Sleep didn't come easily anymore.I lay in Xavier's bed no. Our bed, even though it had never felt like ours staring at the shadows that danced across the ceiling. His scent hung in the air, pine and smoke and something that should have comforted me but only made the emptiness sharper.He hadn't returned again tonight.But I told myself it didn't matter because I've grown used to sleeping alone and the cold sheets beside me, waking in darkness with only my own breath for company. But the lie tasted bitter on my tongue.The bond hummed beneath my skin, like a constant reminder of what should have been but wasn't. My mark pulsed faintly with gold, not silver and I pressed my palm against it, feeling heat that had nothing to do with fever.Something was changing inside me. Something ancient and wild that I didn't understand.I closed my eyes and finally, I fell asleep then drifted into a dream. One moment I was in Xavier's room, the next I was standing barefoot in a forest bathed in moonlight. But this wasn't any forest I had ever seen. The trees towered above me, skeletal and beautiful, and between them, flames danced but didn't burn. It only glowed with a light that seemed to come from another world.I should have been afraid but I wasn't.Because the air smelled of smoke and pine, rich and intoxicating. My bare feet sank into earth that felt alive beneath me, pulsing with the same rhythm as my mark."You don't belong there."A deep rough voice cut through the silence like silk across skin. It felt very familiar but I was very sure that I have never heard it before. I turned, and my breath caught.A man stood in the heart of the flames, surrounded by shadows. He was tall, much taller than Xavier with broad shoulders and a presence that commanded respect without demanding. His hair was dark as midnight, his skin kissed by flame, and when his eyes met mine, the world stopped.It was Amber, molten gold. The color of fire and honey and ancient power.Those eyes pinned me in place, seeing through me in ways that made me feel naked and whole at the same time."You don't belong to him alone," he said, stepping closer. The flames parted for him, bowing low as he moved.I to ask who he was, but my voice abandoned me. My heart pounded so loudly that I was certain he could hear it.He moved like a predator—graceful, deliberate, dangerous. Each step brought him closer until I could feel the heat radiating from his skin, until his scent wrapped around me and made my newly awakened wolf whimper with recognition."Who are you?" I finally managed to whisper.His lips curved into something that wasn't quite a smile. "You know who I am. Deep down, you've always known."The flames around us rose higher, dancing between the trees. I should step back. Should run. But I was rooted to the spot, caught in the gravity of him."I don't understand," I breathed."You will." He reached out, and though he didn't touch me, I felt his presence like fire against my skin. The air between us crackled with energy, alive and electric. "You're not his, little Luna. You were never meant to bow."The words should have angered me because I was mated and bound to Xavier in front of the entire pack. But something in my soul responded to this stranger's voice, recognizing truth in words that should have felt like lies."I'm mated," I said, but my voice wavered. "The bond is sealed.""Is it?" He stepped closer still, until only inches separated us. This close, I could see flecks of crimson in his amber eyes, could feel the barely leashed power that surrounded him. "That is a bond sealed by tradition and duty. But what about destiny, Luna? What about the fire the Goddess placed in your veins?"His hand hovered near my neck, and my mark blazed to life beneath his nearness. Golden light erupted from my skin, illuminating the space between us. The flames around us surged higher, responding to the power awakening inside me."What's happening?" I gasped as heat flooded through my body. Not painful, but overwhelming. Like something caged inside me was finally breaking free."You're remembering," he murmured. His fingers brushed the side of my neck, barely touching, yet the contact sent lightning racing through every nerve. "Remembering what you are. What you were always meant to be."The mark burned gold, brighter than I had ever seen it. Light exploded beneath my skin, and I saw flashes and images that weren't memories but felt like them anyway. Ancient wolves with flames dancing in their fur. A bloodline older than the packs themselves. Power that could burn the world or save it.Flameborn."You feel it now, don't you?" His voice was softer now, almost reverent. "The fire isn't a curse, Luna. It's your birthright."I wanted to deny it. I wanted to tell him he was wrong, that I was just broken, cursed, the wolfless girl everyone pitied. But the power humming beneath my skin said otherwise."I don't understand any of this," I whispered. Tears burned behind my eyes now. Frustration, fear, something that felt dangerously close