The moon was high, silver and watchful, as Aidan and Eva emerged from the forest. They had left the cursed marsh behind, but not the memories. Each step toward the secluded cabin was a reminder of everything they had lost—and everything they had become.
Eva was different now.
Stronger. Quicker. Her senses sharp enough to hear the heartbeat of a bird in the trees. Her eyes glowed faintly even in shadow. And yet, it was the new rhythm of her soul that unsettled her most. Something primal pulsed beneath her skin—hungry, restless.
But when she looked at Aidan, it calmed.
He was her anchor. Her mate. The Alpha who had bled for her, fought for her, saved her.
Inside the cabin, firelight bathed the room in amber warmth. Aidan had rebuilt what the rogues had destroyed. The table stood upright again. The shattered vials had been swept away. Blankets lined the couch, and herbs simmered quietly near the hearth.
Eva stood in the doorway, her hair loose, eyes luminous. "It feels like years since I was here."
Aidan stepped close, brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "And you're not the same girl who left."
"No," she whispered. "I'm not."
He tilted her chin, studying her face. Her lips parted, her breath warm on his skin.
And then they kissed.
It was not tentative. Not restrained. It was the joining of everything they had held back—longing, fear, hope, hunger. His hands slid to her waist, fingers spreading over her ribs. Her own hands explored his chest, feeling the hard curve of muscle beneath his shirt. Every touch was fire on skin.
Eva pulled him closer, bodies pressed tightly. She could feel his heartbeat thundering. She tore at his shirt, needing to feel him. He let her, his own breath ragged.
They moved to the couch, limbs tangled, urgency rising.
Her lips found his neck, his collarbone, her teeth grazing skin in a teasing bite that made him gasp. She laughed softly, wild and free.
"You're dangerous now," he murmured.
"Always was."
He lifted her, holding her close as if she weighed nothing, and laid her down among the cushions. His hands explored every inch of her—hips, thighs, the dip of her back—his touch reverent, but hungry.
And then he stopped.
Eva blinked, breathless. "What's wrong?"
His gaze was serious. "We don't have to go further unless you're ready."
She reached for his hand and pressed it over her heart. "I want this. I want you."
Their bodies met again, heat rising, time vanishing. It wasn't just desire—it was connection. A claiming. A promise. Each touch was etched into memory.
But even as they joined in passion, something inside Eva stirred.
A heat, not of love, but of thirst.
Later, when they lay tangled together beneath the furs, Aidan sleeping peacefully, Eva's eyes remained open. Her skin still hummed from his touch. Her heart swelled with love.
But her throat burned.
The hunger was worse now. It wasn't just for food—it was for blood. For life. She had thought she could fight it, but she'd been wrong.
She slipped from the bed quietly and stepped outside. The woods whispered around her. Her senses snapped into focus—she could smell humans miles away.
Her body moved before her mind could protest.
She found him near a river—a lone hiker, tired, unaware.
"Hey," he said when she stepped from the trees. "You lost?"
She didn't answer.
He took a step closer. "You okay? You look pale—"
She lunged.
Fangs pierced skin. Hot blood filled her mouth. It was ecstasy. It was madness. It was too much.
When she pulled away, he was dead.
She stumbled back, horrified, blood on her lips, her hands.
And the hunger only screamed louder.
She turned, ran, faster than wind, back toward the cabin.
Aidan woke to the door slamming.
He stood, naked but alert, eyes adjusting. Eva was there—in the doorway. Her lips were stained red. Her eyes—no longer gold, but burning crimson.
"Eva?" he whispered.
She growled.
Then she attacked.
He barely blocked her claws as they raked for his throat. She slammed into him, throwing him across the room. He hit the wall hard. Blood dripped from his shoulder.
"Eva!" he cried, trying to reach her through the rage.
But she was gone—lost to instinct.
Her hands found his chest, pinning him down. Her fangs hovered at his neck.
"I don't want to hurt you," she whispered, trembling. "But I can't stop."
Aidan looked up at her—his mate, his love—eyes wide with pain and fear.
