Chapter 2 The Blood Moon Rises

The night smelled of rain and something darker-blood.

Celeste Vail pulled her hood lower as she hurried through the Eclipsed Woods, her pulse hammering like a war drum. Her father's warnings echoed in her mind:

Never step off the lantern path. Never enter the woods alone. And never, ever trust a Blood Alpha.

She had never broken the rules before.

But tonight, she had no choice.

Her brother Damon had been missing since dusk, and the only trail led here-into the cursed heart of the forest where no sane wolf dared to tread.

The trees here were unnatural, their twisted branches reaching like skeletal fingers toward the sky. Mist curled low over the ground, thick and ghostly, swallowing the distant glow of the village lights.

Celeste tightened her grip on the dagger at her hip-a pathetic thing against whatever lurked in these woods. Her wolf stirred uneasily inside her, whispering that something was watching.

Then-a sound.

A low, ragged breath.

Celeste froze.

Just ahead, slumped against a fallen tree, was a man.

Her heart slammed into her ribs. No-not a man.

A wolf.

He was massive, even in human form, his body carved from muscle and coated in blood. His black shirt was torn open, revealing deep claw marks across his chest, the wounds barely closing-a sign of silver poisoning.

But that wasn't what made her breath catch.

His eyes.

They weren't the golden hue of a Beta or the deep brown of an Omega.

They were red.

A chill shot down her spine. Blood Alpha.

Her father had told her stories of them as a child-wolves so powerful, so ruthless, they were practically untouchable. But they were myths. Legends. There hadn't been a Blood Alpha sighting in years.

And yet, here he was.

Celeste took a slow step back. Run. Every instinct screamed it. Run now.

Then, his eyes snapped open.

Her breath caught as those crimson irises locked onto hers.

The stranger exhaled, like he had been waiting for this moment. And then, before she could move, his hand shot out-gripping her wrist in an iron hold.

Celeste gasped, a shock of heat exploding through her veins at his touch. Her wolf recoiled and reached for him all at once. A burning sensation rushed through her blood, foreign and familiar all at once, like something inside her had been waiting for this moment.

His fingers tightened, his voice raw. "Don't go."

Celeste tried to pull away, but the instant his skin met hers, a spark of power surged between them-something deep, ancient, and unbreakable.

The stranger stilled. His red eyes widened, his grip shifting to her pulse.

Then, he did something that sent ice through her veins.

He smiled.

"Finally," he murmured, his voice dark with something dangerous.

Celeste's pulse roared in her ears. "What?"

His bloody fingers traced her wrist, sending another wave of heat through her body. His next words were quiet, almost reverent.

"Mine."

Celeste's heart stopped.

And somewhere in the distance, a howl shattered the silence.

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