The Awakening
The moon hung pale and weary over Lycanthra when Isabella stirred.Her eyelids fluttered open to soft candlelight and the faint crackle of fire. The scent of steel and pine lingered faintly in the air — a scent she now recognized as him.
For a long moment, she didn't know where she was. Her body felt weightless, her veins humming with an unfamiliar warmth. Then memory returned — the illness, her father's visit, the fever that had stolen her breath, the flashes of Ryan's voice commanding the healers, and the taste of blood… his blood.
She pressed a trembling hand to her chest. Her heart — that ancient, near-dead thing — beat strong again.
The heavy door opened quietly. Calen entered, his expression softening with relief."You're awake," he said, bowing his head. "The healers said you might not wake before dawn."
"I seem to have disappointed them," Isabella murmured, voice still hoarse but steady. "How long?"
"Two days, Your Highness. The Alpha hasn't left the Citadel since."
Her breath caught — Ryan.
"Is he here?" she asked carefully.
Calen hesitated. "He's… keeping his distance. The cure took its toll on him as well. But…" He trailed off, studying her face. "He feels you. Through the bond."
Her gaze lowered. "And I feel him," she admitted softly. "Like a storm that won't pass."
The Alpha's Restlessness
Across the Citadel, in the high chamber of steel and flame, Ryan stood before the wide windows, hands braced against the cold stone. The night wind cut through the room, sharp with the scent of rain and pine — but beneath it all was the faint sweetness of blood and moonlight. Her scent.
His wolf prowled inside him, restless and wild.
You saved her. You felt her pulse steady beneath your hand.
"I did what was necessary," Ryan muttered aloud.
Necessary? You call tasting her blood necessary? You're lying to yourself, Alpha.
"Silence."
You crave her now. Admit it. Every breath she takes, you feel it. Every beat of her heart answers yours.
"Enough." His voice cracked like a whip through the empty chamber.
He struck the wall with his fist, the sound echoing through the stone. He could feel it — the pull of her essence inside him, calling him closer even as he fought to stay away.
When his brothers entered moments later, they found him pacing like a caged beast.
Allen, ever the smirking one, leaned against the doorframe. "You look like hell, brother. And here I thought saving a vampire queen would make you radiant."
Damon chuckled. "Perhaps love doesn't agree with him."
Ryan shot them both a glare sharp enough to silence lesser men. "Leave."
But Allen only grinned wider. "Come now, we only came to check on our noble Alpha. It's not every day you spill your blood for a woman who used to be your enemy."
"She's not my—" he began, then stopped. The word mate burned in his throat.
"Not your what?" Damon teased. "Not your responsibility? Not your temptation?"
Ryan's jaw clenched. "Not your concern."
But even as he dismissed them, he could feel his wolf laughing deep inside.
They see what you won't, Alpha. You're already hers.
The Hall of Mirrors
By the third night, Isabella had regained most of her strength. The healers bowed when she rose from bed, whispering that the moon itself had favored her. But she knew the truth — it wasn't the moon. It was Ryan.
She wandered the Citadel's upper halls, unable to sleep. The walls here were lined with ancient mirrors — relics said to show not reflections, but the soul's desires.
She paused before one. Her reflection stared back, pale and luminous, but the shadows behind her shifted — forming the outline of a man. Tall. Golden-eyed.
Her breath caught. "Ryan…" she whispered.
The image vanished.
The Wolf's Hunger
Ryan tried to bury himself in duty — council meetings, border disputes, anything to distract him. But every time the wind shifted, carrying her scent through the halls, his control slipped a little more.
You can't fight it forever, his wolf murmured. She's calling to you. The bond grows stronger each time you deny it.
"I will not be ruled by instinct," Ryan growled under his breath.
Then be ruled by truth.
He shoved away from the table, ignoring the startled glances of his brothers, and stalked out of the room. His pulse thundered. His wolf howled within.
A Meeting in the Moonlight
Later that night, as the Citadel slept, Isabella stood on her balcony, gazing at the moonlight spilling across the courtyard. She heard the faintest sound — a footstep, a breath.
"Can't sleep either?"
Ryan's voice. Rough, quieter than usual, as if fighting something within.
She turned slowly. "I thought you'd forgotten how to visit your wife."
"I was… occupied," he said, though his eyes told another story. They were darker than usual, storm-tossed, burning faintly with gold.
"You're still weak," she said softly. "You shouldn't—"
"Don't," he interrupted, stepping closer. "Don't tell me what I should or shouldn't do."
The space between them seemed to shrink, charged and dangerous.
"Then why are you here, Ryan?" she asked quietly.
He exhaled — a sound halfway between a sigh and a growl. "Because no matter how far I go, I can still feel you."
Her heart stuttered. "And what do you feel?"
He hesitated. His wolf's voice echoed inside him, Tell her. Tell her she's your fire.
But he only said, "Too much."
For a heartbeat, they stood in silence, the moonlight silvering their faces. Then he turned abruptly, his cloak snapping behind him as he left.
She watched him go, her hand pressed against her chest, where her heart still beat with borrowed strength.
The Pull of Fire
Long after he had gone, Ryan found himself in the training yard, fists bloodied against the post, breath ragged. His wolf was no longer mocking — only whispering.
You gave her life, Alpha. But she's taking yours one heartbeat at a time.
He closed his eyes, the scent of her still lingering in his lungs.And for the first time in his life, Ryan Azaron Steel — the Alpha King, the Wolf of Iron and Moon — feared the one thing even he could not conquer.
Desire.