Sana didn't wait to understand.
The moment the howls shattered the silence, she ran.
Her legs burned as she sprinted through the forest, heart hammering, lungs heaving. The scent of wet earth and pine filled her nose, but beneath it, she could smell something darker.
Wolves.
Hunting her.
The world blurred around her, but her body moved like it knew what to do—dodging low-hanging branches, leaping over fallen logs.
She wasn't just running.
She was being chased.
And she wasn't fast enough.
A snarl ripped through the night. Closer.
Sana risked a glance over her shoulder—and regretted it immediately.
Glowing golden eyes cut through the darkness. Three wolves. Large, fast, their hulking forms barely visible between the trees.
Closing in.
A voice in her mind screamed: Move!
She lunged forward, pushing harder, faster. The air tore through her lungs, but it didn't matter. The instinct to survive was stronger than the pain.
She needed to get away.
But her body was changing.
A deep burning spread through her limbs, her muscles locking, seizing. It felt like her very skin was fighting her. Something inside her wanted out.
She gritted her teeth. Not now.
A wolf lunged.
She dropped low on instinct, rolling as claws slashed through the air where her head had been a second ago. She hit the ground hard, her shoulder screaming in pain, but she forced herself back to her feet.
The wolves had herded her.
She skidded to a stop—a sheer rock wall loomed ahead. Too steep. Too smooth.
A dead end.
A deep growl rumbled behind her.
Sana's breath came fast and sharp. Her heart slammed against her ribs.
She had seconds before they struck.
Something inside her snapped.
The burn in her veins turned to fire, searing through her spine, her hands, her teeth. Her vision blurred—then sharpened. She smelled the wolves' breath, the blood under their claws.
She was changing.
And for the first time, she wasn't sure she could stop it.
Sana's breath tore through her throat, ragged and uneven. Trapped.
The wolves circled her, golden eyes gleaming with predatory hunger. Not wild.
Controlled.
Their bodies were too large, their movements too precise—pack-trained. And that meant someone had sent them.
The thought barely had time to register before the wind shifted.
Sana froze.
Something worse was coming.
Footsteps.
Not the soft padding of wolves, but the slow, deliberate stride of men.
Her pulse spiked.
A new scent filled the air. Not just fur and blood—but iron, steel, and something bitter. Magic.
Hunters.
From the shadows of the trees, three figures emerged.
Tall. Cloaked in black. Their faces obscured, but their presence was suffocating. They walked without fear, their hands resting on weapons made of silver.
The wolves that had been hunting her whined and backed away.
Not out of submission.
Out of fear.
Sana swallowed hard. Why were the wolves afraid of them?
The tallest of the hunters stepped forward. His hood fell back, revealing sharp, angular features. His eyes were like molten gold.
A wolf's eyes.
But he was no wolf.
He smiled. "You ran fast." His voice was calm. Too calm. "But not fast enough."
Sana's nails dug into her palms. "Who are you?"
"Doesn't matter," the hunter said. He tilted his head, studying her. His gaze lingered on her shaking hands. On the way, her body threatened to shift.
"You don't even know what you are yet," he mused. "Do you?"
Sana gritted her teeth. She didn't.
But she wasn't about to tell him that.
The second hunter took a step closer. His fingers brushed against the hilt of a blade at his hip. The silver edge glinted in the moonlight.
Sana's heart slammed against her ribs.
This was not just a hunt.
They weren't here to take her.
They were here to kill her.
Panic surged through her veins. She had to move.
Now.
But before she could, the leader raised a hand.
The air shifted—thickened.
Sana's body locked up. A sharp, crushing weight bore down on her, her limbs seizing as an unnatural force held her in place.
Magic.
Her breath hitched.
They're using magic against me.
The leader's smile widened. "Don't struggle." He stepped closer, the silver dagger gleaming in his hand now.
"This will be over soon."
No.
Something snapped inside her.
A raw, feral power surged up from the depths of her bones—ripping, tearing, demanding to be free.
The hunters' smiles vanished.
Then Sana let go.
Sana's body trembled as the power inside her surged.
