The engagement party was almost over.

The ballroom glittered with laughter, but my skin prickled like someone was watching me.

No-not someone.

Him.

I found him standing alone near the tall glass doors that led to the balcony.

The man from behind the curtain.

The one my fiancé had just sold me to.

He wasn't mingling.

He wasn't drinking.

He was waiting.

And every instinct in me screamed to run the other way.

I didn't.

Instead, my heels clicked toward him, as if drawn by something I couldn't name.

When I stopped a few feet away, he spoke first.

"You shouldn't eavesdrop, Lila Hart."

My breath caught.

"How-"

"I know everything about you," he interrupted, his silver gaze sweeping over me like a claim. "Your favorite flowers. The fact you hate champagne but drink it anyway in public. The way you bite the inside of your cheek when you're nervous."

He was right. I was biting it now.

"Who are you?" I asked, my voice shaking.

A slow, dangerous smile curved his lips.

"Damien Blackwood."

The name felt like a warning.

He stepped closer, close enough for the heat from his body to touch mine. "Tomorrow night, you'll come with me."

My pulse thundered.

"I'm not going anywhere with you."

One dark brow arched, as though I'd said something amusing.

"Sweetheart," he murmured, leaning so close that I could feel his breath against my ear, "you don't have a choice."

A chill ran through me.

And then-

For a fraction of a second-

His pupils narrowed into slits, like an animal's.

I stumbled back.

But when I blinked, his eyes looked normal again.

Had I imagined it?

The music swelled, and Ethan appeared beside me, slipping an arm around my waist.

"Lila, I see you've met our... guest," he said tightly.

"Guest?" I repeated, still staring at Damien.

Damien's smile didn't reach his eyes.

"Oh, I'm more

I barely slept that night.

Every time I closed my eyes, I saw his face-those silver eyes, that predatory calm.

Damien Blackwood.

Morning sunlight didn't make the memory fade.

If anything, it made the air heavier, as though the day itself was holding its breath.

By evening, I'd convinced myself it had been a bluff. Men like Damien didn't just take women in modern society.

Right?

I was wrong.

The first sign was the phone call.

Ethan's voice, low and tense:

"Don't leave your apartment tonight. Trust me on this."

The second sign was the shadow under my door.

Too big. Too still.

When I stepped closer, the door handle turned slowly-like someone wasn't worried about being caught.

"Who's there?" My voice trembled.

The door swung open.

Damien filled the doorway, dressed in black from head to toe.

Not a tuxedo this time.

This was something... darker.

"Time to go, sweetheart," he said, as if we had a dinner reservation.

I backed away. "I'm not going anywhere with you."

He stepped inside, the air shifting around him like heat off fire.

"You think you can refuse me?"

"I am refusing you," I snapped, though my knees felt weak.

He tilted his head, studying me.

Then-without warning-he moved.

One second he was across the room.

The next, his hand was around my wrist, firm but not painful, his scent-cedar and smoke-wrapping around me.

"Let me go!" I twisted, but he was impossibly strong.

"Don't fight me, Lila." His voice was low, almost gentle.

But when I looked into his eyes, they were glowing faintly.

Not human.

"What are you?" I whispered.

He smiled, and for the first time, I saw the faint outline of sharp canines.

"Something you'll learn soon enough."

Before I could scream, he pulled me toward the door.

And just like that, my world-the safe, predictable one-was gone.

The car ride was silent.

Damien's driver didn't glance at me once, as if I didn't exist.

Outside, the city blurred past in streaks of neon and shadow.

I sat stiffly, my wrist still tingling where Damien's fingers had been.

Every time I dared to look at him, he was already watching me.

Calm. Unblinking.

Finally, I broke the silence.

"Where are you taking me?"

His answer was maddeningly simple.

"Home."

"I already have a home."

He smirked. "Not anymore."

The words chilled me more than the night air.

We left the city behind, trading glass towers for dark forests.

The road narrowed. The air grew colder.

Then-

Something moved in the trees.

Something fast.

My eyes darted to the shadows outside. "Did you see that-"

The car screeched to a halt.

Damien was out before I could blink.

Through the windshield, I saw him move with inhuman speed toward the treeline.

The thing that emerged was massive-too big for any wolf, its eyes glowing an unnatural yellow.

It lunged.

And Damien... shifted.

It happened so fast my brain struggled to process it.

One heartbeat, he was a man in a black coat.

The next, his body tore and reshaped, muscle stretching over bone, fur exploding along his skin.

A huge black wolf stood where Damien had been.

Its eyes-silver, sharp, and unmistakable-locked on the other beast.

The two collided with a force that shook the ground.

Teeth clashed. Snarls ripped through the night.

I could only watch, frozen, as Damien fought like a creature born to kill.

And when he finally drove the other wolf into the dirt, his gaze snapped back to me.

The silver eyes glowed brighter, and in them was a warning I didn't understand yet-

But I knew one thing for certain.

Damien Blackwood was not human.

The forest closed in around us like a living thing.

Tall, ancient trees loomed over the narrow road, their branches clawing at the night sky. The car headlights cut weakly through the darkness, but I couldn't shake the feeling that we were being watched.

My fingers dug into the leather seat.

"Where exactly is this... home?" I asked quietly.

Damien didn't look at me.

"You'll see soon."

That wasn't an answer.

A low sound rolled through the forest-too deep to be the wind.

The driver stiffened.

"What was that?" I whispered.

The car slowed.

Then stopped.

Silence swallowed us whole.

Damien opened his door. "Stay here."

"No," I blurted, panic rising. "You're not leaving me alone out here."

His gaze finally met mine.

Something dark flickered in it.

"I won't be long."

He stepped out, the door shutting with a final, echoing thud.

That's when I saw it.

A pair of glowing eyes appeared between the trees.

Then another.

And another.

My breath came out in short gasps.

"Driver," I whispered. "Why aren't you moving?"

The man's hands trembled on the steering wheel.

"They won't let us," he muttered.

A massive shape emerged from the shadows-far larger than any wolf I had ever seen. Its fur was matted, its stance aggressive, its gaze locked on Damien like a challenge.

Damien didn't flinch.

He loosened his coat.

"What are you doing?" I shouted through the glass.

He turned his head slightly, just enough for me to see his profile.

"Ending this."

The air shifted.

Pressure crushed down on my chest as Damien's body began to change.

Bones cracked-not painfully, but powerfully.

His silhouette stretched, broadening, tearing free from human limits. Fur spilled across his skin like ink in water, black and thick, gleaming under the moonlight.

Where a man had stood...

A wolf rose.

Huge.

Magnificent.

Terrifying.

Its silver eyes burned brighter than the moon, ancient and knowing.

The other creature lunged.

They collided with earth-shaking force, growls ripping through the forest like thunder. Trees shook. Birds scattered into the sky.

I pressed my palms to the glass, unable to scream, unable to look away.

Damien moved with brutal precision-fast, controlled, dominant. This wasn't a mindless beast.

This was a king defending his territory.

The rival wolf retreated, tail low, fear finally overcoming rage. It vanished back into the woods, leaving silence behind.

Slowly, the massive wolf turned.

Those silver eyes met mine.

They softened.

The world seemed to hold its breath as his form shifted again, fur receding, bones reforming, until Damien stood once more-shirt torn, skin marked, breathing steady.

He walked back to the car.

Opened my door.

"Still think you're dealing with an ordinary man?" he asked calmly.

My voice shook.

"What... are you?"

He leaned down until we were eye level.

"A truth your world has hidden from you," he said.

"And from tonight onward, part of your life."

The car began moving again.

But I knew-

Nothing would ever be the same.