I darted behind the nearest tree, pressing myself against the rough bark as I crouched low enough to disappear into the shadows.

My pulse thundered in my ears.

Footsteps echoed through the forest.

Not paws.

Boots.

For some reason, that only made me more nervous.

I held my breath, straining to listen as the sound grew closer through the trees. Slow. Unhurried. Confident.

Whoever was out there wasn’t afraid of anything.

The footsteps stopped.

A second later, water splashed softly against the shore.

Curiosity clawed at me despite every instinct screaming at me to stay hidden. Slowly, carefully, I leaned around the tree

And forgot how to breathe.

“Damn…” I whispered under my breath.

Moonlight wrapped around him like silver smoke.

The stranger crouched beside the lake, one knee bent as he dipped his hand into the dark water. He looked unreal. Dangerous in the way storms were dangerous beautiful enough to admire, deadly enough to destroy.

Enzo was handsome.

This man was devastating.

Black hair fell carelessly across his forehead, stirred by the night breeze. His features were sharp and masculine, carrying a savage kind of beauty that made my stomach tighten unexpectedly. Everything about him radiated power. Confidence. Control.

He wore fitted black pants and a dark shirt with several buttons undone at the collar, exposing tanned skin and the hard lines of his chest beneath.

My eyes shamelessly drifted lower.

Broad shoulders.

Strong arms.

Large hands.

Moon Goddess help me.

I should not have been staring at another man this way.

Especially not when tomorrow might be the night Enzo became my mate.

But I couldn’t look away.

Something about this stranger pulled at me in a way I didn’t understand.

Then his hand turned beneath the moonlight.

And I froze.

Blood coated his fingers.

My stomach dropped instantly.

The blood wasn’t his.

A chill crawled down my spine.

What in the Goddess’s name was I doing admiring a man who looked like he walked straight out of a nightmare?

I jerked backward too quickly, my shoe scraping loudly against loose branches.

The sound shattered the silence.

A low chuckle drifted through the trees.

Rich. Deep. Amused.

“Enjoying the view?”

Every muscle in my body locked.

He knew I was there.

“Come out, little wolf,” he called lazily. “I don’t bite without reason.”

Heat rushed embarrassingly into my cheeks despite the fear gripping me.

His voice was sinful.

Dark and smooth enough to send shivers racing down my spine.

“I have to admit,” he continued, “I didn’t expect to find a woman wandering alone in these woods at night.” Another pause. “Should I be concerned for your safety… or everyone else’s?”

Leaves crunched softly.

He was moving closer.

Panic exploded inside me.

I looked around desperately for an escape route, but the only open path led uphill. Even if I ran, there was no guarantee I could outrun him especially if he shifted.

Then another voice suddenly cut through the forest.

“General!”

The stranger stopped moving.

“I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

General?

My breath caught.

The footsteps shifted direction.

He was leaving.

Relief hit me so hard my knees nearly gave out.

I didn’t waste another second.

The moment the sounds faded, I spun around and bolted uphill through the trees as fast as my legs could carry me. Branches clawed at my skin and roots nearly sent me crashing face-first into the dirt, but I didn’t stop.

Behind me, I could have sworn I heard another low chuckle.

Like he found my fear amusing.

I didn’t look back once.

By the time I reached the sandy road marking Black Blade territory, my lungs burned painfully. I collapsed against a tree, gasping for air as sweat trickled down my spine.

My thoughts spiraled wildly.

Who was that man?

And why had someone called him General?

No Man’s Land was dangerous territory avoided by most packs. Only powerful wolves crossed those borders freely.

Something about him felt wrong.

Not wrong in the way Dante felt wrong.

Worse.

Ancient.

Lethal.

I forced myself to breathe slowly before finally glancing back toward the forest.

Nothing.

No movement.

No pursuit.

Relief loosened my chest

“Gianna. What a pleasant surprise.”

Ice flooded my veins instantly.

I knew that voice.

Dante.

