Raine's breath came in shallow gasps as she stared at the man before her. Mate. The word echoed in her head like a heartbeat, but it made no sense. This couldn't be happening. He was a werewolf—a creature from the stories her mother had whispered about in fear, stories she had always believed were metaphors, not monsters.
And yet, here he stood, tall and wild and beautiful in a way that made her skin prickle.
"What did you just call me?" she asked, taking a cautious step back.
Xavier's eyes glowed silver in the moonlight. "You heard me."
"No, I… I don't understand. I'm human. I don't belong in your world."
He took a step forward, his movements too graceful, too quiet. "That's what I thought too. Until I scented you."
Raine's pulse roared in her ears. "You make it sound like I'm a thing."
"You're not. You're—" He paused, visibly restraining himself. "You're mine. And I don't know why."
Raine clenched her fists. "I'm not yours. You don't own me."
But as she spoke, her chest ached with something deeper than fear. Something ancient. Something aching to respond.
Xavier looked like he was about to argue when he suddenly stiffened. His head turned toward the dark woods, nostrils flaring. "We need to leave. Now."
Raine hesitated. "Why? What's—"
A chilling howl shattered the night.
Not like the one from earlier.
This one was wrong—deeper, hollow, and filled with fury.
Xavier's jaw tightened. "Rogues."
Before she could blink, he was beside her, wrapping an arm around her waist. "Hold on."
Then he moved—lightning fast. Trees blurred past her as he darted through the forest, carrying her like she weighed nothing. His warmth seeped into her, but her mind was spinning too fast to focus on anything but the howl that still echoed in her skull.
"What's a rogue?" she yelled over the wind.
"Wolves without a pack. Savage. Broken. They smell you, they'll rip you apart."
"Why me?"
Xavier didn't answer.
They burst into a hidden cavern in the side of a rocky hill. With one hand, Xavier slammed a stone into place, blocking the entrance. Raine collapsed against the wall, heart hammering.
Xavier stood watch for a long moment, silent and still. Only when the forest fell quiet again did he turn back to her.
"You don't remember, do you?"
She blinked. "Remember what?"
He stepped closer. "You were here once before. Years ago. As a child."
"No," she said firmly. "I would've remembered."
He shook his head slowly, his eyes never leaving hers. "You wore a necklace. A silver pendant with a crescent moon."
Raine froze.
That necklace was hidden in the back of her drawer at home. She had no memory of where it came from—only that it had always been hers.
Xavier continued, "It's a moonstone. Mark of the Lost Bloodline."
"What does that mean?"
He looked at her like she was a secret the world had buried. "It means you're not just human. You're something else. And if the rogues know what I know, they'll come for you."
Her hand instinctively reached for her chest, as though the stone still hung there.
A cold realization slid down her spine.
Her life wasn't just changing.
It had never been normal to begin with.