time with his voice.

Luka smiled wider. “She’s perfect. My little secret half-blood. You feel it, don’t you, Raine? The fire in your veins. The hunger.”

I wanted to scream no. To deny it. But my hands shook, my throat tight, because a part of me did feel it.

Killian’s voice snapped like a whip. “She’s not yours.”

“Not yet,” Luka agreed, his tone maddeningly calm. “But the bond is there. I’ve tasted her. She’ll come to me.”

“Over my dead body,” Killian snarled.

“That,” Luka said, smile sharpening, “can be arranged.”

The wolves lunged.

The wolves lunged.

Killian shoved me backward so hard I hit the ground. His body blurred in front of me, one heartbeat a man, the next something else.

Bones cracked. Flesh tore. A snarl ripped from his throat so deep it shook the air.

And then he wasn’t human anymore.

The wolf that landed where Killian had stood was enormous black as midnight, fur bristling, eyes glowing silver like shards of the moon. His size dwarfed the others, his snarl a weapon all its own.

The pack froze for half a breath. Then chaos detonated.

Two wolves lunged at Killian. He met them head-on, slamming one into a tree so hard bark exploded, sinking his teeth into the other’s neck. Blood sprayed.

I scrambled to my feet, heart trying to punch out of my chest. The world was a blur of teeth and fur and snapping jaws. I had no weapon, no chance, nothing but raw panic.

Luka didn’t move. He stood at the edge of the clearing, golden eyes fixed on me. His wolves fought and bled, but he just smiled, calm, patient, like the chaos meant nothing.

“Run,” he said softly.

It wasn’t a threat. It was an invitation.

My pulse stuttered.

Killian tore through another wolf, his silver eyes flashing to me. Stay put. His gaze pinned me even through the frenzy, but the bond tugged at me in two directions. Killian’s command rooted me. Luka’s voice pulled like gravity.

Two alphas. One bite. One claim.

The ground shook as another wolf slammed into Killian’s side. He staggered, snapping back, jaws crunching bone. The forest reeked of blood and fur.

Luka finally moved. Slow. Deliberate. He stepped toward me, each stride smooth, predatory.

“You feel it, don’t you?” His voice threaded through the air, honey and venom. “The bond. The hunger. You’re not like them. You’re not like him. You’re mine.”

I stumbled back. “Stay away.”

But my body betrayed me. The bite on my neck burned hot, pulsing in rhythm with his words.

Killian roared, ripping free of another wolf and hurling it aside. He lunged for Luka but one of Luka’s pack intercepted, dragging him down.

“Killian!” My scream ripped out before I could stop it.

Luka’s smile sharpened. “See? You call for me even as you bleed for him.”

“I wasn’t calling for you,” I spat.

He only grinned wider. “Not yet.”

Another wolf lunged at me. I threw up my arms in useless defense

and Killian was there. A black blur, silver eyes blazing, jaws crushing down on the wolf’s throat. Blood sprayed my face, hot and metallic.

He stood over me, chest heaving, fur bristling, his body a wall between me and Luka. His snarl ripped through the night, promising death to anyone who came closer.

For a second, Luka’s smile faltered. Just a second. Then it was back.

“Enjoy your little protector, Raine,” Luka said, voice smooth as silk. “But remember this every bond breaks eventually. And when his does, I’ll be waiting.”

He whistled low. The remaining wolves peeled back instantly, melting into the forest shadows. In seconds, only Luka remained, golden eyes burning into mine.

“Sweet dreams, little half-blood,” he murmured. “I’ll see you soon.”

Then he was gone.

The clearing reeked of blood and death. My ears rang. My knees buckled, but Killian caught me before I hit the ground.

Except it wasn’t his hands anymore it was claws. His massive wolf body loomed over me, his fur matted with blood. His silver eyes locked on mine, wild and unhinged.

And for the first time, I realized he wasn’t fully in control.

Killian’s silver eyes pinned me to the ground.

“Killian…” My voice cracked. “It’s me.”

He didn’t move. His chest heaved, huge ribcage expanding and collapsing. Blood dripped from his jaws, steaming in the cold night.

