Chapter 2 THE PREDATOR'S MEMORY

The storm outside Morris's fortress raged like the turmoil inside him. Lightning slashed across the sky, illuminating the stone walls, the weapons, the wolf-crests, and the man who stood at the window-unmoving, unblinking, unhinged.

Morris had not slept since Samantha fled.

He didn't need to.

Obsession had become his fuel.

He rolled the silver ring between his fingers, the one she used to wear on a necklace. The metal was cold enough to numb his fingers, yet his chest burned-burned with rejection, humiliation... and something darker.

"Run all you want, my dove," Morris murmured, voice smooth but soaked in menace. "You can't escape destiny. You can't escape me."

A gust of wind slammed the balcony doors open. His warriors flinched, exchanging uneasy glances. None dared close them. Not when their commander was in this mood.

Morris smiled faintly, a smile too calm for a man slowly losing his mind.

They didn't know the truth.

No one did.

Behind the polished armor, behind the reputation of a disciplined, honorable warrior, lay something vicious... something designed to possess, to control, to consume.

And Samantha-sweet, stubborn Samantha-had awakened the worst part of him.

He remembered the first time he saw her. She'd been carrying herbs back to the village, sunlight catching the loose strands of her hair. She'd laughed at something a child said, the sound delicate, airy, innocent.

Something inside him snapped.

He had followed her home that night.

Followed her again the next.

Then again.

Each glance, each word, each tiny smile she gave to anyone sent a furious pulse through him.

She wasn't allowed to give her light to others.

Not when he had already claimed her in his mind.

But she didn't understand. She never did.

He had been patient at first-gentle even. Bringing her flowers. Offering protection. Pretending to be the hero she deserved.

And she had rejected him.

Not once.

Not twice.

But every damn time.

The memory flickered through him like a blade.

Her voice trembling.

"Morris... I don't want you. I don't feel safe with you."

Not safe?

Lightning cracked again, and Morris's eyes glowed gold with the fury of a threatened wolf.

He had given her everything-attention, devotion, power-yet she'd run from him like he was a monster.

He slammed his fist into the stone wall. Cracks shot outward like spider webs.

Behind him, Beta Rowan swallowed nervously. "My lord... scouts report they found blood in the forest. A woman's blood."

Morris turned slowly, as if savoring the words.

"And?"

"They found signs of a struggle. Someone dragged her deeper into the woods."

Morris's smile grew, chillingly calm.

"So, she fought." He touched the faint scratch across his cheek-her last act of rebellion before she fled him into the night. "She's always had spirit. That's what I love about her."

Rowan hesitated. "But... the scent trail doesn't lead to the river or the old road. It heads toward... the Dark Boundary."

Silence thickened the room.

The Dark Boundary wasn't just a forest line-it was the border of King Zoro's territory. The Alpha King. The one man Morris despised more than any enemy.

The one man who had the power to ruin everything.

Morris's jaw ticked. His wolf snarled beneath his skin.

Zoro was rumored to be merciless, powerful, cursed with a past soaked in blood and betrayal. A king who trusted no one. A king who killed without blinking. A man whose aura alone could force lesser wolves to their knees.

And worst of all-

Zoro hated Morris.

Their rivalry had started years ago with a territory dispute, but had grown into something far more personal. Something lethal.

Morris hissed one word, each syllable dripping with rage.

"Samantha." Samantha...

If Zoro had found her...

If Zoro had touched her...

If Samantha, blind and terrified, had stumbled into the arms of his greatest enemy-

Something inside Morris cracked open.

She was his.

His obsession.

His treasure.

His punishment.

His destiny.

"I don't care how many forests burn," Morris said quietly. "I don't care how many bodies fall. Find her. Bring her back to me." She has always been mine and forever she will be.

Rowan nodded quickly. "Of course, my lord."

But Morris wasn't finished.

"And send a scout team into Zoro's territory. I want every rumor, every whisper, every damn breath of information."

Rowan hesitated. "But crossing into Zoro's land could start a war-"

Morris's stare sliced through him.

"I'm already at war."

Rowan bowed and rushed out, grateful to escape before the commander's mood darkened further.

When the doors shut, Morris turned back to the storm.

His voice was soft. Too soft.

"If you won't see me," he whispered, picking up the silver ring again, "then you won't see anyone."

His fingers tightened until the metal dug into his palm.

"You think you can run to another wolf?" he murmured, voice dripping with venom. "To him?"

Thunder shook the sky.

Morris let the rage consume him, his eyes glowing brighter, his bones shifting, cracking. His wolf fought for release, clawing at his ribcage.

He forced it down.

Not yet.

Not until he found her.

Not until she begged him to stop.

He walked toward the weapons rack. His hand hovered over the blades before choosing a black-handled dagger-her favorite. She used it the day she tried to escape him. The day she slashed his face. The day he snapped.

The day he took her sight.

He pressed the blade to his lips, savoring the phantom taste of her skin.

"You belong to me, Samantha."

His voice was no longer human.

"And I will hunt you."

Lightning flashed violently, illuminating the monster that had replaced the once-honored warrior.

"Dead," Morris whispered, lips curling,

"or alive."

The balcony doors slammed shut on their own, as if even the storm feared him.

Morris slid the dagger into its sheath, turned, and strode out-each step a vow, each breath a promise.

He would cross kingdoms.

He would scorch the world.

He would pick a fight with the Alpha King himself if he had to.

Because Samantha might think she'd escaped him-

-but Morris knew the truth.

This wasn't freedom.

This was only the beginning.

Of the hunt.

Of the war.

Of the destiny she had no idea she was tangled in.

And in the darkest corner of the fortress, shadows trembled as a whisper traveled through the air, carrying words Samantha would soon fear more than death:

"He's coming"