to relief. "I don't know what I am.""Then let me show you."He leaned in, his lips hovering near mine. Not quite touching, but close enough that I could feel his breath, warm and intoxicating. The world narrowed to just this moment, just the two of us wrapped in golden fire."You're not broken," he breathed against my mouth. "You're not cursed. You're exactly what the Goddess intended. You are perfect, powerful. You are mine."That last word should have terrified me, probably made me pull away. But when his lips finally brushed mine, the world exploded.The kiss was nothing like Xavier's. It wasn't restrained, or careful. It wasn't weighed down by duty and doubt. This was wildfire and freedom, raw and consuming and impossibly right. The flames around us surged higher, responding to the connection between us. I felt his heartbeat sync with mine, felt the ancient bond that had nothing to do with ceremony or tradition.This was what the bond should feel like. What I'd been missing.My hands found his chest, feeling hard muscle beneath fabric that seemed to melt away under my touch. He made a sound low in his throat. Not quite a growl, deeper and more primal and I felt it vibrate through my entire body."Find me," he whispered against my lips. "Find me, Luna of the Fire Moon."The forest began to fade, the flames dimming. I tried to hold onto him, onto this feeling, but he was slipping away like smoke through my fingers."Wait!" I gasped. "I don't even know your name.""Kael." His voice echoed as the dream fractured around me. "My name is Kael. And I'm coming for you."---I woke with a scream trapped in my throat.The room was dark except for the dying embers in the fireplace. My body was drenched in sweat, the sheets tangled around my legs. My heart raced so fast I thought it might burst from my chest.But it was the scent that made me freeze.Smoke. Real smoke, not imagined. Faint but unmistakable, clinging to my skin like he'd actually touched me.My hands shook as I pressed them to my face. The mark on my neck throbbed with heat, pulsing gold in the darkness. I scrambled out of bed and rushed to the basin, splashing cold water on my face, my neck, trying to wash away the phantom feeling of his touch.It didn't work. The warmth remained, branded into my skin."What's happening to me?" I whispered to my reflection in the water's surface.But I knew. Deep down, I knew.The door slammed open.I spun around to find Xavier standing in the doorway, half-dressed, his eyes wild. His chest heaved like he'd run here, and his silver-gray eyes scanned the room before landing on me."Who were you calling for?" His voice was rough, dangerous.My stomach dropped. "What?""Don't even try it." He crossed the room in three strides, grabbing my shoulders. "Don't lie to me, Samantha. You were calling out in your sleep. Who were you dreaming of?"I couldn't meet his eyes. Couldn't bear to see the hurt and fury warring in his expression."It was just a dream," I whispered."Just a dream?" He laughed, but there was no humor in it. "Then why do you smell like smoke? Why is your mark glowing gold instead of silver?"I looked down. He was right. The mark blazed beneath my skin, visible even through my nightgown, pulsing with a light that was nothing like the silver bond we shared."I don't know," I said honestly. "Xavier, I swear, I don't understand what's happening.""Another wolf." His grip tightened. "You're dreaming of another wolf. I can smell him on you."The accusation hit like a physical blow. "There's no one else. I haven't even left this room.""But he's been here, hasn't he? In your dreams. In your head." Xavier's eyes searched mine desperately. "Tell me I'm wrong. Tell me you don't feel it."I wanted to. God, I wanted to lie so badly. But I couldn't. Not when the truth was written on my skin in golden fire."I'm sorry," I whispered.He released me like I'd burned him, stumbling back. For a moment, he just stared at me—this powerful Alpha, this man who'd claimed me in front of his entire pack, looking utterly lost."The bond is mine," he said finally, voice cracking. "You're mine. The Goddess chose—""Maybe She chose wrong."The words escaped before I could stop them. Xavier flinched like I'd struck him."Or maybe," I continued, softer now, "She chose more than either of us understand."Silence filled the room, heavy and suffocating. Xavier's hands clenched into fists at his sides, every muscle taut with barely controlled emotion."Stay away from him," he finally said. "Whoever he is, whatever he wants, stay away from him. That's an order, Luna."He turned and walked out, leaving the door open behind him. His footsteps echoed down the hall until they faded to nothing.I sank onto the bed, pressing both hands over my face. But I could still smell smoke on my skin, still feel phantom lips against mine, still hear that deep voice echoing through my mind.Find me, Luna of the Fire Moon.The mark pulsed once more, bright and insistent, and I knew with bone-deep certainty that everything was about to change.
