Chapter 1
"Damn it!"
The moment my arrow whistled through the air, I heard it—that sound that made my blood turn to ice.
A low, pained groan.
Not the sound of a deer.
A human sound.
I leaped from behind the giant redwood where I'd been hiding, my heart hammering like thunder. The setting sun cast broken shadows through the ancient forest, making everything look like a shattered dream. And I had just potentially killed someone.
"No, no, no..." I muttered as I sprinted toward the sound, my boots crushing pine needles and fallen leaves with urgent rustling.
Following the voice, I found him beneath a massive ginkgo tree.
A man.
My footsteps stopped dead, pupils contracting sharply.
He was slumped against the ginkgo trunk, head hanging, black hair disheveled and covering most of his face. But even so, I could make out the sharp, defined features beneath. From his chest protruded a gleaming silver arrow, buried deep, blood already staining his dark outdoor gear to a rusty red.
And my ordinary wooden arrow was embedded in his right thigh.
"Dear God..." I gasped, covering my mouth with both hands.
I'd worked in this forest for five years and never encountered any human presence. This was the deepest part of a private reserve where even the most adventurous hikers wouldn't venture.
Where had this man come from?
Even more bizarre was that silver arrow in his chest.
I crouched down carefully to examine it, discovering the arrow was crafted with exceptional quality and materials. Pure silver, with intricate engravings carved along the shaft that gleamed coldly in the dying sunlight.
This arrow...Not something an ordinary hunter could afford.
I hesitantly reached out, gently checking for breath at his nostrils. The man's breathing was shallow but steady.
At least he was alive.
But what happened next made me freeze completely.
The man's skin temperature was abnormally high, almost as if he had a serious fever, yet his complexion wasn't flushed. Even more shocking was that through his clothes, I could feel the incredible density of his muscles.
This wasn't a body built in a gym.
This was... wild, primitive, radiating dangerous power.
"If I let him die here, I'll regret it for the rest of my life," I gritted my teeth and made my decision.
I carefully lifted the man, trying to get him onto my back. The next second, I nearly collapsed under the weight.
"My God... he looks so lean, how is he heavier than a full-grown buck?" I muttered through clenched teeth, struggling step by step toward my ranger cabin.
Inside the cabin, firelight danced warmly from the hearth while night rain began pattering against the windows.
I settled the man on my bed and began preparing medical supplies. As a ranger, I'd received complete wilderness first aid training and had treated various wildlife injuries.
But I'd never dealt with anything this bizarre.
"Don't be afraid, I won't hurt you," I whispered to the unconscious man, knowing he couldn't hear me.
First, I had to deal with that silver arrow.
I carefully cut away his clothing, and when the arrow was fully exposed under the lamplight, I couldn't help but gasp.
The arrowhead had penetrated three inches, and the surrounding skin showed signs of... burns?
"Can silver cause burns?" I frowned in confusion. "Unless he's allergic to silver... but even allergies wouldn't look like this."
I bit down hard and yanked out the silver arrow.
The man's body instantly arched, and even unconscious, he let out a pained growl. That sound... inexplicably reminded me of an injured wolf's howl.
Blood flowed, but strangely, the wound's edges had already begun to heal slightly.
This wasn't normal.
I pushed down my confusion and continued treating the thigh wound. This location... made my cheeks flush with heat.
I was a professional ranger who'd seen countless wild animals and treated all kinds of injuries. But facing this mysterious man, I felt unprecedented nervousness.
When I carefully cut away his pants, the man's body showed... a normal physiological response.
"Just normal biological function," I told myself, face burning. "I've seen far more animals in... more embarrassing situations than this."
But my hands still trembled involuntarily.
While cleaning the wound, I accidentally touched his skin and instantly felt an intense surge of... life force.
The sensation was indescribable, like touching lightning, or feeling the most primitive wild call from deep in the forest.
I jerked my hand back, heart racing so fast it nearly burst from my chest.
What exactly was this man?
For the next five days, I barely left the cabin.
The man's fever never broke. I used every herb and precious medicine I had.
But what shocked me most was his healing speed.
The chest wound healed at a visibly rapid pace, faster than any wild animal I'd ever seen. By the third day, only a faint scar remained.
On the third night, something even more bizarre happened.
The man growled low in his dreams, the sound making the cabin's windows vibrate slightly. In that instant, I clearly saw beneath his closed eyelids, his pupils flash with a beast-like golden light.
Just like a wolf's eyes.
By the fifth morning, I was completely exhausted.
Sitting beside the bed, looking at the still-unconscious man, I muttered wearily to myself: "If he doesn't wake up by tomorrow, I'll have to... give up."
At that moment, the man's eyes suddenly opened.
They were deep, obsidian-like eyes, but in the sunlight, I seemed to see golden flashes within them.
Sharp, guarded, dangerous.
The man shot upright, shoving away the medicine bowl I was holding.
"Who are you?" His voice was low and full of suspicion.
I stumbled backward from his push, the bowl crashing to the floor with a crisp shattering sound.
I was shocked to discover that this man who'd been near death five days ago now radiated a suffocating sense of dominance.
"I... I'm a ranger," I managed to stay calm. "You were injured in my territory. Of course I had to save you."
The man looked down at his body.
"What did you do to me?" His gaze became even more dangerous.
"I was saving your life!" His attitude infuriated me. "You had a silver arrow in your chest and my arrow in your leg. If I hadn't treated you, you'd be dead!"
His expression softened slightly, but suspicion remained.
"I'm Kael," he introduced himself briefly. "A... lost traveler."
Lost traveler?
I scoffed internally. What lost traveler gets shot with silver arrows? What traveler has such abnormal healing abilities?
But I didn't call him out, just nodded: "I'm Astra."
"I have to leave," Kael tried to get out of bed but nearly collapsed as soon as his feet touched the floor.
"Are you insane?" I rushed over to steady him. "Your enemies obviously want you dead. Leaving now would be suicide!"
Kael's body stiffened, his eyes flickering: "How... how do you know...?"
"Silver arrows aren't accidents," I looked directly into his eyes. "Someone wants to kill you, and they're using specialized weapons."
Finally, Kael compromised: "This place... really no one can find it?"
"Unless they have wings, no one can find this place," I said with certainty.
Kael nodded and lay back down: "Fine. I'll stay temporarily. But I won't be here long."
I breathed a sigh of relief, but I didn't notice that as I turned to clean up the broken bowl, Kael's eyes flashed with something I'd never seen before.
It was a predator's gaze.
Cold, dangerous, filled with wild killing intent.