Chapter 5 Wolves at the Gate

The forest behind Blackthorn Lodge had a vibe.

And that vibe was "Something out here absolutely wants to eat you."

Cleo jogged behind Luca, branches slapping her face, heart pounding like a bass drum in a rave. She wasn't sure if it was adrenaline, fear, or the unsettling feeling that this was somehow the second weirdest thing to happen to her this week.

"Are we seriously doing this?" she gasped, ducking under a branch.

"Yes," Luca said, scanning the trees ahead. "We have to find the rogues before they find you."

"Well maybe if you didn't smell like old spice and alpha hormones, they wouldn't be tracking you so hard."

Luca didn't answer. His eyes had gone gold. Not just "glowy in the dark" gold-full supernatural, your-date-might-eat-you gold.

They crested a hill, and that's when Cleo saw them.

Two figures moving in a blur beneath the moonlight, faster than should be legal. One was tall and lean, fur silvered with streaks of black. The other was bulkier, with a ragged ear and a snarl that sounded like something torn from a nightmare.

Rogue werewolves.

And they had definitely caught the scent.

Luca let out a low growl that vibrated in Cleo's chest. "Stay behind me."

"Why?" she whispered.

"Because if they bond-mark you, the whole pack war starts."

"Bond-mark?!" she shrieked.

"One bite. Anywhere. And they claim you."

"Why does every supernatural rule sound like a toxic Tinder date?!"

The rogues lunged.

Everything happened in a blur. Luca shifted mid-sprint-his body stretching and warping into a massive black wolf that landed between her and the attackers like an earthquake wrapped in fur.

Cleo stumbled backward, heart hammering. She wasn't a fighter. She was a sarcasm-powered caffeine goblin with anxiety and a half-dead houseplant named Jeff.

But when one of the rogues flanked Luca and bolted toward her-teeth bared, eyes red with something wrong-her instincts took over.

Her fingers burned.

Literally.

A golden heat exploded from her palms, and the air around her howled. Not in sound-in energy. The kind that rippled across dimensions and made the rogue freeze mid-leap.

Luca whipped around.

"What did you just do?" he asked through the bond.

"I don't know!" she yelled, staring at her glowing hands. "But I might be a Jedi!"

The stunned rogue tried to move again, but Cleo raised a hand, and shoved-not with her body, but with the magic crackling through her veins.

The wolf went flying ten feet into a tree.

She blinked. "Okay, what?!"

Luca finished off the second rogue with a terrifying snarl and a flash of claws. The forest fell quiet, except for the sounds of Cleo hyperventilating like she'd just run a marathon while discovering she was a mutant.

He shifted back, bare-chested and panting. "You... did something. With the bond."

"I threw a wolf. With my mind."

"That's not supposed to happen."

"Great. Add it to the list of things that aren't supposed to happen this week, right after 'fall in love with a werewolf prince' and 'accidentally start a supernatural turf war.'"

Luca stepped closer, concern creasing his brow. "Are you hurt?"

"No. Just confused. Horny. Terrified. But not hurt."

He blinked. "Did you say-"

"Skip it. Not important."

He reached out and took her hands. They were still faintly warm, like battery packs. "This might be the bond evolving."

"You think I have powers?"

He nodded slowly. "It's rare. But possible. Fated mates sometimes... unlock things in each other."

Cleo looked at the smoking dent in the tree. "You unlock rage throws?"

"I've always been emotionally repressed," Luca said flatly.

Cleo exhaled, eyes wide. "Is it always this crazy? Werewolf life?"

Luca smirked. "You haven't even met my mother yet."

"Oh God."