Selene tried to convince herself it had been her imagination.
Crimson Hollow was just a sleepy little town, tucked away from the chaos she'd run from. She wasn't supposed to be obsessing over strange men with predator's eyes—or haunted by growls that made her body shiver instead of scream.
But it followed her.
In the morning fog curling against her window.
In the thick, untamed scent of the woods.
In the ache low in her belly that refused to fade.
She shook her head, brushing her wild chestnut curls out of her face as she walked the main road. The town seemed normal enough: men chopping wood, mothers hauling groceries, children skipping stones by the stream.
And yet...
Every step she took, she felt him.
Selene didn't know who he was—not really. But that one look in the market had stirred something deep inside her. His gaze had stripped her bare, like he'd seen her without clothing, without pretense. He hadn't looked at her.
He'd looked into her.
---
Kael watched from the woods.
Hidden. Still.
She didn't know it, but her scent had driven him mad for days. He'd tried to keep his distance—tried to ignore the mating pull. But it was becoming unbearable.
His wolf wanted her.
Worse—his man did too.
Kael growled under his breath. The pack would sense it soon. Especially Lira.
He needed to control himself before instinct took over completely.
---
That evening, Selene wandered again—drawn back to the forest trail like a moth to flame.
The path twisted beneath a canopy of thick trees. The last light of day filtered through the branches, painting the ground in gold and shadow. Her boots crunched leaves, her breath misted in the chill.
She shouldn't be out here.
But something inside her was hungry. For truth. For danger. For something she didn't yet understand.
She stopped near a moss-covered stone. Silence thickened.
Then—snap.
A branch broke behind her.
"Who's there?" she called, pulse quickening.
No answer. Just the wind.
She turned. The forest was empty. Yet... not. The air was alive, watching, waiting.
Another step. A breath behind her. A presence.
Then a voice—deep, low, and primal:
"You shouldn't be out here alone."
Selene spun—and there he was.
Kael.
Close. Too close. She hadn't heard him approach, hadn't sensed his footsteps. But now, he stood inches away, all heat and danger, carved from night and muscle. His eyes glowed golden in the dusk, catching on hers.
Selene's breath hitched. "You're the one from the market."
He didn't smile. He just stared, intense and unreadable.
"You've been watching me," she accused, but her voice betrayed her with a tremble.
"I've been...protecting you," Kael said slowly, like the words cost him something. "There are things in this forest you wouldn't understand."
"Like you?"
A flicker of something—pain, hunger, lust—crossed his face.
"I'm not what you think," he said.
"And what is that?"
He stepped closer, the scent of smoke and cedar rolling off him in waves. Her back hit a tree. He didn't touch her, but he didn't need to. His energy engulfed her like heat from a flame.
"I'm dangerous, Selene."
She froze. "How do you know my name?"
Kael growled low in his throat. The sound made her knees weaken.
"I've known it from the moment I smelled you."
Selene's stomach flipped. "That's not normal."
"I'm not normal."
Their eyes locked.
His hand lifted—slow, deliberate—and brushed a curl from her cheek. She flinched. Not from fear.
From want.
His thumb lingered near her lips. Her breath caught. Her body leaned in before her mind could stop it.
Kael's voice dropped, guttural and strained. "You have to stay away from me."
"Why?"
"Because the next time I touch you... I won't be able to stop."
She didn't blink. "Then why did you follow me?"
His eyes darkened.
"Because I can't stay away."
---
That night, Selene lay in bed, trembling—not from fear, but from need.
His voice.
His touch.
His raw hunger.
She could feel him under her skin, in her dreams, in every throb of her body. The heat curled low, deep, relentless. And when she finally fell asleep, she dreamed of the forest.
Naked skin under moonlight.
Claws in the earth.
Fangs brushing her throat.
A growl echoing in her chest.
A man's body pressed against hers—wild, dominant, demanding.
And when she woke, she was soaked in sweat, the name Kael whispered on her lips.
---