“Shift back,” I whispered, even though I had no idea if he could hear me like this. “Please. I know you’re in there.”

A low growl rolled out of him, vibrating the earth beneath me. His head lowered until his snout was inches from my throat. I froze. The heat of his breath seared my skin.

My mind screamed run. My body couldn’t move.

Then his nose brushed the bite Luka had left on me. My entire body jolted like lightning shot through my veins.

I gasped. “Don’t ”

The growl cut deeper, not threatening but furious. His eyes locked on the mark. He knew.

“You think I wanted this?” My voice rose, desperate. “He forced it on me! I didn’t Killian, I didn’t ask for it!”

Something flickered in his silver eyes. For half a breath, the fury ebbed.

Then he snarled so loud the trees shook.

My hands flew up. “Stop! You’re scaring me!”

He froze. Chest heaving. Eyes burning.

That pause that hesitation was all I had. Slowly, trembling, I reached up and pressed my palm to the side of his face. His fur was coarse, hot, damp with blood.

“Don’t let him win,” I whispered. “Don’t let Luka own me. Don’t let him take you from me, too.”

The sound that ripped from Killian’s throat wasn’t a snarl. It was a broken, guttural sound. His body trembled. His claws dug into the dirt, tearing roots and soil.

Then the shift began.

Bones cracked. Flesh twisted. The enormous wolf shuddered, shrank, reshaped. When it was over, Killian was on his knees in front of me, human again naked, covered in blood, his chest rising and falling like he’d just come back from the edge of hell.

His hands slammed the ground to keep himself steady. His head bowed, dark hair falling over his face.

“Don’t,” he rasped, voice shredded raw. “Don’t ever touch me when I’m like that again.”

I blinked, still shaking. “You would’ve killed me?”

His head snapped up. His eyes still faintly glowing silver locked on mine. “No.” He swallowed hard. “I would’ve claimed you.”

The forest went dead silent. My pulse thundered.

“Claimed me,” I repeated.

His jaw tightened. “And once I did, there’d be no going back.”

Before I could respond, a sound sliced through the trees. A low whistle. Familiar.

My blood ran cold. Luka’s whistle.

Killian shot to his feet, every muscle taut. His eyes scanned the trees. The whistle came again closer this time.

“He’s not gone,” I whispered.

Killian didn’t look at me. His body was coiled, trembling, fury barely contained.

“No,” he growled. “He’s hunting.”

The whistle echoed again. Closer. Too close.

Killian’s muscles went rigid, every line of him bristling with fury. His voice dropped low, guttural, more growl than man.

“Stay behind me.”

“Like hell,” I hissed. My hands trembled, but I forced myself upright. “If he wants me, standing behind you makes me the perfect target.”

His head whipped toward me, silver eyes burning. “You don’t get to argue with me now.”

“You don’t get to order me like I’m your property.” My pulse hammered, but anger flared hot enough to steady me. “You think I’m going to hide while the psycho who bit me plays hide-and-seek out here? No.”

For a second, Killian just stared at me. His jaw tightened. Then just barely his lips twitched.

“You’re insane.”

“Maybe,” I shot back. “But I’m still alive, aren’t I?”

Before he could respond, a voice drifted out of the trees. Smooth. Mocking. Too close.

“She’s brave,” Luka said. “I like that.”

My stomach dropped.

The trees rustled. Shadows shifted. I spun in a circle, trying to pinpoint him, but the bastard’s voice seemed to come from everywhere at once.

Killian stepped in front of me again, every muscle in his back coiled. His voice came out lethal.

“Show yourself, Luka.”

A low chuckle. “Why would I, when I’m already so close?”

A blur of movement flashed in the corner of my vision. I gasped too late. A body slammed into mine from the side, pinning me to the dirt.

Luka.

His golden eyes glowed inches from my face, feral and gleaming. His weight pressed me down, one hand fisting in my hair, the other clamping over my wrist. His breath hit my ear, hot and taunting.

“I told you, Raine. You’re mine.”

I struggled, but his strength was inhuman. “Get off me ”

Killian roared. The ground trembled as he lunged.

