Cassian's POV
I shifted back to human form the second I heard Elowen scream.
What the hell was I thinking? My wolf had taken over completely, drawn to her like a magnet, desperate to get close. One second I was in the pool, the next I was shifting and stalking toward her.
I dove back into the water, putting distance between us before she saw me naked. Before she put it together that the wolf and I were the same.
By the time I surfaced, Sable was rushing outside. "Ellie! What's wrong?"
"I saw—there was a—" Elowen's voice shook. She pointed toward the forest. "A wolf. A huge black wolf."
"Probably just a dog from the neighbor's property," Sable said soothingly. "They look scary but they're harmless."
I floated silently on the far side of the pool, my heart pounding. That was close. Too close.
Elowen's eyes found mine across the water. Suspicious. Searching.
She knew something wasn't right.
I got out and grabbed a towel before my wolf could do something stupid again. I needed to get away from her. Needed to think clearly without her scent scrambling my brain.
But before I could escape, my phone buzzed with a text from my father.
My office. Now.
I cursed under my breath. That tone meant trouble.
Twenty minutes later, I stood in my father's office, still damp from the pool. Alpha Thaddeus Vane sat behind his massive desk, his face carved from stone.
"Sit," he commanded.
I stayed standing. "What's this about?"
"Isolde Crowe is visiting next month." His voice was flat, final. "You'll announce your engagement at the Full Moon Revel."
The words hit me like a punch. "No."
"This isn't a discussion, Cassian. The alliance with Shadowfen Pack is crucial. We need their strength, and they need our territory. The engagement has been arranged since you were children."
"I don't care what was arranged." My hands clenched into fists. "I'm not marrying Isolde. I don't love her. I don't even like her."
"Love?" My father laughed, cold and mocking. "You think Alphas marry for love? We marry for power. For pack survival. Your feelings are irrelevant."
"My feelings are—"
"You're twenty-seven years old," he cut me off. "You've had five years to mourn Lydia. Five years of bedding every woman who looks at you twice. Enough. It's time to do your duty."
Lydia's name was a knife to the chest. My father knew exactly where to cut.
"I need more time," I said through gritted teeth.
"Time for what? To find another mate?" His eyes narrowed. "Your bond died with Lydia. You'll never have another. Accept it."
But that was the problem. My wolf had found another. The impossible, infuriating, completely forbidden human girl currently staying in my house.
I couldn't tell him that. He'd exile her. Or worse.
"One month," my father said. "Isolde arrives in one month. You'll propose, or I'll strip your title and give it to someone who understands duty."
He meant it. My father didn't make empty threats.
I stormed out before I said something I'd regret.
The hallway felt too small, too tight. My wolf paced furiously, wanting to shift, to run, to hunt. To find her.
I needed air. Space. Anything but—
I found her in the garden.
Elowen sat on a stone bench under an oak tree, reading a book. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, making her hair glow like copper. She looked peaceful. Innocent.
Everything I could never have.
The anger I'd been holding back exploded.
"Shouldn't you be inside?" I said harshly. "The sun might burn that delicate human skin."
She looked up, startled. Then her eyes narrowed. "Shouldn't you be finding another random woman to disappoint?"
"Careful, little human. You're a guest in my house."
"Guest?" She stood up, book forgotten. "Is that what you call someone you stalk around and make weird comments to?"
"Stalk? You're the one who can't stop staring at me."
"Because you won't leave me alone!" Her voice rose. "Every time I turn around, you're there with your smirks and your games. What do you want from me?"
Everything, my wolf growled.
"Nothing," I lied. "You're not my type anyway. Too mouthy. Too stubborn."
"Good. Because you're not my type either. Too arrogant. Too broken."
The word broken hit harder than it should have.
"You don't know anything about me," I said quietly, dangerously.
"I know you're a coward." She stepped closer, fearless. "Hiding behind different women every night because you're too scared to feel anything real."
She was right. She saw right through me.
I hated her for it.
I wanted her more for it.
"And you're so brave?" I got in her face. "Running away from whatever sent you here in the first place?"
Her breath caught. "I didn't run from—"
"Yes, you did. I can see it in your eyes. You're hiding from something just like I am."
We stood inches apart, breathing hard, the air crackling between us like static electricity.
I could feel her heartbeat. Could see her pupils dilate. Could smell her arousal mixing with anger, and it made my wolf go insane.
Kiss her, my wolf demanded. Claim her. Make her ours.
I leaned closer.
She didn't back away.
"Cassian!" Sable's voice shattered the moment. "Leave her alone!"
I stepped back fast. Elowen looked dazed, confused.
"We were just talking," I said.
"It didn't look like talking." Sable glared at me. "I told you to stay away from her."
"I was—"
"Go. Now."
I left before I made it worse.
But I heard Elowen whisper as I walked away: "What's happening to me?"
I wanted to tell her. Wanted to explain everything. But I couldn't.
Because in one month, I'd be engaged to Isolde.
And Elowen would be gone from my life forever.
I made it to my room and slammed the door. My phone buzzed immediately.
Merrick: Emergency. Meet me at the north border. We found something.
I shifted and ran through the forest, grateful for the distraction.
Merrick waited in human form, his face pale.
"What is it?" I asked.
He held up a piece of torn fabric. It smelled like smoke and death and rogue wolves.
"We found this caught on a fence. The rogues didn't just pass through our territory." He met my eyes. "They left a message carved into a tree. You need to see it."
We ran deeper into the forest until we reached an old oak tree.
Carved deep into the bark were words that made my blood freeze:
WE'RE COMING FOR THE GIRL. THE MOON REVEALS ALL TRUTHS.
Tomorrow night was the full moon.
And Elowen had no idea what she really was.