I turned slowly to find him stepping onto the road with three warriors beside him.

My stomach twisted.

Of course the Goddess hated me.

Dante, Beta Vincenzo’s son, wore his usual cruel grin as his hazel eyes swept over me. There had always been something rotten about him. The way he looked at women. The way he smiled when others suffered.

And for reasons I never understood, he especially enjoyed tormenting me.

Maybe because he knew about Enzo and me.

Maybe because he hated that the future Alpha chose someone beneath him.

“What do you want, Dante?” I snapped.

His grin widened.

“You.”

The warriors behind him laughed darkly.

My blood ran cold.

“What?”

Dante shrugged casually, stepping closer. “It’s your last night as an unmated little wolf.” His gaze lingered on the torn front of my dress. “Seems a shame not to enjoy it.”

Fear coiled violently in my stomach.

The warriors spread out around me instantly.

Surrounding me.

“Don’t touch me,” I hissed, forcing steel into my voice. “You know Enzo and I are together.”

“Oh, I know,” Dante said with a mocking laugh. “But I don’t think Enzo would mind sharing.”

Rage and panic crashed through me together.

“Get her.”

The warriors lunged.

I barely had time to raise my arms before rough hands grabbed my wrists.

Then—

A growl thundered through the forest.

The sound was so deep the ground beneath my feet seemed to vibrate.

Every warrior froze.

Fear drained the color from Dante’s face as all four men stared behind me.

Slowly, I turned.

And my soul nearly left my body.

A massive black wolf emerged from the darkness.

No

Not a wolf.

A monster.

Moonlight gleamed across black fur as enormous paws carried the beast silently forward. Its crimson eyes burned like fire in the night, filled with something terrifyingly inhuman.

Alpha.

Only the strongest bloodlines carried red eyes.

The beast’s gaze locked onto me first.

For one horrifying second, I couldn’t move.

Something about him felt strangely familiar.

Then the wolf growled again.

The sound shook the trees.

Suddenly it lunged past me.

“Shift!” Dante screamed.

Chaos erupted instantly.

The warriors transformed in flashes of snapping bone and fur, but it didn’t matter.

The black Alpha moved too fast.

One wolf launched toward him, jaws aimed for his throat.

The Alpha caught him midair with a single massive paw and slammed him into the ground hard enough to crack bone. Before the warrior could recover, the Alpha’s jaws closed around his neck.

Crunch.

I slapped a hand over my mouth in horror.

The body went limp instantly.

But the beast didn’t stop.

He crushed the corpse beneath his paws as if consumed by pure rage.

Dante stumbled backward in terror.

None of them stood a chance.

And suddenly I realized something even worse.

If this Alpha was willing to slaughter warriors from another pack…

he would never allow a witness to leave alive.

Run.

The instinct screamed through me.

I turned and sprinted blindly through the forest.

Behind me came snarls.

Screams.

Bones cracking.

One desperate howl cut through the night before ending abruptly in a whimper.

Another death.

I forced myself to run faster despite the tears burning my eyes.

Branches tore at my skin as terror pushed my body beyond exhaustion. I didn’t stop until the trees finally opened and our small cottage came into view.

I stumbled inside and slammed the door shut behind me, locking every bolt with shaking hands.

Not that any lock would stop a monster like that.

For several seconds, I stood there frozen, staring at the door while my pulse hammered wildly.

Silence filled the cottage.

Father was probably unconscious after another night spent drinking himself numb.

Livia had likely gone to bed early to prepare for tomorrow’s Mating Ball.

Neither of them knew how close death had come tonight.

And I intended to keep it that way.

Quietly, I washed up before crawling into bed, but sleep never came.

Every time I closed my eyes, I saw glowing red eyes in the darkness.

Felt that terrifying power pressing against my skin.

My instincts had kept me alive this long.

And right now, they were screaming.

Something was coming.

Something terrible.

And somehow…

I knew I would see those crimson eyes again at tomorrow night’s ball.