Chapter 2 Beasts at dawn. (Celia's POV)

I stumble forward, clutching my side where the steel bit too deep-every breath a jagged shard of pain. Adrenaline still hums through my veins, a fierce echo of last night's nightmare in the alley. My jacket is shredded; the wound burns hot beneath my fingers. But there's no time to nurse injuries. I have a lead to follow.

I force my legs to carry me past the crumbling brownstones, past the silent drunk sleeping on the stoop, until I reach the back door of an abandoned warehouse. My boots squeak on rusted metal steps as I slip inside, blade drawn. Flickering fluorescents overhead sputter in broken rhythm, painting jagged shadows across crates stamped with peeling symbols-handmade sigils nearly hidden beneath layers of grime.

I move between the stacks, senses stretched taut. Every breath tastes of damp concrete and old fear. I flip my knife in my hand, thumb tracing the bevel as I search for signs: fur caught on splintered wood, paw prints muddled in oil slick, the sulfur tang of bestial sweat. I didn't come here for another fight, but for answers.

There: a smear of dark liquid on the floor. I crouch, nose scrunched, and sniff. It's not blood-thicker, funkier. Wolf sweat. My pulse tightens. This is fresh. Whoever-or whatever-shed that sweat is still here. I scan the gloom and follow it, boots whispering on cracked concrete.

A low growl rumbles ahead. I freeze. Knife raised, I step toward the sound. A hulking silhouette emerges: the lone wolf I've been chasing for nights, fur matted, ribs showing beneath ragged pelt. Its golden eyes flare in the dim light, lips peeling back to reveal jagged teeth.

I swallow past the tightness in my throat and force myself forward. "Easy," I whisper, voice rough. "I'm not here to kill you... unless you force me." My fingers flex around the hilt. The beast snorts, hackles rising. Its head lowers, shoulders coiling like springs.

I lunge for a flank, blade slicing through air-only to miss as the creature darts forward. Muscles ripple beneath fur as it counterattacks, fangs snapping an inch from my wrist. I twist away, boots skidding on oil, and stab blindly in retreat. The knife clangs off metal girders.

"Damn it." My chest heaves. I need a plan-fast. The wolf charges again, a blur of fur and fury. I sidestep, drive with both heels into its flank. It stumbles but doesn't break. I scramble backward against a stack of crates, bumping into wood and sending splinters raining.

Another growl, louder this time. The creature rears on its hind legs, claws extended. I press a momentary prayer to whatever god still listens: thanks for last night's savior. Then-

A shock of movement: massive boots, a dark coat slicing through the dim. A deep voice murmurs, "Step back."

The beast whirls toward him. I watch, transfixed, as he strides forward, calm as a mountain. His amber eyes gleam, and I remember the rain-streaked face, the glint of fangs beneath human lips. Lucian Kane.

The wolf lunges. Lucian catches its wrist in the crook of his arm, bone-cracking snap echoing like gunfire. A whistling sigh from the wolf, and its claws jettison. The beast buckles. He twists its arm, pivoting on his heel, and hurls it sideways-hard. It slams into a concrete pillar, and cracks spiderweb across its skull before it falls still.

I barely register the sight before another wolf rounds the corner, hackles high. Lucian pivots without hesitation, fist colliding with the creature's muzzle. A flash of impact sends fur flying. The wolf shrieks, staggering back, and Lucian follows, closing with a savage punch that sends it against the wall. Paws scrabble, then go slack.

My knees weaken. He turns, coat flapping like dark wings, and locks eyes with me. Our gazes collide-hers and mine-time stalling in the wreckage of fur and blood. His expression is blank, the faintest quirk of curiosity in his brow. Then he nods, and without a word he strides past me, back into the gloom where the wolves lie motionless.

I duck under a drooping girder to kneel beside the nearest body. The rain still drips through holes in the roof, plinking onto fur. I test the wolf's throat-no pulse. These creatures should have taken me down. Instead, they're nothing but carcasses at my feet.

I look up, voice catching on a breath I hadn't realized I was holding. "How did you-"

Lucian's silhouette emerges from shadow. He steps into the pale light, hands tucked into his coat pockets. His coat is buttoned high around a broad chest that tightens with each breath.

"Not the time for questions," he says, voice low. He pauses, tilts his head. "You okay?"

I swallow hard and close my eyes for a fraction of a second. Pain radiates in my side, but I force myself upright. "I'm-yes. Thanks."

He watches me, amber gaze unreadable. "You shouldn't be chasing these things alone." He pauses. "They're feeding on something-or someone-out there." He flicks his glance beyond me, toward the open warehouse doors.

I follow his gaze. Moonlight pools across a broken concrete lot, littered with overturned dumpsters and scattered trash. The city beyond gloats in neon-its heartbeat impervious to our violence.

"What are they hunting?" I ask, voice tighter than I'd like.

Lucian steps closer, boots crunching on broken glass. He crouches, fingers brushing a single golden hair caught on a shard. He brings it close to his nose, inhales. "Something vulnerable." He holds it out to me. "Something frightened."

I stare at the hair-coarse, gold-tipped-then up at him. Fear and fascination blur together. I tuck the hair into my coat. "Okay. Then we find what they're after."

He stands. "We stick together." His voice softens. "You and I."

His words spark a flicker of heat in my chest-and a flare of dread. Teaming up with him is a risk I shouldn't take. But the scent of prey lingers, and vengeance claws at my gut. I need answers.

"Fine," I say, voice steadying. "Teamwork." I force a tight smile.

He lifts an eyebrow but doesn't smile back. Instead he nods once and turns toward the exit. I follow, boots splashing through puddles that mirror the moon.

Outside, the air tastes colder. A wail of tires on wet asphalt echoes as a car tears past. We move toward the street-two silhouettes under a blood-red neon sign.

I swallow the knot in my throat. "What now?"

Lucian tilts his head, scanning the block. "First, we find out who-or what-sparked tonight's hunt." He steps under the neon glow. "Then we end it."

We step into the night together, the city's pulse thrumming around us. Every heartbeat pulls me deeper into a world I can't escape-and toward a wolf in human skin who might be my only salvation... or my worst betrayal of all.