The drive into town should have calmed Mira. It didn't
Lila and the others were loud, laughing, arguing about where to eat — but Mira barely heard a thing. Her mind kept drifting back to the man in the shadows. The way he watched her like he already knew her. Like he had been waiting for her.
She tried to convince herself it was just her imagination.
But the burning mark on her wrist said otherwise.
As they reached the diner, Lila nudged her. "Babe, you look like someone stole your soul."
Mira forced a smile. "Didn't sleep well."
"Same," Lila sniffed. "Except mine was because my brother snores like a dying tractor."
Mira chuckled weakly, but her eyes drifted to the windows. Outside, the sky was still covered in thick lace-like clouds. Too dark for morning.
They slid into a booth. Mira ordered coffee, hoping it would settle her nerves. It didn't. Her hands wouldn't stop trembling.
"Mira, seriously," Lila said, leaning forward. "You look like you're gonna faint. Should I call your mom?"
"No." Mira's voice came out sharper than she meant. "No… I'm fine. It's just—"
The door of the diner opened.
A cold gust of wind swept in.
And Mira felt it before she saw him.
That presence.
Like gravity sharpening. Like the air tightening around her ribs.
Her body reacted before her brain did — her pulse shot forward, her blood hummed, her mark burned in warning and recognition all at once.
She turned slowly.
He stepped inside.
The man from the woods.
Even in the warm lights of the diner, he looked carved from night. Dark hair. Tall — impossibly tall. Shoulders broad enough to block out the world behind him. Eyes…
Silver.
Unmistakable.
Predatory.
His gaze found her instantly, like he had been tracking her heartbeat from miles away. Everything inside Mira froze. Her lungs forgot how to work.
He didn't smile.
Didn't blink.
He just watched her, expression cold, unreadable, dangerous.
Lila followed her stare. "Oh. My. God."
Mira didn't dare move.
The man walked past the counter without acknowledging anyone. Not the waitress greeting him. Not the customers staring.
He moved with the silent confidence of someone who feared nothing on earth.
Her mark pulsed violently under her sleeve.
As he passed her booth, he paused. Just slightly. Just enough that Mira felt the heat of him through the air.
He tilted his head… as if listening to something only he could hear.
Then his voice — deep, low, intimate — brushed her mind.
Not out loud.
Inside her head.
"Found you."
Mira flinched so hard her mug almost spilled. Lila's eyes widened. "Mira? Are you okay?"
But the man didn't look at her again. He simply walked to a shadowed corner near the window and sat… facing the exit. Facing her.
Watching.
Monitoring.
Claiming.
Her stomach twisted.
"Nope," Mira whispered, grabbing her bag. "We have to leave."
"Why?"
"Because—"
She swallowed hard. "—someone's watching me."
Lila glanced discreetly at the man and laughed nervously. "Babe, he's just hot."
"He's not—"
Mira lowered her voice. "—normal."
The air outside was colder than before. A storm was gathering — the kind that made the world too quiet.
As they reached the car, Mira felt the man's gaze burning into her back. She could almost feel his breath against her neck despite the distance. She hurried her steps.
That was when it happened.
A low growl ripped through the air.
Not human.
Not even close.
She spun around.
Across the street, a huge dark shape stood behind the diner's dumpster. Eyes shining. Shoulders too broad, too animal. A wolf — but larger than any natural wolf. Its lips peeled back, revealing long, wet fangs.
"Lila," Mira whispered. "Get in the car. Slowly."
"Please tell me that's a dog—"
"It's not."
The creature stalked forward, claws scraping asphalt.
Out of nowhere, the diner door slammed open.
The man.
His silver eyes flashed — glowing like molten metal. And his voice, lethal and commanding, cut through the air.
"Stay behind me."
The wolf lunged.
Mira screamed as the creature leapt at her — but the man moved faster than her eyes could follow, intercepting it mid-air with a snarl that wasn't human.
Not at all human.
A monstrous cracking sound echoed as he slammed the wolf to the pavement.
He wasn't just fighting.
He was dominating.
The wolf writhed, clawed, snapped — but he held it by the throat with one arm, muscles rippling with unnatural strength. His voice dropped into something primal.
"You dare attack her?"
The wolf whimpered.
Then the man twisted — and the creature shattered into a burst of black smoke, dissipating into the air like ashes.
Silence fell.
Mira's heart pounded. Her entire body shook. She stared at him — this stranger, this monster, this savior — with terror and something else she couldn't name.
He turned to her slowly.
His eyes softened by a fraction… but the wild danger inside them stayed.
He stepped closer.
So close she could feel the heat of him. His scent hit her — pine, smoke, dark earth, and something addictive.
His voice lowered, rough and intimate.
"Mira Hale."
Her name sounded dangerous in his mouth.
"Wh… who are you?" she whispered.
He reached out and gently took her wrist — the marked one — his touch strangely warm, almost electric.
When his fingers brushed the mark, it flared with blinding silver light.
Mira gasped.
He inhaled sharply, eyes darkening into something feral… sacred… possessive.
His voice dropped into a whisper that shook her soul.
"You shouldn't exist."
She froze.
"What?"
He lifted his gaze to hers — and for the first time, Mira saw emotion flicker in his eyes.
Fear.
And longing.
And something forbidden.
"You're Moonbound."
She shook her head. "I don't know what that means."
He stepped even closer, breath ghosting her lips.
"You're the last of a royal bloodline murdered eighteen years ago."
His jaw clenched.
"I've been searching for you for years."
Her world spun.
"Why?" she whispered.
His answer was raw, dark, and final.
"Because you're mine."