Chapter 2
Serena
Run, some distant part of my brain screamed.
But I couldn't move. Could barely breathe. The wolf took a step closer, lips pulling back from teeth that looked like they could snap my spine in half without effort.
This was it. This was how I died. Mauled by some kind of mutant wolf in a stranger's garden because I couldn't mind my own business.
The wolf was close enough now that I could feel the heat radiating off its body, could smell something wild and clean, like winter forests and snow. Its breath stirred my hair.
I closed my eyes, waiting for the pain.
It didn't come.
Instead, I felt something warm and wet against my palm. My eyes flew open to find the wolf's massive head lowered, pressing against my hand like—like a dog asking to be petted.
The glowing eyes had dimmed to something almost... gentle? The lips had covered those terrifying teeth. And it was making a sound, low in its throat, that was almost like a purr.
"What..." My voice came out as a whisper. "What are you?"
The wolf pressed harder against my hand, and without thinking, I started to stroke its head. The fur was incredibly soft, thick and warm. The wolf's eyes drifted half-closed, and that purring sound intensified.
"You're not going to eat me?" I asked it, feeling slightly hysterical. "Because five seconds ago I was pretty sure I was dinner."
It huffed—actually huffed, like it was amused—and pushed its head more firmly into my hand.
I couldn't help it. I laughed, some of the terror draining away into giddy relief. "Okay. Okay, you're just a really big dog. A really, really big dog. Who glows. That's fine. That's totally normal."
I was petting a wolf. A giant wolf. In a stranger's garden. At midnight.
My life had officially become a fairy tale.
The wolf suddenly went rigid under my hand. Its head snapped up, ears pricked forward, and before I could react, it had spun around and was racing back toward the house, disappearing through an open door in seconds.
"Wait—"
The door swung wider, and a man stepped out.
Oh.
Oh no.
He was tall—easily over six feet—and wearing nothing but a black silk robe that hung open to reveal a chest that looked like it had been carved from marble. The robe was barely tied at his waist, and as he moved down the steps toward me, I caught glimpses of abs that could have been featured in a fitness magazine.
His hair was dark and wet, plastered to his skull and dripping water down his neck and shoulders. Sharp cheekbones, a jaw that could cut glass, and eyes that were—
Gray-blue. Storm-colored. And currently fixed on me with an expression of cold displeasure.
I realized, with a jolt of horror, that I was staring. Had been staring for at least ten seconds, my mouth probably hanging open like an idiot.
My face went hot.
"See something you like?" His voice was deep, cold enough to frost glass.
"I—no—I mean—" Oh god, shut up, Serena. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—"
"You're trespassing." He came down the last few steps, and I had to tilt my head back to maintain eye contact. He smelled like that wolf had—winter and snow and something wild. "Who are you, and what are you doing on my property?"
"I was chasing a fox," I blurted out. "It looked hurt, but it wasn't, and then I saw your tree—the Lunar Laurel—and I just wanted to ask if—"
"What did you see?" The temperature of his voice dropped another ten degrees.
"What? I—I saw the tree, and then there was this wolf—"
His hand shot out, catching the back of my neck in a grip that made me gasp. Not quite painful, but firm enough that I couldn't pull away. His thumb pressed against my pulse point, and I felt it jump under his touch.
"Let go!" I tried to twist away, but his other hand caught my wrist, holding me in place with effortless strength. "I didn't—I just petted it! I didn't know it was yours!"
Something flickered across his face—surprise, maybe? His grip on my neck loosened slightly, and his eyes narrowed.
"You... petted it." It wasn't quite a question.
"I didn't know!" I was babbling now, fear making my tongue loose. "It came at me and I thought I was going to die, but then it just wanted to be petted, and I didn't think—"
"No," he agreed, his voice soft and dangerous. "You clearly didn't think."
His gaze dropped to my throat, and I felt the weight of it like a physical touch. His eyes fixed on the moonstone, and something changed in his expression—something I couldn't read.
"What is that?"
"It's my grandmother's," I said, trying and failing to pull away. "It's just a necklace. Please, I'm sorry I trespassed, I'll leave right now—"
His hand moved from my neck to the necklace, fingers brushing my collarbone as he lifted the stone. The touch sent a shiver down my spine that had nothing to do with fear.
"This..." He turned the stone in the moonlight, and I could have sworn it pulsed with light. "Where did you get this?"
"I told you, my grandmother—"
"I'm keeping it."
"What?" I jerked back, or tried to. His grip tightened. "You can't—that's mine!"
"It's the payment for your trespass." His fingers found the clasp at the back of my neck, and before I could stop him, the necklace came free.
"No!" I lunged for it, but he held it high, out of reach, and I was suddenly, painfully aware of how close we were standing. How much taller he was. How easily he could—
"Give it back!" My voice cracked. "You can't just—"
"I can do whatever I want." He lowered his hand, but only to tuck the necklace into the pocket of his robe. "This is my property. Those are my gates you walked through uninvited."
"Then I'll pay you!" I was begging now, and I didn't care. "I'll pay you for the trespass, I'll pay double, just please—"
"I don't want your money." His eyes met mine, and in the moonlight, I could have sworn they flickered blue. Ice-blue. Like the wolf's. "I want you to leave. Now. And if you're smart, you'll forget you were ever here."
He released me and turned away, walking back toward the house with long, unhurried strides.
"Wait!" I started after him. "We can work something out! I can—"
A man stepped out of the shadows—tall, broad-shouldered, wearing a suit despite the late hour. He moved to block my path, his expression professionally neutral.
"This way, miss," he said, gesturing toward the gate.
"But—"
"Now." The man in the robe didn't turn around, didn't even pause. "You have one minute before I change my mind about letting you leave at all."
The suited man's hand landed on my elbow—gentle but firm. "Please, miss. It's better if you come with me."
I let him guide me toward the gate, but I looked back over my shoulder. The man had reached the door. In the light spilling from inside, I saw him pull the necklace from his pocket, holding it up to catch the moonlight.
Then he turned, just slightly, and his eyes met mine across the courtyard.
They glowed. Actually, genuinely glowed, bright ice-blue in the darkness.
Then he was gone, the door swinging shut behind him with a sound of finality.
"Serena! Oh my god, where have you been?" Victoria grabbed my shoulders the moment I stumbled back into the ballroom, her face tight with worry. "I've been looking everywhere—what happened to your dress? And your shoes? Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine." My voice sounded distant, strange. "I just... went for a walk. Got turned around."
"A walk? Serena, you look like you've been wrestling in the bushes." She was examining me with increasing alarm, taking in my bare feet, the tears in my dress, the leaves in my hair. "Did someone—did anyone hurt you?"
"No! No, nothing like that. I just... I fell. In the woods. It's fine."
Victoria didn't look convinced, but she let it go, steering me toward the exit. "Come on, let's get you home. Your parents are going to kill me."
I let her lead me to the car, only half-listening to her worried chatter. My hand kept going to my throat, to the empty space where the necklace should have been.
That's mine. You can't just take it.
I can do whatever I want.
The car pulled away from the estate, and I watched the forest disappear behind us. Somewhere in there, in that Gothic mansion, a man with glowing eyes was holding my grandmother's necklace.
A man who had a wolf the size of a lion.
A man who smelled like winter and wild things.
A man whose eyes had glowed the exact same color as that wolf's.
What the hell did I just stumble into?
