I'M NOT A WOLF/ THE MOON PRINCE'S HUMAN MATE

er left. A strange stillness hung in the air,

her shoulders. The night was thick with mist and anticipation. Below the cliff, the for

long she'd been st

strangely in this place - like the cursed zone had its own heartbeat, its own cruel

I doin

keep trus

that first clawed through her when Kael shifted in front of her - that had soften

lied - or at least hidden thing

he had

he'd bee

he'd be s

itor had called h

od A

ay the man had said it - not with respect, but fe

rned low, casting shadows along the stone walls. His weapons - crude but sharp - lined the back she

wly and limpe

oked like tally marks.

hiding, Kael?"

shifted - not with

ldn't be

air damp with mist, eyes burning low. He looked wild - not dangerous, but unta

he said quietly. "I ju

inside and closing the ston

ng it back to life with a few swift movem

at man. Tonight. He c

sat. His shoulders

oes tha

nto a line that's both feared and cursed. It

ped close

't earned by wisdom. It's earned by blood. My f

eyes never leaving his face. "Th

ecause the curse isn't just on the

fore she could stop herself. "Will

ed in the angles of his jaw, but his eyes were softer now.

"That doesn't

on his knees. "I mean it, Zara. People who get clos

tretched be

s brushing his hand. "I'

eath h

between them, and in that quiet, something fragile settled. Like

furs, Zara whispered toward the cei

ng b

oice came l

human in a long

And somewhere deep ins

it could sense what was happening inside. But Kael didn't move. He stood in front of Zara

her breath shaky but slo

he said, finally,

not c

deliberate, but his energy was barely restra

d. "Since that rogue attacked... Yo

eyes locked on hers. "Be

leaned in without meanin

hair from her face with a tenderness that didn

world. But the moment I touched you... somet

een fear and fascination. "Is

an wants to keep you safe. And if shifti

y-placing her fingers over his.

re me anymore,

s all i

t was deeper than their first. It was no accident thi

like he needed her to breathe. Zara gasped softly against him, her own hands slipping

ir cr

el pulled back, panting.

t lose

voice trembling. "Then don

eat-but desire. "If we do this,

hispered, but didn't move away.

ftened. "Then we'

reverence. Every move was laced with restraint, though his eyes burned with want. Zara arched against him

med louder. But inside,

her, pulling her into his arms like she belonged there. Zara'

chest. "What happened to you

ned. "War. Bet

e of th

e packs." He looked at her. "They called me a traitor. A beas

sted. "How are y

caring whet

and cupped his

cked when he ans

a sound echoed through the a

up. "What

grabbing his sword and sniff

It was deeper. Older. A warning from something that

slightly. "They

ho

es who cursed this zone. If they find yo

ping the furs tighter ar

ru

strong now. "You s

between instinct and f

he air, and Kael's e

sent th

ran cold. "Wh

whispered. "Not h

r to him. "Then d

'd never seen her before.

ng her chin. "Not of

t time, fierce and desperate. "Then s

wisted, and Kael's ey

e didn't fig

spilled from his skin in a brutal

ster everyone feared-and felt

el shifted. There was no cinem

as b

aze. His mouth split wider than human, stretching into a snarl of sharp, glowing fangs. The sound he made wasn'

Even as his towering wolf form completed its rise, black fur bri

watching her with something human still b

y for a

ground tre

Boom

st the wind, not from the storm-but f

witching. Then he moved with impossible speed, pla

e, grabbing the silver b

before, but the weight of it

ttered when th

ened-e

ara shielded her face. Kael leapt

through wa

creature that sho

skin. Its face was part-canine, part-nightmare, with no eyes-only slits where heat

breath

d," she w

he walls. The two collided mid-air-power meeting brutality-and hit the

mbled to

hing didn't cry out. It moved like something without pain. Without mercy. Its claw

led but di

trying to draw it out. The creature resisted, striking

scr

l r

beast crowned by firelight and fury. He ran on all fours, his massive form crossing the room in a

efoot and terrified-but

moon was still full, silver light

the clearing, slamming into tre

ther howl pi

s emerged-Hounds, one even bigger than the fir

hest

e of

Ka

to see her standing at the doorwa

er blade in her shak

d Hound c

happened

rcept the second, biting its side before it reached Zara. But

med-but no

efia

th both hands. It wasn't a pe

it

hird Hound, and it howled-a sharp, blood-pier

creature, his jaws crushing its throat, tearing

ried to retreat. K

th teeth, claws, and a savage wi

t hit the ground, twitchi

eir bodies, pantin

e turned b

a r

way.

, blood dripping from his mouth-but she ran strai

he whispered.

g from the change. He collapse

him, holding his

rotect

e hoarse. "Yo

er a

und them, firelight flickering behind them, and someth

st sur

o

st

s eyes. "They'

n't c

u, Zara. You're not

ead. "Then they'll h

. And far away, deeper in the

d heard t

ce banished Kael were

pha was no l

Kael's body trembled with the aftershock of the shift, his skin steaming as it cooled in the open air. Blood streaked his

s man who had become something monstrous and beautiful,

e touch

red there, and Kael's breathing slowed slightly, his eyes flickering open. They were no longer wol

that," she murmured. "You were...

d hard. "I al

eek, ignoring the blood and dir

"I haven't shifted in so long. I thought I'd lose

thumb over his cheek. "You didn'

spring breaking through frost. Zara leaned in, pressing her fore

of this means. But I know this... I've never felt safer

and placed it over hers, anc

" he whispered. "But for you, I bro

" she said, eyes shining. "Not when you

etween them, heavy w

her lips. He didn't l

Zara

a l

and for a few seconds, they just breathed each other in. Heat, adre

t kiss hi

enough to feel h

he finally spoke. "We should

m f

refoot in

u're bl

that-exhausted, stained in ba

d his waist, his around her shoulder. As they limped back toward the shelter, Zara wh

l, deep sound from

ed weakly, casting shadows across his bare, battered chest. She knelt beside h

linc

" she m

You have a

ement, every breath. Her hair was wild from wind and fear, her skin kissed by moonlight. She looked

nd again. This time,

id quietly. "But I know this. I'll never

et his

carefully, s

a

gainst his temple. He

se, not

mbled. "You didn't just save me ton

ak. He just squ

and heartbeats, a bond was sealed-not f

eni