"Then fight it," he whispered. "Fight for me."
She screamed.
Eva hovered above Aidan, her fangs inches from his throat, his pulse a thunder in her ears. Her fingers trembled against his skin—not from rage, but conflict. She could smell his blood, taste his breath, feel the heat of his heart.
But she couldn't do it.
A sob choked out of her throat. The thirst inside her screamed, but something stronger—older—fought it back. Her body trembled violently, muscles seizing as her beast raged within.
And then, just like that, the craving began to fade. Not vanish, but lessen. Just enough for clarity to return.
Her hands flew off his chest.
She stumbled backward, hands clutching her hair, tears streaking down her blood-smeared face.
"I almost… I could've…" Her voice cracked.
Aidan slowly pushed himself up, his chest still rising in pained breaths. "You didn't. Eva. You stopped."
"No," she whispered, eyes wide, horrified. "I tasted death—and I liked it."
"You're stronger than—"
"I'm not!" she snapped, her voice cutting through the cabin like a blade. "You don't know what it's like! To want the person you love and… want to tear him open at the same time."
He approached her cautiously. "You're not a monster."
She flinched away from his hand. "Don't touch me."
"Eva—"
"I said don't!" she screamed, backing toward the door. "I don't want you to look at me like this. Not with pity. Not with love."
He froze, jaw clenching. "Where will you go?"
"Somewhere you can't follow."
"Eva, don't do this."
Tears glistened in her eyes. "If I stay, I'll kill you."
Then she ran.
Out the door. Into the woods. A blur of shadow and speed, her body still trembling, heart torn between grief and guilt.
She didn't stop for hours. Or days.
---
The village of Eldenbrook was quiet, nestled near the foothills, home to farmers, herders, and tradesmen. Peaceful. Too peaceful.
That peace shattered three nights later.
It began with livestock—drained and scattered, left in bloody circles. Then it escalated. A hunter disappeared. Then a child. On the fourth night, they saw her.
A woman with silver-streaked hair and eyes like burning coals. She moved like a blur, tearing through doors, dragging bodies into the woods. She devoured them—fast, wild, feral.
Word spread: a demon in the forest. A cursed wolf.
One elder remembered. The Alpha. The man who passed through seasons ago, hunting rogues and spirits.
They sent a rider.
---
Aidan hadn't left the cabin. He'd torn it apart that first night, raging at the stars, at fate, at himself. He could still feel her weight on him, the echo of her kiss, her hands. The fire between them.
And then her absence.
He was hollow when the rider arrived. Mud-covered, breathless. "You're the wolf lord?"
Aidan looked up slowly, eyes dull.
"There's a beast in Eldenbrook. A woman. She's… she's killing them."
Aidan stood. He already knew.
Eva.
He mounted his horse and rode with the wind howling behind him.
---
He reached the village at dusk.
Fires had been lit along the edge of the woods. Stakes. Traps. Children hidden indoors. Blood already stained the soil.
"She comes every night," the elder whispered. "Always alone. Always hungry."
Aidan nodded. "Leave the forest to me."
That night, the forest was still.
Until she arrived.
Eva.
She moved through the trees like a ghost. Her clothes were torn, her feet bare, and her face—blood dried at her mouth, her eyes burning bright with madness and grief.
She didn't see him at first.
Then she did.
She froze.
"Aidan…" Her voice was broken. "No."
He stepped forward. "You have to stop."
"I can't," she sobbed. "I tried. But it's too late."
He took another step. "No, it's not."
"I killed them. I enjoyed it."
"You were lost. You still are. But I can bring you back."
Her claws extended. "I'll kill you."
"Then do it." He dropped his arms to his sides, bare chest exposed. "Right here. End me. If there's nothing of Eva left, then kill me."
She lunged.
And he closed his eyes.
But she stopped.
She stopped.
Collapsed into his arms.
"I don't want to be this," she sobbed. "I don't want to hurt you."
He held her, burying his face into her hair. "Then let me help. Let me pull you back."