Lydia
Flames licked beneath my skin, curling through my veins like molten fire, twisting and coiling toward my core.
Something was wrong. So, so wrong.
The distant laughter and clinking glasses of the Silverlight Masquerade warped into a dull hum. My pulse roared in my ears, drowning out the music as I stumbled deeper into the forest. Each breath came in short, ragged gasps, my chest rising and falling too fast.
I was burning.
Not with fever, not with pain.
This was something far worse.
A hunger, a need, raw and primal clawed at my insides, demanding. My body screamed for release.
The air was thick with the scent of unmated wolves, but my instincts howled in protest. This wasn't what I needed.
Not a single scent called to me. Not a single presence soothed the unbearable ache tearing through my body.
The very idea of being touched by any of them sent a violent shudder down my spine. My instincts-whatever they were-weren't just resisting.
They were rejecting.
A deep, gut-wrenching rejection that sent waves of unease crashing through me.
The hunger inside me was real, the unbearable ache clawing at my insides was undeniable. But it wasn't for them. Not for any of them.
Their scents suffocated me. Their presence made my skin crawl.
This wasn't how it was supposed to be.
Or... was it?
Was my wolf finally awakening?
But if that were true, why couldn't I shift?
A shudder ripped through me. I didn't have the answers, but I knew who could help me tonight.
Theo.
I need to find him ASAP.
He told me his wolf recognizes me as his mate. Even though I am wolfless and have never felt the pull or bond, I know he would never lie to me. That thought became my lifeline.
The cave—our secret place. He would be there.
I just needed to make it there, escaping all these hungry stares along the way.
Suddenly, a huge blast rang out behind me, shifting my focus to the ball and a voice rang, clear and merciless.
"Let the hunt begin!"
My entire body tensed, instincts screaming at me to run.
A tremor racked my frame, a blur of shifting figures, eager eyes looking for she wolves to mate.
No...
They were coming.
Panic surged through me, cutting through the heat just enough to force my body into action. Fisting the layers of my skirts, I bolted into the woods.
The cold night air kissed my fevered skin, but it did nothing to ease the unbearable heat coiling in my veins. My limbs felt weak, my senses hazy, yet at the same time, I was painfully aware of every rustling leaf, every shift in the wind. My body wasn't my own anymore-it was controlled by something primal. Something insatiable.
A distant howl pierced the night, sharp and eager. Then another.
They were close. Too close.
My scent was spreading, and I wasn't the only one who noticed.
Panic spiked through me, cutting through the haze for a fleeting second. I wasn't safe here. I needed to run, to hide before someone-anyone-found me.
The world tilted as I forced my legs to move, the soft fabric of my gown snagging against the underbrush. My bare feet stung as I stumbled over twigs and rocks, but the dull pain was nothing compared to the fire roaring through my blood.
Another howl-closer this time.
Voices. Footsteps. They were near me.
"I saw her running this way," a male voice echoed through the trees.
Panic slammed into me, sharp and cold despite the fire raging beneath my skin. My vision blurred, tunneling toward a single thought-the cave. It was close. Just a little further. I forced my legs to move, pushing through the thick underbrush.
But then-
Shadows loomed ahead.
"Look at this," a deep voice drawled from the darkness. "She smells divine."
I barely had time to turn before I crashed into someone-a broad-shouldered man whose grip was firm, fingers digging into my waist as he inhaled deeply.
"Where are you running, sweetheart?" another voice murmured behind me.
I twisted, trying to shove them away, but my limbs felt too weak, betraying me just as my body did.
A hot breath ghosted over my ear. "I can help you with that ache."
"No-" I choked out, jerking back just as one of them reached for my mask. Dark eyes gleamed with hunger beneath the moonlight.
Their heat surrounded me, suffocating.
"Let's just decide who gets her," another murmured, lips brushing the shell of my ear.
Terror coiled in my gut. This wasn't unheard of at the masquerade. Unmated wolves in heat were often claimed without choice, forced into bonds they never wanted. A brutal, unspoken rule of our world.
And now, I was caught in it.
The air grew thick with tension as they released me, shifting their focus. Their hunger was no longer just for me-but for dominance.
The hunt had begun.
I stumbled back, chest heaving as they circled each other, sharp teeth flashing. The strongest among them would claim me, not just as a mate-but as a prize.
Then, the fight broke out.
Growls and snarls filled the air as they lunged at one another, muscles tensing, claws swiping. The scent of aggression and desperation clung to them like a second skin.
I sucked in a breath, heart pounding as I scanned for an opening. If I was going to escape, this was my chance.
Slowly, I inched backward, careful not to draw attention. But just as I turned to run-
"Look! She's trying to escape!" someone shouted.
