The forest was too quiet. Eira Blackthorn crouched behind a thicket of gnarled roots, her breath forming small clouds in the cold mountain air. The scent of blood was fresh—sharp, metallic, and too heavy to be from prey. Something had gone wrong. Again.
The moon hung full and low in the sky, its eerie crimson glow filtering through the thick canopy. The Blood Moon. A night of omen and silence, where even the bravest wolves stayed near the heart of the pack. But not her. She wasn't allowed near the heart of anything.
Eira clenched her jaw and slipped forward, avoiding the dry twigs and brittle leaves that littered the forest floor. Her long coat, patched and faded from years of use, swayed around her legs like a shadow.
She found him bleeding at the base of a ravine. Kael Virek—Alpha of the Virek Pack, terror of the northern woods, a name spoken with reverence and fear—was barely conscious, his chest rising shallowly as blood pooled beneath his body. Gashes ran across his ribs and back. His wolf form was receding, fur shrinking into pale, battered skin as the man slowly emerged.
Eira froze. She should run. This was treason. This was death. She had no business here. But something tugged at her—not fear, not pity… something deeper. Like her blood was calling to his.
And then his eyes opened. Storm-silver, sharp and intelligent, even through pain. He tried to growl, but coughed instead, blood dribbling from his mouth.
"You…" he rasped.
Eira should've backed away, turned and vanished into the trees like she always did. But her legs moved toward him. Her hands, stained with herbal dyes and old scars, reached for his chest, pressing down on the worst of the wounds.
"You're bleeding too fast," she muttered. "You'll bleed out."
"I don't need your help." He gritted his teeth.
"You do," she said. "You just don't want it."
Lightning cracked through the sky, followed by the low rumble of thunder. Eira's heart pounded. She shouldn't be here. He would remember this. And when he did, she'd be hunted for laying hands on him without permission.
But something else was happening. As her palms pressed into his skin, warmth rushed up her arms. A glowing pulse—golden and ancient—blossomed beneath her touch. The mark, dormant since childhood, ignited on her skin like flame beneath the surface. A spiral of runes flared to life along her wrists and forearms.
Kael's body arched. His wolf snarled within him. But his eyes—those storm-gray eyes—locked on hers in stunned recognition.
"The Mark…" he breathed. "Impossible."
Eira staggered back, the glow dimming. Panic clawed up her throat.
"What did you do?" he demanded, rising shakily to one knee.
"I—I didn't—" she choked out. "I didn't know—I swear!"
But he wasn't listening anymore. His gaze was fixed on the symbol burning on her arm: the Alpha's Heart. The mark of the one destined to command the uncommandable. The one meant to be his undoing.
"I should kill you," he growled.
"But you won't," she whispered. They both knew it. The bond had begun. The curse—or the prophecy—was real.
The wind shifted. Voices rose in the distance—other wolves. The hunting party. Eira's heart slammed against her ribs. If they found her here, with the Alpha wounded and marked, they'd tear her apart before sunrise.
Kael's body wavered. His strength was failing fast.
"If you die," Eira said slowly, "they'll blame me anyway."
She didn't wait for permission. She pulled his arm over her shoulder and helped him stand. Kael groaned, but let her guide him up the ravine trail, blood trailing behind them like ink.
"Why would you help me?" he asked, voice like broken glass.
"Because I'm tired of running from who I am," she said. And because deep down, something inside her whispered that this night would change everything.
They reached the mouth of a hidden cave—a place Eira had used many times to tend injured animals and fugitives. As she laid Kael down, rain began to fall in sheets outside. Thunder roared.
He watched her from the stone floor, too weak to lift his head now. His breath rasped.
"You don't even know what you've done."
"No," Eira admitted, kneeling beside him. "But I know this—whatever just awakened… it didn't come from me alone."
Kael's eyes burned with a mixture of pain and curiosity. "You're the one," he whispered, his voice barely audible over the sound of the rain.
Eira didn't reply. Instead, she focused on tending to his wounds, her hands moving with a quiet efficiency. She knew that she had to get him stable, to keep him alive long enough to figure out what was happening.
As she worked, Kael's eyes never left hers. He seemed to be studying her, trying to understand what was happening between them.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Eira finished her task. Kael's wounds were bound, and he was stable. For now.
"Thank you," he said, his voice still weak. "I owe you one."
Eira shook her head. "You don't owe me anything," she said. "But we need to get out of here. The hunting party will be looking for you, and I don't think they'll be too happy to find me with you."
Kael nodded, his eyes narrowing. "You're right," he said. "We need to get moving."
As they prepared to leave, Eira couldn't shake the feeling that they were in grave danger. The hunting party was closing in, and she knew that they wouldn't hesitate to kill her if they found her with the Alpha.
But she also knew that she couldn't leave Kael to fend for himself. Not now, not after what had happened between them.
"Let's go," she said, helping Kael to his feet. "We'll figure out what to do next once we're safe."
Kael nodded, his eyes locked on hers. "I think we're in this together now," he said. "Whether we like it or not."
Eira's heart skipped a beat. She knew that he was right. Whatever was happening between them, it was clear that their fates were now intertwined.
As they made their way through the forest, Eira couldn't help but wonder what lay ahead. Would they be able to uncover the truth about the mark and the prophecy? Would they be able to survive the dangers that lurked in the shadows?
One thing was certain: their journey was just beginning, and Eira was ready to face whatever came next.
But as they walked, a figure watched them from the trees. A figure with eyes that glowed like embers in the dark.
The rogue leader had found them, and he was not happy.
"You're a hard woman to find, Eira Blackthorn," he said, his voice low and menacing. "But I've finally tracked you down."
Eira's heart sank. She knew that she and Kael were in grave danger. And she knew that they would have to fight to survive.
"Let's get out of here," she said, her voice firm. "We have a long way to go."
And with that, they set off into the unknown, ready to face whatever dangers lay ahead.