Liam

The first sound wasn’t the roar of an engine. It was the howl.

Low. Long. Answered by another.

Hazel froze beside me, her breath clouding the cold night air. “What was that?”

“Trouble,” I muttered, slamming my foot on the gas.

The car jerked forward, tires spitting gravel as the headlights cut through the fog. Trees whipped past, black trunks flashing like bars. The rearview mirror filled with light - two, three, four sets of them. Headlamps. And behind those lights, shapes moving too fast to be human.

“They’re coming,” I said.

“Who—”

“Buckle up.”

The first impact hit like a hammer. Something slammed into the back of the car. Hazel screamed. I gripped the wheel tight as the vehicle fishtailed. The forest was a blur of white mist and clawed branches. One of the shadows leapt, landing on the trunk, claws raking metal.

Hazel twisted around. “Oh my God, it’s—”

“Don’t look!” I snapped. The roof dented above us. I could hear the growl, the scrape of claws, smell the bloodlust. “Hold on.”

I spun the wheel. The car skidded sideways and crashed through a fence. The thing flew off, landing hard in the dirt but another took its place before the wheels hit the road again.

They were faster tonight. Hungrier.

The moon was almost full.

I gunned the engine. “Hazel, reach into the glove box.”

She fumbled it open. “There’s a gun—”

“Take it.”

“I don’t even know how to shoot!”

“Point and pull. That’s enough.”

Another snarl. Another thud. Hazel screamed again as a paw shattered the window beside her. She raised the gun and fired. Once. Twice.

The wolf fell back, yelping into the dark.

The silence that followed lasted two heartbeats then a truck’s headlights exploded behind us, blinding. Arthur’s convoy. Three black SUVs roaring down the dirt road like demons.

“Keep shooting!” I shouted.

She fired again, but the gun clicked empty. “It’s out!”

“Then hang on.”

We burst from the trees into open field. I yanked the handbrake and spun the wheel. The car fishtailed, spinning in a cloud of dust. The SUVs closed in.

Hazel clutched my arm. “Liam—”

I didn’t think. I moved.

The moment the car stopped, I threw my door open, stepped out, and shifted.

Bones cracked. The world tilted. My hands lengthened into claws, vision bleeding into gold and silver. The wolf rose in me like fire through bone.

The nearest SUV swerved too late. I leapt, claws raking through the windshield. The metal screamed. The smell of gasoline filled the air.

Hazel stumbled out of the car, covering her ears as the wreck exploded. Heat tore across the field.

She looked at me, really looked—and froze.

“Liam…” Her voice broke. “You’re—”

I turned toward her, still half wolf, half man. My throat rumbled. “Run.”

But she didn’t.

Hazel

He wasn’t human anymore.

His skin shimmered like silver under the moonlight, fur crawling across his shoulders. His eyes, gold burning, found me even through the smoke.

He looked like a monster. But I couldn’t be afraid. Not of him.

Something in me said he’d never hurt me.

Then Arthur stepped out of the smoke.

He wasn’t alone. Two men flanked him - wolves in human form, eyes glowing faint gold under the haze. They stopped just behind him, like shadows waiting for command.

Arthur’s suit was spotless, not a single thread out of place. Even now, surrounded by fire and wreckage, he looked like he’d just walked out of a boardroom. He smiled when he saw Liam, the kind of smile that said he’d been waiting for this exact moment.

“Well,” he drawled, hands in his pockets, “the rumors were true.”

Liam growled - a low, dangerous sound that vibrated through the ground. His wolf side was fighting for control, the shift not yet complete. Half man, half beast, he stood between me and Arthur, his muscles tensing like coiled wire.

“Hazel,” Arthur said, tilting his head. “You’ve had quite a night. How does it feel to find out your boss isn’t even human?”

“Stay back,” Liam warned, voice guttural.

Arthur ignored him, eyes fixed on me. “You shouldn’t have gotten in his car. You have no idea what kind of monster he really is.”

I took a shaky breath. “And you do?”

“Of course.” Arthur smiled wider. “Because I made him.”

Liam lunged before he finished the sentence.

It happened too fast to process. One second, Arthur was standing there smirking, and the next, Liam had slammed into him, both of them hitting the dirt hard. Claws met flesh. Teeth snapped. The air filled with the sound of fury unchained.

