Cold dirt bit into my cheek. Smoke burned my throat. I should’ve been dead—but the sound of crickets around me said otherwise.

“She’s awake.” The voice was low and unfamiliar—close enough that my heart shot like a bullet through my chest.

I kept my eyes shut tight, willing the pounding headache and dry mouth to ease. Dirt scratched my cheek, but nothing felt broken. Somehow, I was still breathing.

No. This couldn’t be real.

Silence stretched thick, and I held my breath, pretending to sleep. I needed time—to think, to listen, to figure out how to survive this.

“We know you’re awake,” a deeper voice said, calm but with something sharp underneath. Amusement? Couldn’t say. “No point pretending. Open your eyes.” Fuck.

Reluctantly, I cracked my eyes open. Moonlight filtered through the tall pines, mixing with the flickering firelight. I was outside and naked—except for a man’s flannel shirt hanging loose over me.

Panic hit me sharp and cold. My hands grabbed the shirt, pulling it tighter around me.

“Relax,” the deep voice said again, amused. “We’ve already seen you naked. Might as well button it up right.”

I turned toward the fire, my heart pounding. A shirtless man who sat closest was broad-shouldered and smug, with a grin that didn’t reach his eyes. The flannel I was wearing had to be his.

Beside him was a bigger, quieter man with dark, serious eyes. A woman sat between them. She looked younger than me—or maybe I just felt small sitting there.

“Are you decent now?” The shirtless man asked without looking.

“Better.” I tightened the shirt, my fingers trembling.

Why was I even alive?

“We found you last night,” the woman said, her voice soft but steady. “I’m Nyx.”

“Where am I?” I croaked. “And why am I naked?”

Nyx hesitated. “You were hurt. We cleaned your wounds.”

“And left me naked?”

“We found a wild wolf bleeding under the moonlight.”

I froze. That couldn’t be right.

“What?” I whispered.

“You didn’t know?” Nyx leaned forward, serious. “You’re a werewolf. They never told you?”

“No,” I said, flat and cold. “I can’t shift. I’m not—”

“You shifted. We saw it ourselves.”

Nyx rolled her eyes. “Zevian, don’t scare her.”

But I was already drowning in disbelief.

No. This couldn’t be real. I’d never shifted. I wasn’t...a wolf.

The word slammed into me like a blow to the chest.

My hands shook. My breath stuttered. What the hell had happened to me?

“I can’t be a werewolf,” I whispered again. My breath was quick and shallow, my heart banging like a drum.

“You don’t have to lie.” Zevian’s grin faded, his eyes darkening.

“I’m not lying. I’ve never shifted.”

“You did last night. We all saw it.” Nyx’s voice softened.

The silence between us was heavy, like it was waiting—either for me to speak or for the fire to say something first.

“Do you remember anything?” Nyx asked softly,

I felt flashes of pain, blood, and falling—all jumbled and blurry in my mind.

“I can’t shift,” I whispered again, barely able to breathe. My whole life, I’d been told I was broken. Now they wanted me to believe I wasn’t? That everything I thought I knew was a lie?

“It’s okay,” Nyx said gently. “We’re the same. You don’t have to hide.”

Her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. Something flickered there—pity? Or guilt?

But it wasn’t that simple. Fear should have settled like a stone in my chest, but instead, disbelief swirled, wild and dizzying. I should’ve been terrified—but how could I be, when I was still alive? And now, with their impossible claim pressing down on me, I felt more like a ghost caught between truths.

“You were a wolf,” Nyx said softly, eyes fixed on the fire. “Running wild and half-dead.”

Impossible.

Saying it out loud cut like a blade. I’d accepted my cursed fate long ago—always the girl who couldn’t change. But still, in some quiet corner, I’d wondered what life might’ve been like… if the curse hadn’t been mine to bear.

“That’s awful,” Nyx added quietly, “Never shifting... It must’ve hurt. Always feeling like something was missing.”

“Nice story.” Zevian snorted.

“It’s true,” I snapped, shooting him a glare sharp enough to cut glass. “But you don’t have to believe me.”

They were strangers, but they’d saved me—and they were the only ones who seemed to care. Still, I wasn’t ready to tell them everything. Not yet

“What happened? Do you remember how you got here?” Nyx pressed, voice gentle but firm.

“I was on the cliff… I fell. A long fall.” I swallowed. Meeting their eyes felt like exposing a weakness I couldn’t afford. “Then I woke up here.”

“Your wolf must’ve saved you,” Nyx said, rising and stepping closer. “I’ve heard the stories. But never met anyone who actually went through it. What’s your name?”

“Kireya,”

Nothing made sense. I wasn’t supposed to shift. And yet here I was—standing.

I patted myself down quickly. Shoulder, wrist, head—aching, but no broken bones. My hair clung with dried blood, my skin smeared with dirt and old stains. No fresh wounds and no bite marks.

Shifters healed fast.

“How long have I been out?” My voice was hoarse.

Nyx’s eyes softened. “We found you last night. You’ve been asleep almost twenty-four hours.”

“When was the last full moon?” I asked.

“Four days ago.”

I nodded slowly. “So… that’s when I fell.”

Nyx bit her lip, gaze dropping. “You were wandering in wolf form for a while.”

Before I could say anything, Zevian’s voice cut sharp through the quiet.

“Why are you even here?”

“Give her a moment before you start interrogating.” Nyx shot him a glare that made his smirk falter. “Zevian’s an asshole.”

“Enough,” Zevian growled, stepping forward. “You smell like trouble,” he said, low and dangerous. “And in these woods, trouble doesn’t walk away.”

“I’m just passing through.” I didn’t blink.

“Most people pass through on two legs, not four.” He leaned in, smile razor-sharp. “Running from someone?”

My breath caught.

If I had shifted and run, I didn’t get far, which meant they could still track me.

Nah, I wasn’t going back.

I pushed myself up, my body shaking.

“I won’t forget this. But I need to leave.”

Zevian rose too, towering over me. “You’re not leaving,”

“Watch me.” I started to turn.

A strong hand grabbed my wrist, and I froze, knowing I was outnumbered and no match for the three of them, so I kept calm and met Zevian’s eyes without flinching.

“Let me go.”

“We have questions first,” he said.

My heart thudded as I caught the line of his jaw—sharp, rough, too close.

“Where did you come from?” His voice was commanding.

“Why?” I blurted.

“Tell me.”

“Silvermoor,” I said quietly. “Happy now?”

He paused for a second, then turned with a flat, unreadable voice.

“Take her back.”

My stomach dropped. Back where?

Zevian looked at me, and his next words weren’t a request. “To the Alpha of Silvermoor.”