The Golden Wolf
A
I didn’t sleep.
Not after that smile.
I moved through the dark forest in silence, letting instinct dictate my path. The moon spilled light across the branches in pale ribbons, dappling the forest floor with silver. Every time the breeze shifted, I caught faint threads of his scent, there was cedar, and something warmer, richer, like amber.
He wasn’t chasing me. Not like the others. No… he was shadowing me. Every few minutes, I’d catch movement, a flicker of pale gold between the trees, there and gone again. It wasn’t sloppy. He wanted me to see him.
It should have terrified me. Instead, my pulse thrummed with something sharper than fear.
I reached a small clearing ringed with stones, the moss glowing faintly in the moonlight. I stopped at the edge, scanning the trees. “Are you going to keep playing peekaboo,” I called softly, “or do you want to see how fast I can make you regret it?”
Silence. Then, from the shadows, he stepped into the light.
Tall and broad shouldered, his golden hair fell just past his jaw, catching the moonlight like a halo that didn’t belong to any angel. His eyes glowed like molten honey, unblinking as they locked on me.
“You run well,” he said, his voice a low, velvety rumble. “Better than I expected.”
I tightened my grip on the knife, holding his gaze. “And you stalk poorly. The other two at least tried to catch me.”
That made him smile, a slow, predatory curve of his lips. “I’m not here to catch you. Not yet.”
I hated the way my body reacted, heat coiling low, muscles tightening. “Then why are you here?”
He took a step closer, and I matched it by stepping back. “To see you. To learn you. When I take you…” His gaze dragged over me like a touch. “…it’ll be because you didn’t see it coming.”
I crossed my arms, knife still in one hand. “Sweet speech, sunshine, but I’m not here to be taken. You try, you’re gonna lose a hand.”
His smile deepened, slow and amused, like he was humoring a child. “You think you can stop me?”
I tilted my head. “I don’t think. I know.”
He took another step forward. I didn’t move. Didn’t blink. Let him see I wasn’t prey, I was a storm waiting to happen.
“You’ve got claws,” he said, eyes raking over me like he was cataloging every inch. “I like that.”
“You won’t like them when they’re buried in your throat,” I shot back. “Now, if you’re done playing peeping tom, I’ve got a forest to cross and I’d like to do it without a shadow up my ass.”
That earned a laugh, and it was low, rough, and way too pleased. “You’ve got spirit, little queen.”
“Stop calling me that,” I snapped. “You don’t know me.”
“I know enough.” He moved closer, and this time I stepped into him, the tip of my knife hovering just above his ribs. His scent hit me hard, wild heat and cedar, so potent I hated that part of me wanted to breathe it in.
“Test me,” I said quietly. “I dare you.”
For a heartbeat, we just stared at each other. The air between us was electric, sharp enough to taste. His smile faded, replaced by something darker.
“You’re not like the others,” he said finally.
“Damn right I’m not.” What others? This memory situation was becoming bothersome.
I stepped back first, not because I was intimidated, but because I wanted him to know I’d chosen to walk away. “If you want to catch me, golden boy, you better move faster next time. And bring friends. You’re gonna need them.”
His laugh followed me into the trees, low and dangerous, but under it I heard something else, interest.
Good. Let him want me. It’d make it even sweeter when I outplayed every last one of them. I didn’t look back. Not because I was scared of him, hell no, but because I wanted him wondering if I was stupidly confident or just smarter than him.
The truth? Both.
The forest swallowed me in shadow, the moonlight cutting through in broken shards that slid over my skin. My pulse was still high from our little standoff, but not in a panicked way, in that dangerous, blood-tingling way that made me want to grin.
My body was vibrating with fight energy, and if the next alpha thought I was going to roll over and bare my throat, they were in for a rude awakening.
I kept moving east, eyes scanning for anything I could use, a climbable tree, a high rock, a tangle of brambles to slow anyone chasing me. My brain was cataloging routes and options without me even trying. I didn’t remember learning any of this, but the knowledge was there, wired into me like a second heartbeat.
Something shifted in the wind.
I stopped dead, one foot planted, head tilting as I inhaled. The golden wolf’s scent was gone, no cedar, no amber. But something else had slid into its place, heavier, thicker, like leather and iron after rain. It made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
This wasn’t the same kind of heat the others carried. This was cold steel wrapped in muscle and patience. And it was close.
I crouched low, easing forward, scanning the shadows for movement. Every instinct screamed don’t get pinned here. The trees ahead were dense, but the undergrowth was too open. Nowhere to disappear fast if I had to.
The forest went quiet again. Too quiet. My fingers tightened on the knife’s hilt. “Alright,” I murmured to the darkness, “come say hello.” Nothing.
Then, from the corner of my eye, I caught it, a flicker of blacker shadow moving between the pines. Tall. Wide shoulders. And… still. Too still. Whoever he was, he didn’t pace or stalk the way the others did. He waited.
A predator who could bide his time was always worse than one who lunged.
I kept moving, pretending I hadn’t seen him. My steps were light, my breathing steady, but my muscles stayed coiled, ready to spring in any direction. I counted five trees between us. Then four. Three.
The shadows shifted again, and I realized he wasn’t alone.
Something darker than night slid along the forest floor in his wake, not his shadow, but something alive. My chest tightened as my brain tried to place it, but instinct already knew. Whatever it was, it was his, and it was dangerous.
I picked up my pace, aiming for the thickest part of the forest ahead. A low growl rolled through the air behind me, deep enough that it felt in my bones. Not a warning. Not a threat. A promise.
The kind that says run if you want.... I’ll still find you.
I did run, not because I was afraid, but because I wanted him to chase me. Wanted him to burn energy, to show me how he moved. Every step was measured, weaving between trees, doubling back just enough to test whether he’d follow.
The answer came in the softest sound, the faint snap of a twig, exactly where I expected him to be. A smile curved my lips. “Gotcha.”
But before I could make my next move, another sound cut through the night, a howl. Not his. Not the golden wolf’s. One of the others. And it was close. Too close.
The air around me changed again, the weight of two predators closing in from different sides.
I glanced between the shadows to my left and right, my mind already mapping the only escape route that wouldn’t end with me in someone’s arms.
The problem?
It was straight toward the black-eyed stranger.