Chapter 2 THE ENEMY'S TOUCH

The night air was suffocating.

Celyn's breath hitched as silver-cloaked wolves surrounded her, their growls low and lethal. Branches cracked under heavy boots, and the full moon spilled blood-like light across the clearing.

She'd been caught.

And Lucas Silverclaw stood like a shield in front of her, his massive frame tense, ready to tear his own kind apart.

"This doesn't concern you, Lucas," one of the wolves growled. His voice was thick with suspicion. "Step aside."

"She's mine."

The words fell like thunder.

Celyn's heart lurched. Her eyes widened.

Mine?

Even the Silverclaw warriors hesitated, confusion flickering across their eyes. Mating bonds were sacred. Rare. If Lucas was claiming her... it wasn't just rebellion. It was a war.

The largest of the wolves took a step forward. "You've gone mad. That's a Nightfang."

Lucas didn't blink. "Touch her, and you'll bleed."

Celyn saw it then something unhinged in him. A wildness. Not a weakness. No hesitation.

Possession.

She felt it too, pulsing deep in her chest like a second heartbeat. Her wolf howled beneath her skin, clawing to rise.

The warrior's eyes narrowed. "The Alpha will hear of this."

"Let him," Lucas said, his voice ice. "But if you speak of her to anyone remember, you were the one who let a Nightfang walk free."

The threat hung heavy in the air.

Tension crackled like a live wire.

Then, slowly, the Silverclaw warriors stepped back into the shadows and vanished.

Silence returned.

Celyn's legs gave out. She dropped to her knees, breath shaking. "You... claimed me."

Lucas turned, his expression unreadable. "I saved you."

"That's not what it sounded like."

He crouched in front of her, his silver eyes piercing. "Do you think I wanted this? That I asked for this bond?"

The words stung more than they should've.

Celyn looked away. "No. But it's there. We both feel it."

He didn't deny it.

"I should hate you," he said quietly. "You're the daughter of the man who burned our border villages. My people bleed because of yours."

"And you're the son of the Alpha who slaughtered innocent healers in the night," she snapped back. "I should hate you more."

His lips twitched. "Then why haven't you run?"

Celyn didn't have an answer.

Because every cell in her body told her not to.

Because when he looked at her like that she was both the storm and the calm she couldn't breathe.

She stood shakily. "We can't keep meeting like this."

"No," Lucas said, stepping closer. "But we will."

The air between them charged again. Celyn's skin tingled where his hand brushed her arm. A fire bloomed low in her belly.

This wasn't just a bond.

It was an obsession waiting to happen.

"Go home, Celyn," he whispered. "Before I forget how much I'm supposed to hate you."

She did go home. But her soul stayed in that clearing.

For two days, she avoided her father. Avoided Elara. Avoided mirrors that might reveal how much she'd changed.

Because her wolf was restless.

It wanted him.

And the next time she woke up in a cold sweat, heart thundering with a phantom touch, she stopped fighting it.

She slipped into the woods again.

Lucas was already there like he knew she'd come.

"You're late," he said.

Celyn scowled. "You're lucky I came at all."

He chuckled softly. "Still full of fire, I see."

"And you're still full of arrogance."

Their eyes met. Smoldered. Neither moved.

Then Lucas reached out and touched a strand of her hair. "White like snow," he murmured. "But you burn like wildfire."

Celyn swallowed hard. "Stop saying things like that."

"Why?"

"Because I might believe you."

Silence.

Then, "Maybe I want you to."

Her breath caught as he stepped closer his scent, a mix of pine and storm, wrapped around her.

"I don't understand this," she whispered.

"Neither do I," he said. "But it's real."

He brushed a knuckle down her cheek, and she shivered.

"And real things," he murmured, "are always dangerous."

Before she could speak, something cracked in the distance.

A branch.

Lucas went rigid. His eyes shifted to gold wolf eyes. "We're not alone."

Celyn's instincts screamed.

They turned and saw it.

A figure. Hooded. Watching.

Then it was gone.

Lucas grabbed her hand. "Run."

They sprinted through the forest, weaving between trees, branches slashing at their skin. Whoever followed them was fast unnaturally so.

Not a Silverclaw. Not a Nightfang.

A rogue.

They broke into a clearing. The moonlight illuminated everything.

Lucas turned, shifting halfway his bones cracking, teeth lengthening, eyes feral.

A snarl ripped through the trees.

The rogue leapt out gray and massive, with a scar down its muzzle.

It lunged for Celyn.

Lucas roared and tackled it midair. The two wolves collided, snarling and clawing, blood spraying across leaves.

Celyn backed up, heart racing.

She had to help. She couldn't just watch.

She pulled a silver dagger from her boot and leapt forward just as the rogue pinned Lucas down.

"Lucas!"

She plunged the blade into the rogue's side.

It howled in pain, turning on her.

Celyn rolled, barely dodging its jaws.

Lucas was up again shifting fully this time, his black wolf form massive, eyes glowing gold.

He launched at the rogue, sinking teeth into its throat.

The forest fell silent.

The rogue went still.

Lucas shifted back slowly, blood staining his jaw and chest.

"You okay?" he asked, breath ragged.

"I've been better," Celyn muttered, wiping her blade.

He walked over to her, expression tight. "That wasn't just any rogue."

"I know. It was watching us. Listening."

Lucas nodded grimly. "Someone knows about us."

A chill ran down Celyn's spine.

"Who would send a rogue?"

Lucas looked into the shadows. "Someone who wants this bond broken. Someone willing to kill to make sure it never becomes more."

Her lips parted. "Your father?"

He didn't answer.

But she saw it in his eyes.

Fear. Rage. And something else.

Determination.

"We're not safe," he said. "They won't stop with one."

Celyn stepped closer. "Then we fight."

Lucas blinked. "You'd go against your own kind for me?"

"I'd go against the world if they try to control who I'm meant for."

That was the moment their lips collided.

Fierce. Desperate. Hungry.

It wasn't sweet. It was claiming.

His hands tangled in her hair, her nails scraped down his back. They kissed like they were burning alive and trying to set the other on fire too.

When they broke apart, breathless, Celyn whispered, "This bond... it's not a weakness."

Lucas touched his forehead to hers. "No. It's a weapon."

But weapons drew blood.

And somewhere deep in the forest, another pair of eyes watched.

Another mouth whispered a name.

And another blade was being sharpened for the next strike.