Luka’s grin widened. He didn’t move. Didn’t even flinch.

“Which Alpha will she obey?” he murmured against my skin. “Which one will she surrender to?”

Killian’s wolf burst through his skin again, black fur exploding, jaws wide.

But Luka yanked me up with him, spinning me against his chest, dragging me with him into the shadows. His lips brushed my ear, low and hungry.

“Choose, little half-blood. Him. Or me.”

And then he was gone. Just like that. The forest swallowed us.

Branches whipped against my face as Luka dragged me through the forest. His grip on my wrist was iron, his pace inhuman. I stumbled, almost fell, but he yanked me upright before my knees hit the ground.

“Let go!” I shouted, clawing at his hand.

“Not until you understand,” he growled. His golden eyes burned in the dark as he spun me around, slamming me against a tree. His face hovered inches from mine, lips curled into a cruel smile. “Not until you feel what it means to be chosen.”

“I didn’t choose you!” I spat, shoving against his chest.

His hand wrapped around my throat, not tight enough to cut air but enough to make me still. His smile twisted. “You think choice matters in this world? Wolves don’t choose, we claim.”

“Then I’ll never be yours.”

For a split second, the mask cracked. Something darker flickered in his gaze, want, raw and unhinged. Then it was gone, replaced with cold amusement.

“You already are.” His thumb brushed my jawline. “The moment my teeth sank into you, the moment my blood touched yours you became mine. Your wolf knows it. She’s just waiting for you to admit it.”

“Killian will kill you,” I hissed.

“Killian will try.” Luka leaned closer, his breath hot against my ear. “But he’s too late. You felt it, didn’t you? The way your body reacted when I touched you? When I marked you?”

My stomach twisted, not just with fear but with something far more dangerous. Heat crept through me, betraying me, making my knees weaken even as my mind screamed to fight.

I shoved him back with everything I had. “You’re insane.”

He caught my wrists, slamming them above my head against the bark. His smile widened. “Maybe. But insanity has its advantages. You’ll see.”

“Let her go!”

The voice shattered the night. Killian’s.

Luka’s head turned slowly, eyes gleaming. He didn’t release me. Instead, his grip tightened, pinning me harder.

“Or what, brother?” Luka called out, his tone mocking. “You’ll kill me? Tear me apart? Then she’ll never know which of us she truly belongs to.”

Killian emerged from the shadows in his wolf form, black fur bristling, silver eyes glowing like fire. He prowled forward, low and lethal, every step vibrating the ground beneath us.

For the first time, Luka’s grin faltered. Just slightly.

But instead of running, he leaned down, pressing his lips to my ear. His whisper seared me.

“Remember this, Raine. When he fails you and he will, I'll be waiting.”

Then, with a vicious shove, he released me. My body slammed against the tree, air whooshing out of my lungs. By the time I sucked in a breath, Luka was gone nothing but shadows and golden eyes retreating into the forest.

Killian shifted mid-stride, skin ripping, fur dissolving, until he was human again, bare and shaking with fury. He grabbed my shoulders, his grip almost painful.

“Did he hurt you?” His voice was ragged, eyes wild.

I opened my mouth but before I could answer, the whistle came again.

This time, it wasn’t Luka’s.

It was lower. Deeper. Echoing from the east.

Killian froze. His jaw tightened. “We’re not alone.”

“Killian…” My voice shook. “That wasn’t him.”

His grip on my shoulders tightened, hard enough to make me wince. His eyes scanned the trees, unblinking. “Stay close. Don’t move until I tell you.”

“I’m not ”

“Raine.” His voice was sharp, Alpha-sharp. The kind that demanded obedience. “Do. Not. Move.”

For a moment, I wanted to scream at him. At both of them. Killian, with his impossible dominance, and Luka, with his twisted obsession. But then the whistle came again low, hollow, slicing through the forest like a blade.

Every hair on my body rose.

Killian’s nostrils flared. His voice dropped to a whisper. “Not wolf. Human.”

My heart stopped. “Then who ”

A shadow moved between the trees. Then another.

Killian snarled, dragging me behind him. “Hunters.”

