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

Warning: This book contains intense emotional themes, possessive love, and mature scenes that may cause obsession. Proceed only if you're ready to be claimed...

The forest breathed like a living beast wet soil, broken branches, and the heavy scent of blood soaked the air. Zara ran.

Her bare feet slapped the cold earth as thorns tore at her ankles. Behind her, the growls of rogue wolves rumbled like thunder in her ears. She didn't dare look back. If she tripped if she faltered-it would be the end.

She wasn't supposed to be outside the barrier. Not tonight. Not during the cursed moon.

But fate didn't care for rules, and tonight... fate had other plans.

Zara's lungs burned. Her heartbeat thundered louder than the howls behind her. And just as her legs gave way-just as darkness clawed at the edge of her vision-something moved in the trees ahead. Not a wolf.

A man.

No... not a man.

A monster in human form.

He stepped forward, shadows breaking over the lines of muscle under his skin. Golden eyes locked onto hers, glowing like wildfire, and a low growl vibrated through the earth.

"You crossed into my territory," he said, voice low, deep, dangerous. "That was your first mistake."

Zara's legs buckled. She collapsed at his feet, trembling, eyes wide. She'd heard the stories-the whispers of the cursed Alpha who ruled the eastern border.

Kael.

Blood Alpha. Exiled. Unclaimed.

Untamed.

And now, the man who just saved her from death... might be her greatest threat yet.

Or her only salvation.

Zara didn't know what was more terrifying-the eerie silence of the forest, the blood crusted on her palms, or the man who stood inches from her, eyes glowing like dying embers under the cursed moonlight.

He was taller than any Alpha she'd seen. Not just tall-formidable. Muscles layered like armor, hair disheveled as if he'd run through centuries of war and come out a god of ruin. But it was his voice-low, gravel-laced, and disinterested-that made her skin tingle with fear and something... else.

"You crossed into Bloodland," he murmured, circling her like a predator indulging a moment of curiosity before the kill.

"I didn't mean to," Zara said, her voice trembling. "I-I was running."

He paused behind her. "From what?"

She didn't answer. If she opened her mouth, the sob would escape and crumble whatever dignity she had left.

But Kael-yes, that was his name, whispered like a threat among rogues-stepped closer. The heat of his breath grazed her ear. "If you're hiding something, little wolf... this forest will bleed it out of you."

Zara turned to face him, stubborn and reckless, even in her fear. "I didn't come here to die."

Kael's lips twitched into a cruel smirk. "No one ever does."

Later that night, she couldn't sleep-not with him in the cave, not with the scent of him thick in the air, smoke and pine and danger. She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to ignore the way her body betrayed her with every shiver.

Kael noticed.

"Cold?" he asked.

Zara didn't look up. "I'm fine."

A pause. Then the unmistakable sound of footsteps. Closer. Too close. She felt the shift in the air before he knelt in front of her, eyes searching hers with a new kind of intensity-not cruelty. Curiosity.

"You're not fine," he said quietly. "You're scared. Shaking. Not just from the cold."

She wanted to push him away, to deny how fast her pulse had become.

Instead, she said, "Why haven't you killed me yet?"

Kael's gaze dropped to her lips, then lingered on her throat.

"Because for the first time in a long time, I found something more interesting than death."

And before she could stop him-before she could even breathe-his mouth captured hers in a kiss that wasn't gentle. It was rough, demanding, a silent war between the girl who should have run and the monster who should have let her.

Absolutely - I see where you're going with this, and I'll shape it into a gripping, emotionally rich continuation that flows naturally from what's already been written. Here's the next part of Chapter One of One Moon Before Dawn:

The kiss-raw, reckless, searing-lasted less than a heartbeat. Zara shoved him away with all the strength her battered body could summon, and Kael stumbled back a step as if her touch burned him.

"What the hell are you doing?" she breathed, eyes wide with disbelief. "You don't even know me."

Kael stood there, frozen, something dark flashing across his face-shame? Rage? She couldn't tell. His chest rose and fell, heavy with restrained breath, his hands clenched into fists at his sides.

She took a shaky step back. "I'm not a wolf."

Her voice cracked, but the words struck like thunder. "I'm human. I don't belong in your world. So if you're going to kill me-do it. But don't you dare touch me like I'm yours."

Something in Kael's eyes shifted. The fire in them dimmed.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly-so quietly she almost didn't hear it. "I shouldn't have..." He stopped mid-sentence, turned away, jaw locked, pain flaring in his expression.

And then-without another word-he bolted into the forest, vanishing between the trees like a shadow.

Zara stood alone, the silence deafening. Her lips still tingled with heat, her heart slamming against her ribs, confusion and adrenaline coiling through her like smoke.

"What is happening to me tonight?" she whispered. "I just wanted to go home..."

She shook her head fiercely, tears threatening. "This isn't destiny. This is madness."

The wind rustled the branches. A chill cut through her bones as she turned, limping through the undergrowth. But barely a few steps in, pain shot through her knee like lightning-her leg buckled, and she collapsed to the forest floor with a strangled cry.

Darkness closed in around the edges of her vision. Her body gave out, and the world faded into a blur of stars, branches, and breathless exhaustion.