***Still That Night***

I pulled the blanket tighter around my shoulders, staring out at the snow-covered trees outside my window. Even the pines looked like they were hiding secrets.

Who was she?

The voice didn’t feel like something human. It wasn’t just anger, it was possession and her appearance???

Like whoever she was, she believed Kael belonged to her. And she wanted me gone.

I rubbed my wrist without thinking. the same wrist Kael had touched. It was warmer than the rest of my skin.

God, what was happening to me?

This job was supposed to be a chance at peace. A break from the mess I left behind. But now, my peace had a pair of glacial eyes and a voice in the dark whispering death threats.

And yet… I wasn’t afraid of Kael.

I was afraid of what I was starting to feel for him.

I know this feeling was weird, but I can't hide the fact either.

Kael

***That Same Moment***

I stood shirtless in front of the open window, letting the cold bleed through my skin.

The moon was nearly full. My wolf was restless.

And my control was slipping.

Her presence meant more than danger.

Sasha should’ve never been brought here.

But now that she was here… I couldn’t let her go.

I remembered the way her hand moved on my leg earlier. Her voice. The softness in her laugh. The worry in her eyes when she thought I was burning up.

No one had worried about me in years.

I closed my eyes.

“She’s not ready for this,” I whispered.

But neither was I.

Sasha

***The Next Morning***

The weight in the room shifted the second I stepped into the gym.

Kael was already there, shirt clinging to his body, sweat glistening along the line of his throat.

He didn’t look up right away. When he did, something passed between us.

An acknowledgment.

Last night happened.

He walked toward me slowly, stopping just short of touching.

“You shouldn’t have been there,” he said.

“I live here, remember?”

“I’m serious.”

“So am I.”

We stared at each other in silence.

Then I did something impulsive.

I grabbed a resistance band and tossed it at him.

“You owe me a training session. You said I was good. Time to put your money where your mouth is.”

A flicker of a smirk.

“Alright, Lane. But don’t cry when I beat you.”

Twenty Minutes Later

“Okay,” I panted, wiping sweat from my brow, “I take it back. You’re a machine.”

Kael was barely breathing. Showoff.

“I warned you.”

“You didn’t warn me you did push-ups like a damn tank.”

His eyes sparkled. For the first time, really sparkled.

He moved closer.

I didn’t move away.

“You should leave this place,” he said softly.

“You keep saying that.”

“Because I mean it.”

I searched his face.

“You’re scared.”

“I’m not scared of much.”

“Then what is it?” I asked.

He didn’t answer.

Instead, he reached up, gently brushing a strand of hair from my face.

His hand lingered.

And this time, I didn’t stop him when he leaned in.

Our foreheads touched.

Then.....

CRACK.

The mirror behind us shattered, without warning, without cause.

Kael’s head snapped up. His entire body tensed.

“She’s watching,” he growled.

My heart dropped.

“What?”

He grabbed my hand and pulled me behind him.

“She’s here.”

Mysterious Voice , Somewhere in the Shadows

She touched him.

She dared to touch what belonged to me.

That filthy puppy.

She doesn’t know yet… but I’ll teach her.

Kael Darius was mine before she was even born.

And I will tear the world in half before I let her have him.

Sasha

***The next morning**

I didn’t sleep much. Again.

Not after what happened in the gym.

The mirror hadn’t just shattered, it had exploded. And not from pressure, or temperature, or any science I could make sense of. It felt… personal.

What the hell does she want from me.

The voice.

“She doesn’t belong with you, Kael…”

But that wasn’t what haunted me the most.

It was what she said next.

I'm not wolf..

No I wasn’t a wolf. I was a human woman with a busted knee, a stubborn heart, and a growing crush on a man made of secrets. That was it.

Right?

So then why did my bones hum every time Kael got close? Why did my senses feel sharper in Frost Hollow? Why did I keep dreaming in moonlight?

I wasn’t leaving without answers.

*****************************************

I found him outside the arena, lacing up his skates alone.

The rink hadn’t opened yet. Snowflakes drifted silently through the sky, landing on his jacket and melting instantly from the heat radiating off him. He didn’t look surprised when I approached.

“Morning,” I said.

“You should be resting.”

“You should stop dodging my questions.”