Her muscles burned, her skin stretched too tight—like something inside her was trying to break free.
The lead hunter raised his silver blade, golden eyes gleaming with triumph.
"Poor thing," he murmured. "You were never meant to survive."
Then the wind howled.
The air split apart as something massive slammed into the clearing—a blur of speed and claws, shadow and fury.
A snarl ripped through the night.
The hunter barely had time to turn before Kael struck.
His body moved with lethal precision. One moment he was a storm of motion—the next, he had the hunter pinned against a tree, claws pressing against his throat.
"Not tonight," Kael growled.
The other two hunters reacted fast, their silver weapons flashing.
Too slow.
Kael twisted, kicking one hard in the ribs—sending him crashing into the undergrowth. The third hunter lunged, but Kael caught his wrist and snapped it with brutal efficiency.
The wolf-trained hunters hesitated.
And that was all the time Kael needed.
He turned toward Sana. Their eyes met.
Golden against silver.
Her breath hitched.
The way he looked at her—like he knew her. Like he'd been looking for her.
She barely had time to process it before he grabbed her wrist.
"Move."
He pulled her with him, fast, reckless. Sana stumbled but kept pace, her body still burning from whatever was happening inside her.
Behind them, the hunters recovered.
"After them!"
The wolves lunged.
Sana barely had time to brace herself before Kael shoved her forward.
"Run!"
Her instincts screamed, but this time, she didn't run alone.
Kael was at her side, his presence a shield against the chaos behind them. His grip was firm, steady—like he would never let go.
The night was still full of danger.
But for the first time, Sana wasn't facing it alone.
x-x-x-x-x
The night pressed in around them, thick with damp earth and the scent of pine.
Sana's breath came in short, sharp gasps as she stumbled to a stop, her back hitting the rough bark of a tree. Her legs trembled. She could still feel the hunters' magic clinging to her skin, choking her.
Kael stood a few feet away, listening. Watching.
His golden eyes scanned the darkness, sharp and calculating. He didn't look tired. Or afraid. Just... dangerous.
"We're clear," he murmured at last. His voice was low, steady. Like he wasn't just talking about the hunters—but something more.
Sana's pulse still hammered against her ribs. "Who the hell are you?"
Kael turned to face her fully. Up close, he was even more unnerving.
Tall. Strong. Broad shoulders clad in dark leather. A warrior's build—but his movements were too fluid, too precise. Like he wasn't just a fighter, but a predator.
"My name is Kael," he said simply.
Sana narrowed her eyes. "And you just happened to be out there when those... things came after me?"
His jaw tensed. "They weren't things. They were Lucien's hunters."
The name sent a shiver down her spine.
Lucien.
She didn't know why, but just hearing it made her chest tighten with something cold and sharp.
She lifted her chin. "I don't know what they want from me."
Kael's expression darkened.
"Yes, you do."
Sana's breath caught. His voice was softer now. Not accusing, but... certain. Like he knew something she didn't.
She shook her head. "I don't. I don't even know who I am."
Something flickered across his face—a flash of something raw, something almost like pain.
She didn't understand it.
Kael exhaled, dragging a hand through his dark hair. He took a step closer, his presence suddenly too much.
"Then listen to me," he said quietly. "Because this is the only chance you have to survive."
Sana's fingers curled into fists at her sides. "Survive what?"
Kael's gaze didn't waver.
"You," he said.
She went still.
Kael took another step closer, towering over her now. "You don't remember, but they do. Lucien does. And if he gets his hands on you—"
He stopped himself, his teeth clenching.
Sana's heart pounded.
Something about the way he said it—like he had seen this before. Like he had lived through it.
The silence stretched.
Finally, Sana whispered, "What am I?"
Kael didn't look away.
He didn't soften his voice.
"The last Moonborn," he said.
"Lucien's fated mate. And the only thing he's ever feared."
Sana's breath caught.
Her world tilted, spiraling out from under her.
Fated.
Hunted.
And powerful.
She had no memory of it. No memory of him.
But in that moment, staring into Kael's golden eyes, she realized something terrifying.
He wasn't just afraid for her.
He was afraid of her.