The word froze my blood.

From the treeline, a figure stepped into the moonlight. A woman. Tall, leather jacket, hair bound back tight, a silver crossbow slung casually over her shoulder. Her eyes flicked from Killian to me, sharp, calculating.

“Well,” she said, her voice cool as ice. “That saves me some trouble. Two wolves in one night.”

“I’m not ” I started.

“Shut up,” Killian snapped, shoving me further behind him.

Her smirk widened. “Protective. Cute. You must be Killian.”

His growl deepened. “And you must want to die.”

“Not tonight.” She tilted her head. “But you might.”

The whistle came again, and this time it wasn’t her lips. It was answered from deeper in the woods. My pulse spiked. There were more.

Killian swore under his breath. His hand shot back, blindly gripping mine. The heat of his skin seared, steadying me even as the forest spun around us.

“We run,” he muttered.

“What about Luka?” My voice cracked.

His head turned, eyes flashing silver fire. “Forget Luka.”

I almost argued. Almost. But then the woman lifted her crossbow, the silver tip of the bolt glinting under the moonlight.

“Run,” Killian snarled, hauling me into the trees.

We tore through the forest, branches whipping, lungs burning. Behind us, the whistle echoed again. And again. Closing in.

I stumbled, nearly falling. Killian’s arm snaked around my waist, dragging me up without breaking stride. His breath was hot against my ear, harsh, furious.

“Do you understand now?” he growled. “Why I told you to stay away? Wolves. Hunters. Luka. This world will eat you alive.”

I gasped, struggling to keep up. “Then why didn’t you leave me behind?”

His grip tightened. His voice was raw. “Because I can’t.”

The words shot through me like fire.

But before I could answer, before I could even process, something whizzed past my face fast, sharp.

A silver bolt buried itself in the tree beside me, hissing smoke as it burned into the bark.

Killian yanked me down just as another bolt sliced the air where my head had been. He pressed me flat to the earth, his body covering mine, his chest rising and falling like a beast barely chained.

The whistle came again. Closer. Surrounding us.

Killian’s lips brushed my ear, voice so low it shook through me.

“They’ve found us.”

Killian’s weight pinned me to the ground, his hand clamped over my mouth. His chest pressed into my back, heat searing through me even as fear froze my blood.

“Don’t move,” he breathed, lips brushing my ear. “They can’t smell you if you’re still.”

I trembled under him, every nerve on fire. My wolf whatever was awakening inside me whimpered, restless, begging to rise.

Another whistle cut through the trees, closer now.

Killian’s hand slid from my mouth to my cheek, holding my face down into the earth. His entire body vibrated, a low growl rumbling in his chest.

“Three,” he whispered. “Maybe four.”

My pulse thudded. “Hunters?”

His jaw tightened. “Worse.”

The crack of a branch split the silence. Boots on leaves. My heart clawed against my ribs.

Killian sprang to his feet, dragging me with him in one fluid motion. “Run when I tell you,” he muttered.

“Run where? They’ll ”

“Trust me.” His silver eyes locked on mine, fierce and unrelenting. “Just this once. Trust me.”

I didn’t have a choice.

A figure stepped from the shadows crossbow raised.

“Now!” Killian roared, shoving me hard into the trees.

I stumbled forward as he lunged, shifting mid-air, his body tearing into fur and muscle, a monstrous black wolf slamming into the hunter. The forest erupted into chaos, snarls, screams, the metallic twang of crossbows firing.

I bolted. Branches tore at my arms, my lungs burning. Behind me, Killian’s growl thundered like a storm, followed by a man’s scream cut short.

Then another whistle. Right ahead of me.

I skidded to a halt too late.

A hunter stepped into my path, a crossbow already leveled at my chest. Her eyes were ice-blue, her smile thin. “Got you.”

I froze. My breath hitched.

The silver tip glinted as she pulled the trigger

And suddenly, Luka was there.

He moved faster than sight, ripping the bolt from the air before it touched me. His hand closed around the hunter’s throat, lifting her clean off the ground. His golden eyes burned as he looked at me, not her.