My blood ran cold.
I pushed off the ground, sprinting as fast as my shaky legs would allow. Then something snagged my ankle, slipping me into a fall.
A sharp cry tore from my throat as I crashed forward, bracing for impact against the unforgiving ground. But instead of hitting dirt and stone, I collided with something firm.
Someone.
Strong arms wrapped around me, steady and unyielding.
A deep, guttural snarl tore through the air, reverberating through the chest I was pressed against. The arms around me stiffened, their grip tightening possessively.
The tension in the air shifted.
And for the first time since this nightmare began, a different kind of awareness jolted through my body.
Theo.
Relief flooded me as I slumped against the man holding me.
He was here. He found me.
"Touch her again," he growled, his voice a low, dangerous threat, "and I'll rip your hearts out."
The wolves hesitated, but only for a second.
One of them snarled. "She isn't marked-"
A blur of movement.
A sickening crack echoed through the night as my attacker's body was thrown against a tree. The other wolves barely had time to react before Theo was on them, tearing through them with ruthless, effortless precision.
Blood splattered the ground. Snarls filled the air.
And then-silence.
I swayed on my feet, my head spinning as he turned toward me.
My pulse stuttered.
Even through my haze, I felt it-the pull. The bond.
He was mine.
Theo.
The realization hit me like a crashing wave-familiar yet completely foreign. This was the first time I had felt this pull, and yet, it was as if my soul had always known. As if I had been incomplete all along, waiting for this moment to make me whole.
The need, the unbearable ache, only intensified.
I barely registered when he reached for me, his touch grounding me in a storm of chaos. Effortlessly, he lifted me into his arms.
My body melted against his warmth, surrendering instinctively. I buried my face in his chest, inhaling deeply.
His scent.
Safe. Powerful. Mine.
My mate.
He carried me into the cave. I barely registered the cool stone against my back when he set me down, his large hands framing my face.
"Are you hurt?" he rasped, his voice thick with something raw, something restrained.
I swallowed hard, shaking my head. My entire body was on fire, burning with a need I couldn't control. "No," I whispered. "I just... I need you."
His jaw tightened. His fingers flexed against my skin. "Are you sure you-"
But I wasn't listening anymore.
Not when my body ached, burned, screamed for him to come closer. Not when the fire inside me craved to be touched, to be consumed, to be his.
My fingers tangled in his shirt as I surged forward, my lips capturing his in a desperate, heated kiss.
He stiffened, his breath hitching. But then-
A deep growl rumbled from his chest, and his arms wrapped around me, pulling me into him.
My body melted against his solid warmth. The thin layers of fabric between us were unbearable, an unwanted barrier between my fevered skin and his. His hands burned against my arms, my waist-hot, grounding, teasing.
I shivered, not from cold, but from the electricity sparking between us. I needed more. Desired more.
He was holding back. I could feel it in the tension thrumming beneath his skin, in the way his fingers trembled slightly as they traced the edge of my gown.
Then-he shattered.
His hands roamed lower, rough fingers tracing over the delicate fabric of my gown, teasing, skimming, setting my skin aflame.
A strangled moan tore from my throat as his touch sent waves of pleasure surging through me.
Somewhere between the haze, I felt his breath against my ear, his lips tracing fire down my throat.
"I shouldn't-" he rasped, his restraint slipping.
"Please, Theo" I whispered, my voice breaking. "I need you."
The hesitation, the restraint he held just a second ago, vanished—burned away like it had never existed.
His gaze turned lethal, dark with possession. It wasn't just want, it was need, the kind that devours everything in its path.
The space between us didn't just disappear—it imploded.
There was no air, no reason, no past, no future.
Only this. Only him.
And he looked at me—like I was the only thing keeping him alive and the only thing he wanted to destroy.
"You don't even know who you belong to, do you?" His voice was deep, controlled and deadly.
His lips traced fire along my skin as he pressed me into the cool stone, his hands exploring, claiming. Every touch sent shocks of pleasure through me, every brush of his skin against mine setting me aflame.
Before I could react, his grip tightened, and then—heat, pressure, a sensation so consuming it shattered my thoughts. A sharp gasp tore from my lips, my body arching instinctively as his fingers reached inside me, giving slow and deliberate strokes.
"See?" His breath ghosted over my ear, satisfaction curling through his words. "Your body already knows."
A whimper escaped me, my mind slipping, drowning in the overwhelming pleasure, in him.
"Fight it all you want, princess," he murmured, his touch unrelenting, pushing me further into the abyss. "But by the time we are done, you'll beg to know my name."
Just as pleasure consumed me whole, just as I lost myself in him— only one thought lingered in the depths of my mind-
How could this happen?