Nikolai POV
The hunt had already ended, but the night had not.
The forest still moved around me, alive in ways most would never understand. Every rustle of leaves, every distant crack of a branch, every subtle change in scent painted a picture that did not need to be seen to be understood. I moved through it easily, the remnants of the chase still humming beneath my skin, not urgent now, but present enough to remind me what I was.
I loved to come out here and hunt. It was far from my lands, yes, but worth it nonetheless.
The kill had been clean. It was enough to quiet the instinct, but not enough to settle the restlessness that lingered beneath it. I slowed as I reached the river, the sound of water cutting through the quiet of the woods. Moonlight reflected off the surface in broken fragments, the current pulling it apart and piecing it back together again in an endless rhythm. For a moment, I stood at the edge, letting the stillness settle into me. I howled at the moon before shifting.
Bone and muscle reshaped with familiar precision as I stepped into the water, the cold wrapping around me. I dipped beneath the surface, letting the current move over me, washing away blood, dirt, and everything else that clung as a reminder of the hunt. When I resurfaced, I dragged a hand through my hair and exhaled slowly, letting the tension drain from my body.
For a moment, there was nothing else. No urgency. No distraction. Just the quiet movement of the river and the distant pulse of the forest. After nearly 400 years you'd think I'd have gotten used to this, yet I relished in the tranquility that was this forest. However, it didn't last.
Suddenly the air shifted and my skin prickled. My nose lifted to the wind, body stilling as my focus sharpened without thought. The forest did not move like this without reason. I could hear the sounds of movement, of a faint struggle. A sound so out of place within the natural rhythm of the night. Human.
I stepped out of the water without hesitation, the transition already beginning as instinct took over. Muscles tightened, senses sharpened, and within seconds the forest came back in its full intensity. Every smell, every sound, with heightened clarity. I shook the water from my fur, nose to the air again.
Then, I sprinted.
Distance meant nothing. The terrain didn't slow me down; it didn't matter. The path unfolded instinctively beneath my steps as I cut through the trees. The sounds carried farther now ad became clearer. Along with it came a scent. It was faint at first. Then unmistakable. The sweet and warm smell of Vanilla and strawberry enveloped me, intoxicated me. But there was the scent of blood too.
Mate. Nyx, my wolf, growled out.
The truth settled into me without resistance, immediate and absolute. I picked up the pace. If there was blood with that scent it couldn't mean anything good.
The forest opened just enough ahead of me, and that was when I saw three humans in the brush. I padded forward and sniffed the air again, my attention snapping to my left.
She was on the ground, injured, her presence cutting through everything else with a clarity that left no room for anything else to exist. Nyx was furious. He wanted to tear these lowly pests limb from limb for hurting our Mate. I growled low as my lips pulled back, canines on full display. The humans froze and exchanged words between themselves before running out of the forest. I smiled smugly as we watched them go.
We should have tore them apart, Nyx growled in annoyance.
And risk her seeing us like this? I growled back. Nyx huffed, knowing I was right. We didn't want to scare her, but I wanted to teach those humans a lesson. A shout of pain from our mate snapped my focus back to her and I entered her line of sight, slowly approaching her.
Mate, Nyx whined.
There was no confusion. I had known something was there the first time I saw her, in passing, in moments that should have meant nothing. I told myself there was no way I could mate with a human, and yet the truth was now unavoidable. Now that I had smelled her blood, there was no denying she was my chosen mate.
She was on the ground, clearly wounded, her body tense. When her eyes met mine, wide and alert, I saw the way she braced, the way her body prepared for another threat. Every instinct in me pushed forward, urging me to close the distance quickly, to take control of the situation, to remove her from whatever danger remained. I held it back, forcing my movements into something slower, something deliberate, something she could follow without panic. If I moved like a predator, she would only see one.
So I approached carefully…step by step, letting her track me, letting her adjust to my presence instead of overwhelming her with it. Even then, I could feel the tension in her, the way her body tried to move away despite the injury that kept her grounded
By the time I reached her, I lowered myself slightly, reducing the space between us in an intentional way, yet not imposing. My focus remained on her completely, taking in every detail. Caramel colored skin was freckled with small scratches. Her dark brown curls had leaves tangled in them, catching in the breeze. But still, her beauty was unrivaled. I had seen her earlier, but in my current state, I was more sensitive to my goddess given instincts. The wind carried her sent to me and we inhaled deeply, a shiver snaking through me.
Mine.
I let myself breathe her in, grounding myself in that wickedly beautiful scent before I moved any closer. Slowly, I lowered my head toward her, not touching her yet, giving her a moment to react, to understand that I had not hurt her. When she didn't pull away completely, I moved again, carefully, allowing my nose to brush lightly along her hair, then down along her shoulder.
When I reached her leg, I slowed further, focusing on the injury I had already sensed. The swelling had begun, her body reacting to more than just the physical damage. I nudged her ankle lightly, testing, careful not to apply pressure. She flinched and I stilled immediately, waited.
When she didn't retreat further, I tried again, softer this time, letting the contact be gentle, reassuring rather than invasive. Nyx whimpered at our mate's injuries, a sound that left me before I could stop it. I moved back some, giving her space again before lowering myself fully to the ground. I held her gaze, then glanced forward, then back to her, repeating the motion with intention. Let me help you.
I didn't move closer again. I didn't force it. I waited, allowing her the choice. Her breathing had slowed, but something else was building beneath it. The bond. It had already begun responding to proximity, to recognition, to the fragile connection forming between us.
