POV Avery
When the vampire disappears into the mist like she’s made of smoke, something in my wolf goes absolutely feral. Not the usual territorial rage, this is different.
This is… hunger.
The kind that has nothing to do with food and everything to do with the fact that she just walked away from me like I’m some amateur who doesn’t deserve her full attention.
Which is basically insulting on ten different levels.
I’m still standing in that clearing, fists clenched, when my brain finally kicks back online.
Right. Vampire. Territory. Pack safety.
The responsible thing would be dragging her bloodsucking ass back to Father by her dark wave hair, but apparently my survival instincts took a coffee break at the worst possible moment.
Instead, I’m jogging back to the guard station like I didn’t just have the world’s most confusing almost-fight with a creature that should be my natural enemy.
“Marco, double the perimeter watch,” I tell the night shift leader, trying to sound authoritative instead of like I just got my entire worldview scrambled. “Vampire activity near the southern border.”
His eyebrows shoot up. “You see one?”
“Tracked the scent. Could be scouting.” Not technically a lie.
She was definitely scouting something, even if that something might have been me specifically.
“Copy that. Want me to alert the Alpha?”
“I’ll handle the report,” I say quickly, because the last thing I need is Father asking detailed questions about why I didn’t come back with a vampire’s head or prisoner. “Just keep everyone sharp.”
Back in the watch house, I settle into my usual corner with my blade maintenance kit.
The familiar ritual of sharpening steel should be calming, but my hands won’t stop shaking. The name “AVERY SHADOW” is etched into the blade in precise letters—Father’s idea when I turned sixteen.
“So you never forget who you’re fighting for,” he’d said.
Right now, I’m not sure who I’m fighting for. Or against.
The vampire moved like liquid death wrapped in attitude.
Everything about her screamed dangerous—the way she held herself, the casual arrogance in her voice, those eyes that seemed to see straight through whatever facade I was trying to maintain.
But there was something else there too.
Something that made my wolf sit up and take notice instead of just wanting to rip her throat out. Like she was issuing a challenge I didn’t know how to answer yet.
She talked to me like she could actually see me. Not Prime Alpha’s disappointment of a daughter, not the future bride being traded for political alliance, not the heir who’s too soft for leadership.
Just… me. Avery. The person I am when nobody else is watching.
That’s the dangerous part about vampires, though. They see too much.
They know exactly which buttons to push to get under your skin, and apparently this one found mine without even trying.
“You’re the Alpha’s daughter.”
I freeze, blade halfway through its sharpening stroke. That voice, silky and amused and way too close, is coming from directly behind me.
I don’t turn around. Don’t give her the satisfaction of knowing she just made my heart rate spike into cardiac arrest territory.
“You’ve got balls showing up here.”
“Among other things.” I can hear the smirk in her voice. “Nice name on the blade, by the way. Very personal touch.”
Now I do turn, the weapon already in motion, but she’s not where her voice was coming from.
She’s across the room, leaning against the window frame like she owns the place.
“How long have you been watching me?” I ask, because honestly, that’s the more disturbing question here.
“Long enough to know you’ve been thinking about our little dance.”
She pushes off from the window, moving with that same fluid grace that annoyed me so much in the clearing.
“The question is what conclusions did you reach?”
“That I should have dragged you back to my pack by your fangs.”
“But you didn’t.”
“No,” I admit, because lying seems pointless when she’s standing in my guard station like some kind of supernatural home invasion. “I didn’t.”
“Why?”
The question hangs between us like a trap I’m about to step into. Because how do I explain that something about her made me want to keep fighting?
“Maybe I wanted to see what you’d do next,” I say instead.
“And?”
“Apparently break into secure facilities and stalk people while they’re trying to work.”
She laughs, and the sound does things to my nervous system that are definitely not appropriate for the current situation.
“I prefer to think of it as making a dramatic entrance.”
“Most people knock.”
“I’m not most people.”
No shit. Most people don’t move like predators wearing human skin.
Most people don’t have eyes that seem to catalog every micro-expression on my face. Most people don’t make me feel like I’m standing on the edge of a cliff, about to either fall or fly.
“What do you want?” I ask, because this conversation needs to have a point.
A point before I do something stupid like ask her to sit down and explain exactly how she managed to disappear into literal mist.
“Honestly? I’m not sure yet.” She tilts her head, studying me like I’m a puzzle she’s trying to solve. “You’re not what I expected.”
“What did you expect?”
“Someone more…” She gestures vaguely. “Predictable. Most wolves are all bark and bite, no subtlety. But you? You’re calculating. Patient. It’s interesting.”
“Glad I can provide entertainment.”
“Oh, you’re definitely entertaining.” Her smile shows just a hint of fang. “But that’s not why I’m here.”
“Then why are you here?”
The question seems to catch her off guard. For just a second, that confident mask slips, and I see something else underneath. Something that looks almost… lonely.
“Because,” she says finally, “I think we both know the answer to this. Or am I wrong?”
She’s right, and I hate that she’s right.
“No,” I agree quietly. “You’re not.”
“Good.” She moves toward the window, preparing to leave the same way she came. “I was hoping you’d say that.”
“Wait.” The word comes out before I can stop it.
She pauses, looking back at me with raised eyebrows.
“Next time,” I say, “use the door. You’re going to give someone a heart attack with that disappearing act.”
Her grin is pure trouble. “Where’s the fun in—”
The guard station door slams open.
Marco bursts in, three other pack members behind him, all of them armed and looking like they’re ready for war.
“Avery, we’ve got movement on the eastern perimeter. Something big is—”
His words die as he sees her.
Time stops. Four wolves. One vampire. Me standing between them with my blade still in my hand.
The vampire’s expression shifts from amused to lethal in half a heartbeat. Her fangs are fully extended now, and every muscle in her body is coiled for violence.
“Avery,” Marco says slowly, his voice deadly quiet. “Step away from the bloodsucker.”