Sansa's POV
"Miss Moon," I gasped, my lungs burning as I tore through the trees, "is this situation not endangering enough for you?"
The moon loomed above the sky, bright and unbothered, shining like nothing in my world was falling apart. I didn't slow down, I couldn't afford to.
Branches scraped at my arms and roots snagged at my feet, but adrenaline kept me moving even when my body begged me to stop.
I tried again to reach for the shift and pull. For that familiar tightening under my skin that always came before bones cracked and fur followed.
But nothing happened. It was almost like I was grabbing at air now.
I felt panic curl curled tighter in my chest.
Was this body wolfless? Was Sansa wolfless?
That didn't make sense. It couldn't because the Moon Goddess had said I would be able to shift if I was in real danger.
And if this wasn't real danger, then what the hell was?
I groaned and veered sharply to the left, taking a narrower path through the woods. It was a stupid hope, but I clung to it anyway. If I could confuse Lucien, just for a little while, maybe I could buy myself time.
But even as I ran, I knew how pointless it was.
If he shifted fully, into his wolf form, he would find me in minutes.
That was why I changed tactics.
I doubled back suddenly, then cut right again, zigzagging through the trees, deliberately brushing against trunks and low branches. I wanted my scent everywhere. Scattered. Messy. It wouldn't stop him for long, but it might slow him down enough for me to disappear.
My legs were starting to shake when I risked a glance over my shoulder to check if he was still onto me.
That was when my foot struck a stone.
The impact sent me stumbling forward, my balance completely gone. A hiss tore out of me as I pitched toward the ground, bracing for the pain.
But it never came.
And I realized it was because a hand had clamped around my arm. Strong enough to halt my fall mid-motion, and then I was yanked backward so hard my back slammed into something solid.
For half a second, I thought I'd hit an invisible wall in the woods.
Then I realized it was a chest when the stranger's breath fawned down on me.
Before I could react, a hand clamped over my mouth, cutting off the scream that rose in my throat, while another arm wrapped around my waist, locking me in place. Pressing me fully against him.
"Stay still," a voice murmured close to my ear.
The words sent a jolt straight through me.
It was a man. I could tell from the grip, from the breadth of him, from the way I was completely trapped without effort on his part. And despite the fear racing through me, something traitorous fluttered in my stomach at the sound of his voice.
Butterflies.
It serenaded my body like a flame that spreads quickly at the contact of gas. But in his case, the butterflies was spreading all over my body and giving me goosebumps the longer he held me.
For a split second, I thought it was Lucien who had caught me because of the familiar reaction I felt in my body.
But I realized it wasn't him when I breathed in his scent, and his aura felt different from that of Lucien.
And when my eyes dropped, I caught a glimpse of fabric near my hands.
Lucien had been wearing a black suit, this person on the other hand was wearing red.
I had been so lost in his scent that the moment he lowered his hand from my lips and loosened his grip around my waist, I instantly found myself mourning the absence of his touch.
Lucien suddenly didn't matter at this point. The only thing that mattered was turning around and seeing the man who had just made me feel… safe.
So I turned, and when I faced him and saw who it was, my jaw dropped.
It was him, Cobra Koa.
"You," I breathed, horror slipping out before I could stop it.
His brows pulled together, confusion written plainly across his face. "You?" he echoed. "I don't remember that being the new language for thank you. Or is that how Omegas say it now?"
A scoff escaped me before I could rein it in. "Thank you? Why would I thank a jerk like you?"
He blinked once, then tilted his head. "Again, you keep using languages I don't understand." His lips curved slightly as he gestured between us. "At what point are you planning to thank me for saving your life?"
Then something in my words seemed to catch up to him.
He straightened slowly, causing his posture to shift and it made him look taller somehow. "You're talking like we've met before," he said carefully. "Have we?"
If we've met? You made my life a living hell, asshole.
The words burned at the back of my throat, begging to be released. But I swallowed them down and lifted my chin instead.
"If you're waiting for a thank you," I said evenly, "you're going to be waiting forever. Who grabs a girl like that and covers her mouth in the middle of the woods, huh?" I tilted my head at him.
His eyes darkened with something that looked dangerously close to amusement. "Thank me now," he said, taking a deliberate step closer, "or else."
I knew he meant to frighten me. I knew I should be scared.
But all I felt were those stupid butterflies again, fluttering wildly as the space between us turned slim.
Unbelievable. I huffed to myself.
He looked older now—mid-twenties, maybe older—and yet here he was, still just as petty as I remembered.
I stepped forward too, closing the distance until only an inch separated us. "And if I don't?"
His eyes flashed yellow instantly, indicating that his wolf had just surfaced. A threatening low growl tore from his chest.
The growl should have sent me cowering or flying, but instead, instead… And finally…
My own wolf came out and growled too. The sound surprised us both.
Koa froze mid-growl, his eyes darkening from yellow to something else.
Crimson.
And just like that, my own growl died in my throat as I stared at his eyes.
Only True Alphas had eyes like that.
Before I could even process what that meant, I felt her… my wolf. Or rather, Sansa's wolf stirring awake inside me. She surged forward, powerful and demanding, her presence filling my mind.
She was bigger than I expected for an Omega, even bigger than my own wolf in my previous body. And she was White as moonlight.
Wolves like her were rare. Legendary. Powerful in ways most packs only whispered about.
Before I could focus on her form in my mind, she whispered something.
"What?" I whispered back to her in my mind. I strained to listen to her more clearly, thinking maybe she was trying to tell me her name.
Just for her to yell out louder in a growl; "Mate!"
"Mate!" Koa said at the exact same time.
The words echoed heavily between us, seemingly closing the one inch gap that separated us.
And as much as this moment was surreal and one of a kind… I couldn't help but take a step back.
And then another, then another… untill I turned and began to run
Because there was absolutely no way in hell I was mated to my archenemy.
Cobra. Freaking. Koa.