Her hand lifted and I still in anticipation of her touch.
When her fingers finally touched my fur, the reaction was immediate. The bond surged, anchoring itself fully within me. It settled with a quiet certainty, but in her it overwhelmed. Her breath left her all at once and her eyes rolled into the back of her head.
The shift came instantly, my body responding as I stepped forward just as her strength gave out. She collapsed, her balance disappearing in an instant, but I caught her before she could reach the ground. I quickly glanced at the sky. The full moon shown brighter than it had earlier, flickering yellow now. It was a mating moon. I cursed to myself and shifted her in my arms.
I brushed the curls from her face, fingers tingling wherever I made contact. Of course it was a mating moon and of course she was human. My clan would not like this, but I did not care. She is mine.
For a moment, I remained exactly where I was, her weight supported by my arms, her breathing soft against my chest. My heart swelled as I took her in. I had never been this close to her, never touched her, never smelled her blood. If there was any doubt left that she was my mate, it was now replaced with certainty. I had long since given up finding my mate, but I was now holding her.
My grandfather used to tell me stories of how he had met my grandmother on a full moon, tinged a pale yellow. She was also a pure blood, the daughter of an alpha. He was an alpha himself, making them the strongest bonded mates in a millennia. He rarely spoke of my father, his only son who had mated with a hybrid, my mother who was part human. When my father refused to bond to another, he was My father was stripped of his inheritance and banished to live in exhile before I was born. As if we could choose our goddess given mates. What would he say when he learned my mate was fully human? I shook my head and held my mate closer, refusing to think of him at the moment. I hadn't seen him since I took over the Blackhawk clan and wouldn't any time soon.
The forest had gone quiet again, as if everything that just happened had been swallowed back into the night, leaving behind the two of us. I adjusted my hold, careful of her ankle, making sure it remained supported as I held her. She didn't stir. Whatever had taken hold of her had pulled her far. Unable to resist, I brushed my lips lightly across hers.
"Soon," I whispered.
My gaze lifted and I scanned the trees one last time before moving on. There was nothing lingering that would dare come near her now. So I closed my eyes and called to my goddess.
A path revealed itself and I followed it without hesitation, carrying her through the forest with leveled steps. I didn't rush, though every instinct urged me to move faster, to put more distance between her and the forest. The terrain flattened beneath my feet, my power clearing the way as branches snapped softly. I moved through the darkness with ease. She began to stir sooner than I expected, and I began to move faster through the brush.
At first, it was nothing more than a subtle change in the way her body rested against mine, but it was enough to pull my full attention back to her. Goddess, she was beautiful. Her chocolate skin glowed in the moonlight, and I yearned to press my lips against hers again. Her breathing shifted, no longer as deep or distant, and I knew immediately that whatever had pulled her under was beginning to loosen its hold.
She'll wake soon, I said to Nyx. He grunted in agreement.
I adjusted my hold instinctively, tightening my arm just slightly beneath her knees while steadying her back more securely against my chest as I moved through the forest. I used my power to shadow step along the path that shown before me. My steps remained light to keep from jostling her injury or causing her to slip too quickly into full consciousness before her body could handle it. The warmth of her settled more clearly against me and it anchored my focus in a way I had not prepared for.
She moved again and my breath caught in my throat at the movement. I kept my gaze forward, forcing myself not to look down at her, not to meet her eyes even when I knew they had opened. If I allowed that moment, if I let myself fully acknowledge her awareness, I knew it would make what came next harder than it already was.
Her attention settled on me anyway.
I felt it in the way her body stilled just slightly and in the quiet shift of her breathing as she tried to make sense of what was happening.
"What..?" The question came softly, her voice shaped more by confusion than clarity, but I understood it all the same. She didn't know where she was. She didn't know how she had gotten there. She didn't know who I was.
I gave her nothing in return.
There were no words I could offer that would not complicate what she was already trying to process. So I remained silent, as if carrying her through the forest late at night required no explanation at all.
Her awareness lingered only briefly. I could feel it slipping even as she tried to hold onto it, her body too overwhelmed to sustain it. I felt the tension ease from her again, her weight settling more fully against me as whatever fragile grasp she had on consciousness gave way. Her head rested against my chest once more, her breathing evening out, and I knew she was sleep again.
I followed the path until it stopped, until I stood at the edge of a home with her still in my arms. I allowed myself to look at her once more, taking in the softness of her expression, the quiet steadiness of her breathing. Nyx and I reveled in our mate's beauty. So perfect, so soft.
Reluctantly, I stepped forward and lowered her onto the porch, carefully positioning her to ensure her ankle remained supported and her body undisturbed. She stirred faintly again, not fully waking, but enough to remind me that she would not remain like this for long. I stepped back, my chest already aching with her absence.
I knew I could not stay, knew that remaining here would only complicate something that required time and space to unfold the way it was meant to. She did not understand what she was to me, and forcing that understanding onto her before she was ready would do more harm than good. Even if leaving felt wrong, so wrong.
I knocked once, firm enough to be heard, but controlled enough not to startle her. Then I waited, listening as movement stirred inside, as voices approached, close enough now to ensure she would not be left alone.
I did not stay to see the door open. By the time it did, I was already gone, the distance between us closing in seconds as I shadow stepped into the night. But even as I left, the connection remained. And I knew it would not fade.