He sighed and didn’t look at me. Just kept tightening the laces with controlled aggression.

“I’m serious, Kael. That voice, the woman, she said I’m a wolf .”

“ I'm not one, trust me. Wolves are dangerous and I'm not dangerous”

“That voice is a liar.”

“But you didn’t deny it.”

He paused.

Then finally looked up at me. His eyes were darker today.

“I can’t answer questions you’re not ready to understand.”

“Try me.”

He stood and towered over me. His body radiated heat and other emotions I couldn't explain.

“Everything in me wants to tell you,” he said. “But once I do, your world changes. Permanently.”

“Maybe it already has.”

That hit something. His jaw tightened.

“I have a game,” he said suddenly, stepping back. “We’ll talk after.”

“You said that last time.”

He walked away.

I didn’t follow.

Kael

*** On the Ice**

The minute my blades hit the ice, I felt like myself again.

But even here, under the bright lights, Her questions were on my head.

She was getting close.

Rather too close.

Sasha

***Watching From the Sidelines***

I stood at the edge of the rink, arms crossed, my heart pounding like I was the one about to play.

Kael skated with the grace of a beast in control. Powerful. The puck obeyed him like it feared him. And when he checked another player against the boards, something inside me growled in satisfaction.

Wait.

Growled?

I shook it off.

“Ms. Lane.”

I turned. One of the assistant coaches was beside me.

“He’s different when you’re here,” he said quietly, watching Kael on the ice.

“Different how?”

“Faster and Sharper. Like he’s hunting something.”

I blinked. “Is that… good?”

The man didn’t answer.

He just walked away.

Kael

***Second Period***

The opposing team was good. But I was better.

Until I wasn’t.

The change started slow. My vision sharpened unnaturally. I could see the threads on the other team’s jerseys. Hear their skates cut the ice. Smell the sweat and adrenaline and...

Her.

Sasha.

Standing too close to the glass, watching me with worry in her eyes.

My pulse spiked.

And the wolf pressed harder.

I tried to shove him down, but he was clawing, screaming, rising.

I needed off the ice.

Now.

But then..

CRACK!

A blindside hit.

I went flying.

The world spun.

But it wasn’t the pain that stunned me.

It was the sound I heard in my head, not from the crowd..

“You’re losing him. I told you, girl. He was mine before you even breathed your first scream.”

That force..

Sasha

***Rushing to Kael***

I was already running before I knew what I was doing.

By the time I reached the edge of the rink, Kael was being pulled to his feet, dazed but furious. His teeth were gritted. His fists were clenched. But what scared me most was..

His eyes.

They were glowing.

Not blue. Not grey.

But bright, golden amber.

Like a predator.

He blinked, and it faded.

But I’d seen it.

And I was done pretending.

He isn't a regular human, he's something else...

***Later In the Locker Room***

I found him alone, sitting on a bench, elbows on knees, hands in his hair. He didn’t hear me come in.

“You need to tell me the truth,” I said.

He didn’t move.

“I saw your eyes, Kael. I saw you change.”

Finally, he looked up.

“I’ve spent years protecting the world from what I am,” he said. “But I can’t protect you… if you insist on staying blind.”

“Then open my eyes.”

Silence stretched between us.

He stood slowly. Walked toward me.

And stopped only when we were breath to breath.

“You don’t belong in this world, Sasha,” he whispered. “But somehow, you’re the only thing keeping me human.”

He leaned in, just a fraction.

“I’m a wolf,” he murmured. “But the real danger isn’t me.”

I swallowed. “Then what is?”

And behind us…

The lights flickered.

The air grew colder.

And a voice, cruel and familiar, echoed through the room:

“You are.”

“Wait me ???”

“You are a wolf, child. Just like him. ”

I didn’t breathe.

Kael turned so fast I flinched. His eyes, once steel blue, flared gold burning, furious.

“Selene,” he growled.

The temperature in the room dropped.

A woman made of silver fire and black mist. Her eyes were moons. Her hair floated as though underwater, her smile sharpened like glass.

“You feel it, don’t you?” she whispered to me. “That pull? That fire? That ache? You think it’s just attraction? No, little wolf. That’s the bond.”

“He is yours. You are his. And I will rip it from your bones, because it wasn't me who bonded you both