The wolves behind Arthur moved, charging at me. I stumbled back, tripped, and hit the ground. The nearest one lunged.

Gunshots cracked through the air. The wolf staggered - Caleb’s voice echoed from the ridge. “Move, Hazel!”

He was running toward me, rifle in hand, eyes flashing silver. Another shot dropped the second wolf before it reached me.

Liam was still on Arthur, claws buried in his shoulder. Arthur grinned through the blood, grabbed Liam by the throat, and whispered something I couldn’t hear.

Then everything froze.

Liam stiffened. His grip loosened. Arthur shoved him off easily, like the fight had never mattered.

Caleb fired again, but Arthur blurred - one heartbeat he was standing by the wreck, the next he was right behind me. I felt his breath against my neck.

“Funny thing about fate,” he whispered. “It never chooses clean hands.”

He grabbed me by the wrist. Pain seared up my arm, cold and sharp, like ice burning through skin. A symbol glowed faintly where he touched me, a spiral of silver light etching itself into my skin.

Liam roared, breaking whatever spell had held him. He tackled Arthur again, sending both of them crashing through the flames. The explosion threw me backward, the mark on my wrist pulsing like it had its own heartbeat.

Caleb caught me before I hit the ground. “You’re hurt!”

“No,” I gasped, clutching my arm. “It’s—he did something—”

But the world spun. My vision blurred, silver and white bleeding into darkness.

Liam

Fire. Smoke. The smell of blood.

Arthur vanished into the haze, his laughter echoing long after his presence faded. I dropped to one knee, panting, my claws sinking into scorched earth.

Caleb ran up beside me, dragging Hazel’s limp form out of the heat. “She’s out cold. What the hell happened?”

“He marked her,” I said, voice rough. “A binding sigil. He’s claiming her.”

Caleb’s eyes widened. “That’s forbidden—”

“I know.”

I tore off what was left of my shirt, wrapping it around her arm. The sigil still glowed faintly beneath the fabric. I could feel it even from here, like static in the air, tying her life to mine in ways neither of us understood.

“She can’t stay here,” Caleb said. “If the Council gets wind of this—”

“They won’t.” I lifted her into my arms. She was light, too light. The scent of her blood made the wolf in me stir, but I forced it down. “We take her to the safehouse.”

Caleb hesitated. “Liam—”

“Now.”

He didn’t argue again.

We drove through the night in silence. The city lights were a blur against the windows, and Hazel lay in the backseat, pale, breathing shallow but steady. The moon was still high when we reached the edge of Silverridge - an old property built long before SilverCorp ever existed. My father’s house. The one I swore I’d never return to.

Caleb helped me carry her inside. The place smelled of dust and old memories. I laid her on the couch, brushing a strand of hair from her face. She didn’t stir.

“She’s bonded now,” Caleb said quietly. “Whether you wanted it or not.”

I turned away. “It’s not complete.”

“Not yet,” he corrected. “But you know what comes next. The mark will tie your energy to hers. Your instincts will start—”

“Enough.” My voice cracked the air. “I’ll find a way to break it.”

Caleb sighed. “You can’t undo what Arthur started. And if she turns—”

“She won’t.”

He looked at me for a long moment, then nodded slowly. “I’ll keep watch outside. You should rest.”

When the door shut behind him, I sank into the chair beside Hazel and stared at the bandaged mark on her wrist. Even through the fabric, I could feel it humming, alive. It responded to me, my pulse, my breath.

My curse. My bond.

She stirred once in her sleep, whispering something I couldn’t catch. My name, maybe. Or a plea.

I reached for her hand before I could stop myself. The glow under the bandage flickered softly, silver against my skin.

“Forgive me,” I murmured. “You were never meant to be part of this.”

Outside, a wolf howled again - distant, lonely, answered by another in the hills. Arthur’s voice carried faintly through the wind, mocking and cold:

“You can’t protect her forever, Alpha.”

I looked toward the window. The moon hung full and white over the treetops, bright enough to burn.

Hazel gasped awake, eyes wide… silver light bursting behind her pupils.

Liam froze. The mark on her wrist flared.

And in the reflection of the window, her shadow moved a second before she did.