Wendy's POV

"Who are you?" I asked, my voice barely more than a whisper.

He didn't answer. Just silence.

The air was heavy, almost suffocating.

In the dim light, he loomed over me, pressing me down onto the bed. His shirt was gone, revealing a body cut with sharp muscle, broad chest, taut abs, eight perfect ridges that could shame every man I'd ever seen.

I hated how I couldn’t look away.

I hated how his presence pulled at something deep inside me.

Cassie, my wolf, stirred in the back of my mind, telling me he was my destined mate, my fated other half. I couldn’t stop my breathing from quickening, my body from betraying me.

But I didn't even know him. This was the first time we had met.

"Call me mate," he said, voice low and unhurried. "Or whatever intimate name you prefer."

He kissed the side of my neck, then dragged his tongue along my ear. His voice was a low, sonorous purr, the kind that seemed to resonate deep in the chest, wrapping itself around you in an intimate whisper. I was startled to find that I liked its sound.

It made me flush with a mix of embarrassment and irritation. It shouldn't have, yet when his rough, unyielding hands tore at my clothes and boldly seized my breasts without a hint of gentleness, I couldn't help but react. He was fire, scorching and solid.

I felt lightheaded, a heady intoxication spreading through me as though I'd downed some forbidden wine. And for reasons I couldn't explain, I craved to be closer to him.

***

Two hours earlier, I had ventured into the forest alone.

I had taken the evening off from the restaurant where I worked, lying to my human foster mother, Melina, claiming I had a late shift and wouldn't be back on time.

It was a lie.

Today was my eighteenth birthday, the day every wolf marks the first transformation when our wolf awakens.

Werewolves who live among humans are supposed to report to the Werewolf Council. I hadn't done so, which meant I had to tread carefully to avoid being discovered.

The moon hung high and full above the treetops. I wandered deep into the woods, my heart pounding with fear and excitement.

Wolves howled in the distance.

Finding a secluded spot, I waited in silence.

Maybe I would have a gray wolf, like my father. Or maybe white, like my mother. She died when I was little, but I remembered that much, her wolf was white as snow.

An ache began to ripple through my body, each bone popping, grinding until the pressure was unbearable. Pain seared through me, every fiber stretched and reshaped.

The first transformation always bore agony, and the process was agonizingly slow.

Then I heard her.

“Wendy. I'm Cassie.”

Her voice echoed inside my head.

I looked down and saw my forelegs covered in a pristine white coat, just like my mother's.

"Hi, Cassie," I whispered back.

Then we ran together in the forest. The exhilaration was unlike anything I had ever felt. Colors sharpened, the scents of moss and earth electrified, and the world came alive around us.

For the first time in years, I felt free.

After my father's death, my brother and I had hidden away among humans, a life cloaked in concealment and fear. That joyous sense of unshackling was foreign, but it filled me to the brim with ecstasy.

We sprinted through the heart of the forest, our howls echoing against the luminous moon.

Then a strange scent hit me, sharp and unfamiliar.

“Could it be a rogue wolf?” I asked, my voice tense.

“Or maybe it’s the Council on patrol,” I muttered, dread coiling in my gut. “We can’t let them find us.”

I told her we had to run.

I could stand and fight, but that was too dangerous. There might be more than one out there.

I spun around to flee, but Cassie suddenly froze.

“Mate’s scent!” she announced, trembling with excitement.

I also caught it. The scent clawed at my senses, luring me in. My thoughts turned hazy, and before I could stop myself, I stumbled headfirst into a tree.

"No, Cassie," I said, shaking off the impact. "We have to keep going. If the Council finds us, they’ll lock me in a silver prison."

But Cassie was already falling for him.

"He's strong. We should meet him."

I could feel her eagerness washing over me, could sense her yearning. It was the full moon that amplified everything, its gravitational pull heightening the allure between mates.

My legs carried us forward, even as I fought to hold on to reason. Cassie kept whimpering, her need for our mate growing stronger with every step.

For nearly half an hour, I forced myself to run. Then Cassie’s voice came again, soft and breathless.

“Wendy, no one else is following us now,” she said, her tone giddy. “It’s just our mate.”

Only him?

My steps slowed, a strange, aching hunger rising in my chest.

Unbidden, memories stirred. I thought of the boy I once knew and the promise he had asked me to keep to wait for him. But I hadn’t. I broke that vow the moment my brother and I escaped the wolves’ domain and disappeared into the shadows of the human world where we survived in silence for ten long years.

Could it be him?

It wasn't him. As I slowed my pace, a dark wolf stepped into my path.

He was powerful, with thick limbs and sharp eyes that burned with fierce wildness. He looked like a bloodthirsty demon, capable of tearing anything apart. He moved forward deliberately like a predator ready to strike, every step heavy with deadly intent.

My heart raced uncontrollably, drawn irresistibly to the mate bond emanating from him.

Cassie was captivated the moment she laid eyes on him.

“He’s magnificent, Wendy,” she purred dreamily. “You like him too, don’t you?”

“Not at all, Cassie.”

I refused to admit I was drawn to the man before me, stubbornly denying it. But I knew Cassie could already hear the restless pounding of my heart.

“You do,” she replied teasingly. “Your heart’s racing, Wendy.”

Before I could formulate a rebuttal, other wolves were closing in around us.

“If you don’t want to get caught, come with me,” the man said as he turned and glanced at me.

I gritted my teeth and followed him, unaware how far things would spiral beyond what I imagined.

***

His breath warmed the skin of my neck, making the air around us thicken. He bit my earlobe and chuckled low and dark.

“Relax… unless,” he murmured, his tone teasing, “you prefer I get straight to the point?”

Shame burned brighter in my chest at his brazenness. His lips trailed down my throat, his mouth insistent. My last thread of reason begged me to pull away, but my body was drawn irresistibly to him.

There was no need for prolonged foreplay. My body was already tuned to his rhythm, electric and alive.

When the sharp sting of him entering me came, he suddenly paused, clearly surprised.

“You’re a virgin?” he asked, his voice tense with incredulity. “You should have told me from the start.”

For a moment, his grip on my hips softened, but it didn’t ease the pain. In fact, it seemed to excite him more.

He wasn’t gentle. I struggled to push away his strong arms, but his power was overwhelming. His chest pressed against me, the coarse hair brushing my fingers.

“Let me go!” I snarled, though the desperation in my voice betrayed me.

He caught both my wrists with one hand, pinning me firmly. The pain of being stretched made me cry out, but he found the exact spot that sent me over the edge.

Cassie moaned softly, eager for me to be fully claimed by the mate.

“He’s incredible,” she cooed. “In bed, he’s just as dominant. Don’t you agree, Wendy?”

My heart surged as he bit into my neck, the bond snapping taut and clear between us. He marked me deeply.

“You belong to me now,” he whispered, his voice rough and triumphant, marking me again.

My wolf and I resonated with his presence. Even though this was my first time, I could tell his desire was fierce and relentless. His steady, unyielding thrusts seemed to stretch time itself.

He loved teasing me with filthy talk as he took me, but my mind began to fade, blocking out his words as I surrendered completely.