Kael's body shifted in front of mine so smoothly it took me a second to realize he'd moved at all.
One moment he stood beside me.
The next, he was between me and the trees—feet planted, shoulders squared, spine rigid with something primal and lethal. The air around him felt heavier, charged, as if the forest itself had drawn a breath and was holding it.
"Stay exactly where you are," he said.
It wasn't a suggestion.
The growl rolled through the shadows again—low, deliberate, intelligent. My stomach twisted. Whatever was out there wasn't stalking blindly. It knew we were here. It wanted me to know it knew.
My fingers curled into my jacket as shapes emerged from the darkness.
Wolves.
They stepped into the moonlight without fear, massive forms rippling with muscle beneath thick, dark fur. Their eyes glowed amber and sharp, fixed not on Kael—
—but on me.
A chill sliced through my chest.
"These aren't… normal wolves," I whispered.
Kael didn't take his eyes off them. "No."
One of the wolves tilted its head, studying me with unsettling focus. Then the world tilted.
She hears.
The voice didn't come through my ears.
It slid straight into my mind.
My breath shattered. "I—" My knees weakened. "I heard that."
Kael stiffened. "What did you hear?"
"The wolf," I said hoarsely. "It spoke."
Silence fell so abruptly it rang.
The wolves froze.
Kael turned his head just enough to look at me, disbelief and something dangerously close to awe flickering across his face.
"You're awake already," he murmured.
"Awake from what?"
The second wolf stepped forward, claws digging into the dirt.
Kael growled.
It wasn't human.
It wasn't pretend.
The sound vibrated through my bones, deep and ancient, a warning carved from instinct and power. The wolves immediately lowered their heads, ears flattening.
"This territory is under Shadowveil protection," Kael said coldly. "You crossed a boundary."
The first wolf lifted its head. The Hollow Fang answers only the blood.
My heart slammed violently.
"Blood?" I echoed.
Kael's body pulsed with restrained force. His eyes flashed gold—bright, molten, inhuman.
"She is under my protection," he said. "You will leave."
The wolves hesitated.
For one terrifying second, I thought they might lunge anyway.
Then the forest exhaled.
The wolves stepped back, melting into the trees like smoke, their eyes the last thing to vanish.
The silence they left behind was deafening.
I swayed.
Kael caught me before I hit the ground.
His hands were warm—too warm—fingers firm around my arms as he steadied me. The contact sent a shock through my system that had nothing to do with fear.
"You okay?" he asked quietly.
I nodded, even though everything inside me felt like it had cracked open. "They… they were talking about me."
"Yes."
"That wasn't comforting."
"I know."
He released me reluctantly, as if he had to force himself to step back.
"We need to move," he said. "Now."
We didn't speak as we left the city behind.
The farther we walked, the more the air changed—cooler, thicker, alive with something unseen. The forest welcomed Kael. I could feel it. Branches parted easily. Shadows seemed to lean away from him.
From me, they watched.
"Where are you taking me?" I asked finally.
"Somewhere shielded," he said. "Somewhere they can't track you easily."
"Track me how?"
He glanced at me. "Your blood."
I stopped walking.
"No," I said. "You don't get to keep saying things like that without explaining."
Kael halted, turning to face me fully. Moonlight filtered through the trees, catching the sharp planes of his face. He looked tired. Burdened. Dangerous.
"You don't want the truth all at once," he said.
"I don't want pieces," I shot back. "I want answers."
He studied me for a long moment, then nodded once. "All right."
We reached a clearing ringed by stone pillars carved with symbols that made my head ache if I stared too long. The air buzzed faintly, like energy humming beneath the ground.
"This place," I said slowly. "It feels… familiar."
Kael's expression tightened. "You've never been here."
"I know," I whispered. "But it feels like home."
"That's because it was meant to be."
My chest constricted.
Kael faced me fully now.
"You are not human," he said calmly.
The words hit harder than any scream.
I laughed once, sharp and disbelieving. "You're wrong."
"I'm not."
"My parents—"
"Protected you," he said. "At the cost of their lives."
The ache in my chest turned into something raw and burning. "You don't know that."
"I do," he said gently. "They ran so you could live."
I swallowed, throat tight. "Then what am I?"
Kael took a breath, as if steadying himself.
"You are the last living heir of the Moonbound Line," he said. "A bloodline older than any pack. Wolves sworn to protect humanity answer to that blood."
"That's insane."
"You heard them," he said. "They heard you."
My hands shook. "Why me?"
"Because your blood carries command," he said. "Balance. Authority."
"And you?" I asked. "What are you in all this?"
His eyes darkened.
"I am an Alpha," he said. "Bound by oath to find you, protect you, and ensure your survival."
"And if you fail?"
"Then the packs fracture," he said. "And humanity loses its shield."
Fear slid cold through my veins. "That's a lot to put on someone who just makes coffee for a living."
A corner of his mouth twitched faintly. "You won't be ordinary much longer."
The air shifted between us.
"You stepped in front of me back there," I said quietly. "Why?"
"Because it's my duty."
"That's not the whole truth."
His jaw tightened.
"The bond between an Alpha and the Moonbound heir is… complicated," he admitted. "It creates instinct. Pull. Protection."
"And the Council?" I asked.
"They forbid emotional attachment," he said. "Especially mine."
My heart skipped. "Why?"
"Because love makes alphas weak," he said. "And power dangerous."
Something warm and frightening unfurled in my chest.
"And you?" I asked softly. "Do you feel it?"
Kael's gaze dropped to my lips, then snapped back to my eyes.
"Yes," he said. "Which is why this is a problem."
A howl echoed in the distance.
This time, my pulse answered.
And deep inside me, something ancient stretched—awake, aware, and listening.
End of Chapter Two