Chapter 2 “The Prince With Golden Eyes”

The first thing I noticed when I woke was the light.

It wasn’t the dull gray of dawn—it was silver, soft, and shifting, as if the air itself glowed.

I blinked slowly. My head throbbed, my wrists ached, and the faint scent of cedar and smoke filled the room.

I was lying on a bed of dark velvet, the kind I’d only seen in noble houses. The ceiling above me arched high and elegant, carved with patterns that shimmered faintly in the half-light. The windows were narrow, their glass tinted with frost.

Where am I?

Then it came rushing back—the storm, the wolf, the soldiers, the words You are under arrest.

I sat up fast. Chains clinked softly around my wrists. Not iron—silver. They were delicate but strong, fastened to a ring set into the marble floor.

“Good,” a voice said from the corner. “You’re awake.”

I turned sharply. A man stepped out of the shadows, his armor dark and gleaming, his cloak bearing a silver crest of a wolf beneath a crescent moon.

He removed his helmet.

He wasn’t old—perhaps mid-thirties—but his face was unreadable, carved from patience and stone.

“I’m Captain Eryk,” he said. “Commander of the Silverfang Guard.”

“Where am I?” I asked, my voice hoarse.

“In the Silver Palace, capital of the Wolfborn Kingdom.” His tone was formal, almost detached. “You crossed our border, human. That alone carries a death sentence.”

My stomach dropped. “I didn’t mean to cross anything. I was just trying to help a wounded animal—”

His jaw tightened. “That ‘animal’ was no ordinary wolf.”

Before I could reply, the door behind him opened. The air in the room shifted instantly—like a storm held at bay.

Eryk bowed his head and stepped aside.

And then I saw him.

He filled the doorway like a shadow come to life. His hair was black as midnight, his skin pale against the silver light. But it was his eyes that stole the breath from my lungs—golden, fierce, and painfully familiar.

The wolf’s eyes.

My heart lurched. It couldn’t be.

He was dressed in royal black trimmed with silver threads, and though his posture was regal, there was something unsteady in the way he moved—like someone still healing from deep wounds.

When his gaze met mine, something inside me pulsed hard, like my very heartbeat recognized him before my mind did.

“Leave us,” he said quietly. His voice was smooth, low, commanding.

Eryk hesitated. “Your Highness—”

“I said, leave us.”

The captain bowed again and left, shutting the door behind him.

Silence filled the chamber, heavy and electric.

He took a slow step closer. “You’re awake,” he murmured.

“You…” My throat went dry. “You were the wolf.”

He didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he studied me as though trying to read something written beneath my skin. Then, at last, he nodded. “Yes. You saved my life.”

“I thought you were dying,” I said softly. “I didn’t know—”

“That I was a monster?” His mouth curved in something like a smile, though it didn’t reach his eyes.

“I was going to say a prince,” I whispered.

He blinked, caught off guard for a moment, and then exhaled. “Both are true.”

He came closer still, and I felt that strange pulse again—the echo of two hearts beating in perfect rhythm. His gaze flickered to my wrists, where the silver chains glimmered faintly.

“I had them restrain you,” he said quietly. “Not because I wanted to. Because I had to.”

“Why?”

He hesitated, as though the words tasted bitter. “Because the moment you healed me, something ancient awoke.”

He stopped before me, close enough that I could see the faint scar on his jaw, the gold flecks in his eyes. “When you touched me, our souls bound under the Blood Moon Law. You carry my heart now, human. And I carry yours.”

I stared at him, pulse racing. “That’s impossible.”

“Is it?” His voice softened, dangerous and intimate. “Close your eyes, and tell me what you feel.”

I didn’t want to obey, but I did.

Darkness folded around me. The room vanished. And then—

I felt it. A steady thrum beneath my ribs that wasn’t mine. A second heartbeat, fierce and wild, pulsing in time with my own.

My eyes flew open. “What is this?”

“The bond,” he said simply. “A curse. A miracle. I haven’t decided which.”

He reached out, almost touching my cheek, but stopped short. “If I’m hurt, you’ll bleed. If you die… so will I.”

My breath caught. “Then unbind it. You’re a prince—you must have magic or power or something—”

He laughed once, quietly. “If I could, I would have done so before you woke. But the Blood Moon Law doesn’t care for rank. It’s ancient. It binds what fate chooses.”

He turned away then, pacing to the window. Beyond the glass, moonlight poured over a sprawling city of towers and forests—beautiful and endless.

“My mother, the Queen, will see you soon,” he said without looking at me. “She’ll want to know how a human healer ended up holding the heir’s heart.”

“And what happens then?” I asked.

His voice lowered. “If she decides you’re a threat… she’ll kill you to save me.”

A shiver ran through me.

He finally turned back, his golden eyes softer now, conflicted. “But I won’t let her. You saved me once, Liora. I intend to return the favor.”

“How do you know my name?” I whispered.

His lips curved faintly. “You spoke it once, in your sleep. The night you healed me.”

I swallowed, my pulse still wild and unsteady. “What happens now?”

He stepped closer again, slow and deliberate. “Now,” he said, “you learn to survive a kingdom that wants you dead. And I learn to live with the heart of a human beating beside my own.”

He reached out, brushing a finger lightly beneath my chin—just enough to make my breath falter.

“Rest while you can, healer,” he murmured. “The Queen doesn’t believe in mercy.”

And with that, he turned and walked out, leaving the scent of cedar and storm lingering in the air.

I sat in silence, the echo of his heartbeat thrumming faintly in my chest.

It wasn’t fear that made it race.

It was something far more dangerous.