“You see?” Luka’s voice was a dark caress. “Even fate can’t kill what’s mine.”

The hunter gagged, clawing at his grip.

“Luka!” I screamed, panic ripping through me. “Don’t ”

But he did. With a sickening crack, he snapped her neck and dropped her lifeless body at my feet.

Then he smiled.

And the forest went dead silent.

From behind me, Killian’s voice shattered it.

“Get away from her.”

Killian’s growl was a storm made flesh. He stalked out of the shadows, his body half-shifted wolf claws glinting, silver eyes blazing. Every line of him screamed violence.

Luka only tilted his head, golden gaze fixed on me. He didn’t even bother to face Killian. His hand brushed a stray leaf from my hair, fingers lingering too long, too possessive.

“Why would I?” he murmured. “She’s exactly where she belongs.”

I flinched back, heart hammering. “I’m not ”

“Don’t,” Killian snapped, cutting me off. His eyes flicked to mine, sharp and desperate. “Don’t give him anything, Raine.”

Luka chuckled low, finally turning toward his brother. His grin was cruel, feral.

“Still pretending you’re her savior, Killian? You can’t protect her from me. You never could.”

Killian bared his teeth. “Try me.”

For a heartbeat, the world held still. The air between them crackled two predators circling the same prey. My stomach twisted. Prey. That was me.

I found my voice, weak but loud enough. “Stop both of you. There are hunters ”

A sharp whistle split the night. Then another.

Killian froze. Luka’s smile only widened.

“Ah,” Luka said softly. “Your other suitors have arrived.”

And just like that, bolts rained down from the treeline.

Killian lunged, tackling me to the ground as silver hissed through the air. Luka blurred into the shadows, his laughter echoing. Hunters shouted, boots pounding closer.

Pinned beneath Killian, my chest crushed by his weight, I gasped for breath. His face hovered inches above mine, eyes wild, fangs bared.

“Don’t move,” he rasped, voice shaking with fury and something darker. “Or I’ll lose you.”

The whistle shrieked again so close it rattled my bones.

“Killian ” My breath tore from me, crushed beneath his weight as another bolt hissed into the dirt beside us, burning smoke into the soil.

He snarled above me, shielding my body with his. “Stay down.”

“Like hell,” I snapped, shoving at his chest. “You’ll get yourself killed ”

“Better me than you.” His eyes flared, feral silver in the dark. “Do you even understand what silver does to us?”

Before I could answer, a hunter’s voice rang out from the trees.

“There! Don’t let them shift!”

Killian moved in a blur, dragging me to my feet and shoving me behind him. His claws unsheathed, gleaming in the moonlight. His growl was low, lethal.

Three hunters stepped into the clearing, crossbows raised.

Luka’s voice floated from the shadows, mocking.

“Three against one, brother? Hardly fair. Unless… you count me.”

“Shut your mouth,” Killian snarled, muscles coiled to strike.

But Luka only leaned against a tree, golden eyes locked on me. “Tell me, Raine. Do you want me to save you again?”

I stiffened. “You call that saving? You killed her ”

“She would’ve killed you.” Luka’s lips curved, slow and cruel. “I don’t apologize for protecting what’s mine.”

“You don’t own me!” The words ripped from me louder than I meant, echoing in the night.

The hunters blinked, startled. Killian glanced back at me just for a fraction of a second, but it was enough.

A bolt flew.

“Raine!” Killian roared.

Something slammed into me, his body shoving me aside. I hit the dirt hard, the breath torn from my lungs.

Killian staggered, silver bolt buried deep in his shoulder, smoke hissing where it seared his flesh. He dropped to one knee, teeth bared, eyes blazing with pain.

I scrambled toward him. “Killian ”

But a hand closed around my wrist, yanking me upright.

Luka. His grip was iron, his voice silk.

“Choose, little wolf. Stay with him bleeding, dying. Or come with me, and live.”

Killian’s growl shook the ground. “Don’t touch her!”

The hunters raised their weapons again, bolts gleaming. Luka tightened his grip, pulling me against him.

“Decide, Raine,” he whispered, lips brushing my temple. “Now.”