Elena's POV
The fire had died to embers but Elena couldn't sleep. The obsidian shard she had taken from the wolf's shoulder sat on her kitchen table, pulsing faintly like a corrupted heartbeat. She traced the strange mark on her palm the twisting vine of blue light that had appeared after touching it. Hallucinations she told herself Stress-induced. The wolf was just a wolf.
A floorboard creaked.
Elena froze, her hand closing over the shard. The cabin's silence thickened like a weight. Outside, the forest had gone too still no crickets, no wind. Just the thud of her pulse in her ears.
Then a snarl.
The window shattered.
Elena dove under the table as glass fell around her. A massive wolf jumped through the broken frame, its fur patchy and eyes glowing red. Two more followed, their thin bodies smelling like rot. These weren't like the silver wolf she had saved. These were wrong jaws too wide, claws black and cracked.
"Stay back" she shouted, holding up the shard like a knife.
The lead wolf jumped. Elena swung, the shard cutting its muzzle. It howled and pulled back as black smoke rose from the wound. The others circled, snarling but unsure.
Before they could attack again, a silver blur crashed through the door.
The wolf she had saved Silver tackled the largest one, his teeth locking onto its throat. Elena crawled backward, shocked. He moved like a storm, all anger and skill, tearing through the attackers like it was easy. When the last one lay still, he turned to her, golden eyes bright. Blood covered his fur but his wounds were… healing.
"You're not a wolf" she whispered.
He stepped closer, staring at the shard in her hand. A low whine came from him pleading, urgent.
"What do you want" she asked, her voice shaking.
Instead of answering, he bowed his head. His body started to change, bones cracking, fur fading into shadow. Elena stumbled back, breath stuck in her chest. Where the wolf had stood, a man now knelt naked, his skin covered in blood and ash.
"What the hell!" she breathed.
He looked up, his eyes the same molten gold as the wolf's. "You shouldn't have kept the shard"
Elena's grip tightened on the black fragment. "Explain. Now"
Before he could speak, a woman's laugh slipped through the broken window.
"Touching" came a voice like poisoned honey. A figure stepped into the moonlight tall, graceful, her red gown moving like fresh blood. "The mighty prince turned into a human's guard dog"
The man prince? growled, pushing Elena behind him. "Selene"
"Did you really think you could hide her" The woman's eyes moved over Elena, stopping at the glowing mark in her palm. "The bond is already made. How sad and sweet"
Elena's mind raced. Bond? Prince? None of it made sense but the fear in the man's stance was clear.
"Run" he said to Elena, eyes still on Selene "Take the shard and run"
Selene's smile grew. "Oh she's not going anywhere"