The woman ran with no strength left, her blonde hair snagging on branches as she passed."THERE’S NO POINT IN RUNNING, CANARY," she heard one of the lycans roar at her.

She was already exhausted. Four of them were chasing her. She reached the top of a hill—there was no more hope. They appeared in front of her, massive and transformed into beasts.

"We’ve got you!" one of them growled.

Her hope was gone. This was the end. She was ready to surrender, but then… another sound came from the forest. They all turned their eyes toward the trees. And from the shadows, he emerged—an enormous red wolf, his eyes burning like fire.

He roared with pure fury at the lycans, threatening them. They fled, vanishing into the woods. She was left alone with the enormous wolf, who soon shifted into a tall, striking man with fiery red hair and a body of carved muscle. He was… naked.

Noticing her stare, she quickly turned away, her face burning hot. Still facing the other direction, she heard a low, husky chuckle.

"Forgive me, but unfortunately, clothes don’t stay on me when I shift."

Her heart skipped violently. Nervous, she noticed that a large part of her dress was torn. Tearing off a piece, she tossed it to him without looking back.

Another amused chuckle.

"Thank you." After a pause, his voice came again. "I’m decent now."

She turned, still nervous, but the fabric now covered his lower body. His lips curved as he saw the blush on her face.

"Th-thank you for helping me… They often chase me, but never like this."

His jaw clenched.

"They deserve death."

She looked into his eyes—and flinched at their golden hue.

"Yes." His lips twisted into a faint smile.

"I am Vahem," he said curtly.

"Canary. I’m Canary D’rue." Her eyes seemed to shine.

"Canary… You sing, don’t you?"

She froze at his question. No one knew she sang. It was something she only ever did alone, here in the forest.

"A… a little."

"I could tell. You have the voice of a nymph when you sing."

Her heart pounded again.

"Isn’t it dangerous? Coming here alone? Where is your family?" His words pressed on her chest like a weight.

"I… I never knew my father, and… my mother passed away some time ago." Saying it out loud felt awful, especially to a stranger.

"I understand. I’m alone as well," he said with quiet sorrow. "But sometimes… we just have to find a way through things, don’t we?"

Her heart raced again at the faint smile on his lips, though she quickly looked away. Then he asked:

"Do you live around here?"

She shrank slightly. It was a bitter truth—she hated living there.

"Unfortunately, yes. But… I have a dream of…" She stopped abruptly, embarrassed.

"Tell me. You can tell me, Canary." The way he said her name gave her courage.

"I… I want to live in the Blue Capital. My mother used to tell me stories about it. It’s a good place… without these monsters. I’m saving money to go there. I don’t want to live here anymore."

For some reason, Vahem stared at her strangely.

"That’s quite a dream. I hope you make it come true."

She smiled faintly, but quickly looked away.

"Thank you for helping me, but… I should go."

He seemed like he wanted to say something, but stayed where he was, watching as she climbed the slope to leave.

"Things will get better, Canary," he said softly. And for some reason, her heart stirred.

                                 —---

When she arrived at her cabin deep in the forest, Canary noticed that the door had been forced open. She rushed inside, desperate, and ran straight to the storage room. There she saw that all her food for the winter had been destroyed. She had no supplies left. Panic rose within her, but then she remembered that there was a village nearby. She grabbed a few coins and set off toward the village in search of food.

---

The village was ruled by a violent and controlling alpha. Canary quickly bought what she needed and prepared to leave immediately. But before she could go, she felt a strong, authoritarian presence. Everything seemed to stop—everyone stopped. And when she turned around, she saw the alpha. Tall, pale-skinned, with eyes as black as the night and dark hair. He slowly approached her.

"What is your name?" His voice was strangely powerful and intimidating.

"C-Canary… Alpha." Her lips curved slightly upward.

He stepped closer, circling her as if searching for something.

"You are beautiful. Too thin… but beautiful." She shrank slightly as everyone stared at her.

"Are you from here?"

"No, I live in the forest." He frowned.

"Interesting," he purred into her ear. "Are you married?"

She swallowed hard.

"No, Alpha."

"Do you have a family?" Again, she shrank back.

"No… my mother died of fever." His eyes gleamed.

"I want you to be mine."

She looked at him in shock.

"What?!"

"You are beautiful. I want you to be my wife." His voice was full of possession. He was serious. Canary wanted only to run.

"NEVER!"

"Never?" He laughed. "That’s not how things work, Canary… You’ll soon discover that." He grabbed her chin. "I want you. I will have you!"

She tried to run, tried to fight back. But there was nowhere left to go. The lycans seized her by force and dragged her to a massive mansion in the center of the village. Her screams and scratches were useless. Even her desperate pleas for mercy did nothing.

She couldn’t believe this was happening. She didn’t want to marry him. She didn’t even know who he was. She just wanted to escape. But it was impossible—the entire village was surrounded by lycans, all of them much bigger and stronger than her.

---

Not much time passed before she found herself imprisoned in the mansion. Soon women dressed her in a dreadful wedding gown, and a man escorted her to the main hall. The place was filled with people, and the alpha stood at the altar waiting for her. When she saw him, she froze.

"If you don’t want to die, girl, you’d better walk," the lycan at her side whispered.

With her throat tight, she forced herself to walk toward the altar. Hot tears streamed down her face. Soon she was beside him, staring at him. The alpha smiled triumphantly.

"Begin," he ordered the man who seemed to be the pastor.

The man began speaking and speaking, but Canary couldn’t understand what was happening. All she could do was silently beg for help, her eyes searching the crowd. But everyone looked dead inside—cold.

Finally, the pastor finished and turned to her.

"Do you… accept the alpha as your husband and master?" There were no words. But the alpha’s gaze was icy. She would die—she would not accept death for him. Even if it meant marrying him.

"Yes…"

The alpha smiled. He nodded to the bishop, but before the man could finalize it, howls echoed through the air. The lycans in the room sharpened their senses. The alpha did the same. Someone burst through the entrance.

"THE HOUSE OF WORSHIP IS ON FIRE!" a lycan shouted.

Everyone rose to their feet.

"WE NEED HELP. IT SEEMS TO BE AN ATTACK, ALPHA." The alpha roared, glaring at her.

"GO, ALL OF YOU," he commanded, while Canary stood frozen.

Soon every lycan ran toward the exit. She wasn’t even sure she was breathing anymore. In the end, only she, the alpha, and two lycans remained. The alpha watched her strangely.

Howls and screams echoed again, and suddenly every torch in the hall went out. The two lycans transformed, positioning themselves in front of the door. Then it burst open, thrown far across the floor.

There he was—Vahem. In his beastly form.

The lycan’s mouth dripped with blood. The two guards lunged at him, but in moments he immobilized them, snapping their necks and tossing them aside.

Canary screamed. The alpha laughed.

"So there you are… Rouge. Who would have thought you still hold so much resentment?" The alpha growled, and so did Vahem. "Face me like a man, you bastard."

But Vahem remained in his beastly form. The alpha seized Canary by the waist.

"She is mine."

Vahem roared. The alpha laughed.

"Good, then let’s end this."

Canary fell to her knees, trembling.

With incredible speed, Vahem charged toward them. Canary felt a crushing weight against her back. Everything blurred, everything went dark. Her eyes were closed, and then suddenly she felt herself moving—fast, impossibly fast.

When she opened her eyes again, she was on top of him. Vahem, still in his beastly form, was running into the forest. Behind them, she heard the alpha’s screams and howls echoing through the night.