Page 7 of Fated Wolf's Redemption

Lucas steps forward, closing some of the space between us. He’s bigger up close, more intense, his eyes cutting through the shadows like a predator assessing his prey.

"You don’t belong in the Cascades," he says.

I let out a short laugh, shaking my head. "That’s the thing about my people, Lucas. We belong wherever the wind takes us… thus the name ‘Windriders.’"

His gaze drops briefly to my mouth before snapping back up. The flicker of awareness is so quick I might have imagined it.

"Your father thinks there’s something wrong with the land," he says, ignoring my previous statement. "You agree?"

I narrow my eyes. "You already know the answer to that. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be having this conversation."

He doesn’t deny it. "If it’s true, if there’s something unnatural happening here, I need proof."

I scoff. "Your pack wouldn’t know what to do with proof if it slapped you in the face."

Lucas moves fast, stepping in close, forcing me to tilt my chin up to hold his gaze. My pulse jumps, but I don’t back away.

"Watch it, Windrider," he murmurs, low and warning.

I hold his stare, refusing to let his dominance press me down. "Or what? You’ll chase me off like the stray or misfit you believe all of us to be?"

Something flickers in his expression, something unreadable. Then, he does the last thing I expect.

He chuckles. It’s low, rough, and entirely too appealing, the sound rolling through the space between us like distant thunder.

"You’d be a hell of a lot easier to deal with if you weren’t so damn aggravating," he says.

I grin, stepping back just enough to put a breath of space between us. “I could say the same about you, Stone.”

Lucas watches me for a long moment, as if debating whether to keep arguing or let me go. Then his gaze flicks to the dark tree line.

"You and your pack need to be careful," he finally says. "The Crimson Claw is a danger to us all. I’ve seen them, fought with them, and we believe they’re getting stronger and smarter. If we don’t stop them here, they won’t just be a threat to us. They’ll be a threat to everyone."

I study him, sensing the change in his posture, the subtle way he’s offering something unspoken.

An uneasy truce, maybe. Or just reluctant curiosity—either way, it’s something.

I nod slowly. "We can handle ourselves. But if we find anything worth sharing, I’ll consider throwing you a bone."

Lucas shakes his head, that quiet amusement still lingering beneath the surface. "Keep pushing, Sophia. See where it gets you."

"What, you afraid I’ll actually get somewhere?" I taunt.

He doesn’t answer, just studies me for another beat before turning and disappearing into the darkness, leaving nothing but the lingering scent of pine and rain.

I watch him go, my heartbeat annoyingly out of rhythm. Lucas Stone is trouble, and I really, really like trouble.

CHAPTER 2

LUCAS

The wind carries the last traces of Sophia’s scent long after she’s disappeared into the night, something wild and infuriatingly enticing. I shouldn’t still be thinking about her, shouldn’t be standing at the edge of the trees, my hands curled into fists, my pulse not quite steady.

This is a problem.

I’ve been around plenty of defiant she-wolves, plenty of strong-willed females who thought challenging authority made them untouchable. Sophia McKenna isn’t just challenging me—she’s daring me to push back.

And damn if I don’t want to.

---