I bolted upright in bed, gasping like I’d been drowning. The sheets stuck to my skin, soaked in sweat, while my chest rose and fell too fast for comfort. My throat felt scraped dry, and my hands would not stop shaking. In the dream, she’d whispered my name.
“Silas…”
Right before I touched her. Right before everything went dark.
It was the third night in a row, and each dream grew worse—hotter and closer, like a fever that learned my body. Each time, I almost touched her, and each time I woke up one heartbeat too soon. The room held its breath, the window leaking cold that did nothing to cool me.
I was marked by her, and I hadn’t said a word to anyone since it happened. Neither to her nor to Kai. The secret pressed against my ribs like a blade I couldn’t pull free.
After she sank her teeth into me, after her eyes glowed and the bond flared, I packed my gear and walked out of the training ground. I didn’t wait, didn’t explain, and didn’t look back. Cowardice dressed as control.
I made it home before sunset. Hollowmoor looked the same, but everything felt wrong, as if something beneath my skin had shifted. I didn’t feel alone anymore—her energy followed me like a shadow that had learned my gait. Even the hall torches seemed to tilt toward the scent she left inside my lungs.
The mark was just a bruise now—purple and red, hidden beneath my collar—but it throbbed whenever I thought of her.
So I didn’t—or at least I tried not to.
I threw myself into training. Day and night without mercy. Endless sword drills, relentless field runs, and archery until my fingers bled. I pushed harder than ever, chasing exhaustion like it might silence her voice in my head, but it didn’t work. Sweat burned; thoughts did not.
The scent of her still clung to me—mint and ash and something unnameable. I washed twice a day. I changed my sheets nightly. I burned sage in handfuls. Nothing worked; she was everywhere. Even the water tasted like her name.
And the nights pressed hardest against me.
The nights were the worst. That bond had opened something I couldn’t close. Every time I shut my eyes, she was there. And she was never clothed, always just out of reach. Sometimes she was angry; sometimes she was soft. Sometimes she begged, or she looked like she hated me.
The whiplash left me hollowed and fevered.
She always said my name; after that, I always woke up shaking.
“Silas.”
Tonight’s voice was louder than memory. Closer than distance. Almost painfully real. The sound threaded into my pulse and tugged.
I swung my legs out of bed, wiped my face, and tried to steady my breath. Moonlight spilled across my floor in a pale river. From the far training fields, I could hear wolves sparring—faint thuds of fists, low growls, bodies hitting dirt. Every noise arrived muffled, as though the world wore fur.
And still, despite everything, all I could think of was her—Raena Duskborn. The she-wolf who marked me without meaning to, the she-wolf I couldn’t get out of my blood.
Gods, what did you do to me?
I walked barefoot to the fireplace, threw in wood, and lit the flame with a single match. The light flickered and cast long, ragged shadows across the room. I sat down in front of it, elbows on my knees, head heavy with heat and doubt. The mark pulsed once, then again—like a second heartbeat I hadn’t agreed to.
I hadn’t told anyone what happened because I didn’t want their pity. Or worse, I dreaded their fear. If word got out that I was marked by an Ashfang Alpha’s daughter, the council would lose it. They’d call me compromised—weak, unsafe, unfit to lead.
Some already thought exactly that, even before this.
I wasn’t scared of Raena; I was scared of what I’d become with her, and of what this bond might awaken. I stared into the flames while my fingers twitched again. The fire popped, and I flinched like it had spoken.
“Raena,” I whispered.
And then I felt it. The dream hadn’t ended; I was still in it, or maybe the bond had pulled me back in. The room thinned, the air sweetened, and the heat rose like a tide.
The fire flickered once, then twice, and suddenly she was there. Not beside me but inside the space where breath becomes thought. The dream shifted again, and this time she wasn’t across the room or behind mist; she was directly in front of me, glowing.
Naked, bare skin lit by moonlight, eyes gold and wild. Her hair fell loose around her shoulders. Her lips parted in a silent question. Her breath matched mine, and my whole body tensed. The bruise burned like a brand.
“Raena,” I gasped, backing up.
She stepped closer without shame or hesitation.
“You can’t outrun me, Silas,” she said softly.
I froze where I stood, every nerve pulled tight. Her voice echoed in my mind long after she vanished again. And this time, the boundary held; I didn’t wake up. I was already awake.