POV - Thessara*

Something felt wrong as I walked into my apartment.

The air smelled different, it was like wet dirt, something I couldn't name.

I stood by the door with the keys still in my hand. Every part of me wanted to run.

But where could I go? This was Claire's life now, her home.

I locked the door, my hands shook then I turned on the lights.

The living room looked almost normal. The coffee table was moved, just a little bit.

Most people wouldn't see it, I wasn't most people anymore.

My senses were sharper now, I could smell something was wrong.

I walked through the apartment. Slow. The kitchen looked fine. The bathroom too.

Then I saw my bedroom. Blood went cold.

The window was open. I never leave windows open. At night. Ever.

Cold air came in from outside. The curtains moved in the wind.

I walked to the window. My heart beat so fast it hurt.

There were scratches on the windowsill. Deep marks in the white paint.

They looked like claw marks. But way bigger than any normal animal.

I touched them. They were fresh. Maybe from a few hours ago.

The smell was stronger here. Wild and musky. But wrong somehow.

I looked at the floor. Muddy prints. From window to dresser.

These weren't human footprints. Too long. Too narrow. Claw marks in the wood.

My wolf side wanted to fight. Protect what was mine.

But I couldn't shift. This body wouldn't let me. I was stuck and weak.

Someone knocked on my door. I jumped. I almost screamed.

I went to the living room. Looked through the peephole.

Kieran stood in the hall. His hair was messy. His clothes looked slept in.

But his eyes were alert. Ready for trouble.

"Claire," he said quietly. "Open the door."

I didn't move. How did he know something was wrong? Why was he here?

"How do I know it's really you?" I asked.

"Yesterday you asked about the Morrison case. I said it wasn't your business."

That was true. Claire remembered it. I opened the door.

He came inside fast. His eyes checked the apartment like he was looking for danger.

"Are you hurt?" he asked.

"No. But someone was here. While I was at work."

He smelled the air. Like he could sense what I sensed.

"Show me," he said.

I took him to the bedroom. I watched his face when he saw the window. The scratches. The muddy prints.

His expression went dark.

"Pack your things," he said. "You can't stay here."

"What? Why?"

"They'll come back. Next time you might be home."

I wanted to argue. To say I could handle myself. But Claire couldn't. Claire was human.

"How do you know they'll come back?" I asked.

Kieran was quiet. Like he was picking his words carefully.

"This wasn't random. They wanted something."

"What?"

"You."

The word hit me hard. "Me? Why?"

"I don't know yet." His eyes said he had ideas though. "Do you remember anything new? About your accident?"

I checked Claire's memories. Found pieces. Something dark in the headlights. Yellow eyes. Howling.

"Just bits. Nothing clear."

He nodded. Went to my dresser. Open the top drawer.

"What are you doing?"

"Checking if they took anything. Or left something."

I watched him search. He moved too smoothly. Too graceful. Not human.

And the way he tested the air. Read the room. No human could do that.

"You can smell them," I said.

He stopped moving. "What?"

"The intruders. You smell them like I do."

His hands went still. He turned around slowly.

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't lie, Kieran. You're not human."

The question sat heavy between us.

"Neither are you," he said.

I should have been shocked. Should have said he was crazy.

Instead I felt relief. Like I could finally breathe.

"How long have you known?" I asked.

"Since that night in the supply room. When I felt the bond."

Bond. My heart raced. "What bond?"

"You know what bond? Don't pretend you can't feel it."

I could feel it. The pull between us. Like I belonged with him.

The mate bond that shouldn't exist. That made no sense.

"I don't understand this," I said.

"Me neither. But you're in danger. And I can't let anything happen to you."

"Because of the bond?"

"Because you're mine. Whether we like it or not."

Mine. The word made me feel weak and strong at the same time.

This was wrong. I was supposed to be Claire. Human Claire who worked at the hospital.

Not some supernatural thing bound to a dangerous man.

"What are you?" I asked.

He was quiet for a long time.

"Something that hunts. Something dangerous."

"And me? What am I becoming?"

"I think you know."

I did know. Deep down where instincts lived. I was becoming what I'd always been.

A wolf. A hunter. Wild.

But how was that possible in Claire's body?

"The accident," I said. "Something happened that night."

"Yes."

"Something changed me."

"Yes."

"Or woke up what was already there."

His eyes got sharp. "What do you remember?"

I closed my eyes. Let Claire's memories come. The dark road. The storm. Something in the lights.

But under Claire's fear was something else. Like she'd been waiting for this her whole life.

"She wasn't fully human," I said. "Claire wasn't normal before the accident."

Kieran nodded. "Some humans carry old blood. Most never know."

"But the accident triggered it."

"Something did. What else do you remember?"

"Yellow eyes in the dark. And howling. But not from the thing that hit me. From me."

The words hung between us.

"And now?" he asked.

"Now I dream of forests. Of hunting. Of pack." I looked at him. "Of you."

He sucked in a breath. "Claire—"

"My name isn't Claire." The words came out before I could stop them.

He went still. "What?"

Fear shot through me. I'd said too much.

"I mean I don't feel like Claire anymore. The accident changed everything."

He stared at my face. Like he was looking for lies.

"Change is normal. Trauma does that."

But his eyes said he didn't believe it. That he knew something deeper was happening.

My phone buzzed. A text from a number I didn't know.

*The wolf in sheep's clothing. How long can you hide what you really are?*

My blood turned to ice. I showed Kieran.

His face went dark.

"Pack your things. Now."

"Who sent this?"

"The same ones who broke in. The ones hunting you."

"Why hunt me?"

"Because you're awakening. And new wolves are valuable to bad people."

Valuable. The word made my skin crawl.

"What do they want?"

"Control. Power. Or you die before you become strong."

I sat on the bed. This was too much too fast.

"I can't do this. I don't know how to be what I'm becoming."

Kieran sat next to me. Close enough to smell his scent. Pine and winter and wild things.

"You don't have to do it alone."

"I thought you were staying away from me."

"That was before. Before I knew it, staying away made you more unsafe."

His hand touched mine. Electric. The bond hummed warm and right.

"So what now?" I asked.

"Now you pack. Come with me. Until we figure out who's hunting you."

"Come where?"

"Somewhere safe. Where I can protect you while you change."

Change. Scary and exciting at the same time.

"What if I say no?"

His jaw got tight. "Then I sleep outside your door. I'm not leaving you defenseless."

I looked around the apartment. At the broken safety. At proof that something dangerous wanted me.

Then I looked at Kieran. Dark and protective and tied to me by things we didn't understand.

"Okay," I said.

Relief crossed his face. "Okay?"

"I'll come with you. But I have rules."

"What rules?"

"No more lies. I need to know what I'm dealing with."

He nodded. "Deal."

"And you tell me what you really are."

His eyes went dark. But he nodded again.

"And you help me understand what I'm becoming. Even if it's dangerous."

"Especially because it's dangerous."

I got up. Went to my closet. Started pulling out clothes.

The mate bond felt happy with him close. Like it was approved.

Maybe this was stupid. Maybe I was walking into more danger.

But for the first time since waking up in Claire's body, I felt like I was moving toward something instead of running.

Even if that something might kill us both.