Page 1 of Wolf Mate's Forbidden Fire
Chapter One
Aurora
I sat at my desk, surrounded by stacks of wildlife journals and empty coffee mugs, the faint hum of the university's heater buzzing in the background. My office was a mess, but it was my mess, organized chaos, I liked to call it. A topo map of the Pacific Northwest hung on the wall, red pushpins marking wolf territories I'd studied over the years. My mentor, Dr. Elaine Voss, stood across from me, her silver hair pulled into a tight bun, her eyes sharp behind her glasses. She slid a thick folder across the desk, the kind that screamed important assignment.
"Aurora, this is big," Elaine said, her voice steady but with a spark of excitement. "The Esoterra forests. Remote, untouched, and home to a wolf pack that's been raising eyebrows. Locals report strange behavior, howls that don't sound right, wolves bigger than they should be. And then there's the legends."
I leaned forward, my chair creaking. "Legends? Like what?"
She tapped the folder. "People vanishing. Hikers, mostly. The locals call it the Esoterra curse. Some say the forest hides things, things that don't want to be found."
I grinned, flipping open the folder. Maps, grainy photos of wolf tracks, and handwritten notes spilled out. "Sounds like my kind of project. Any hard data on the pack?"
Elaine's lips pressed into a thin line. "Some. They're elusive. Larger than average, with unusual social patterns. Your job is to set up trail cameras, observe, and document. But, Aurora," she paused, her eyes narrowing, "be careful. That forest has a way of getting under your skin."
I nodded, but my heart was already racing. A mysterious wolf pack in a creepy forest? This was the kind of gig I lived for. "I'll be fine, Elaine. I've camped in worse places than Esoterra."
She raised an eyebrow. "Pack light, but pack smart. And don't ignore your gut. If something feels off, it probably is."
By noon, I was in my beat-up Jeep, driving north from Seattle. My gear rattled in the back: trail cameras, a battered field guide to Pacific Northwest wildlife, a first-aid kit, and my lucky quartz pendant, dangling from the rearview mirror. The pendant caught the sunlight, throwing tiny rainbows across the dashboard. My mom gave it to me before she passed, saying it'd keep me safe. I wasn't big on superstition, but I never left it behind.
The road to Esoterra wound through dense forests, the kind where the trees seemed to lean in, blocking out the sky. By late afternoon, I pulled up to a creaky wooden cabin I'd rented for the month. It was small, with a sagging porch and windows that rattled in the wind, but it'd do. I hauled my gear inside, set up my laptop on a wobbly table, and started unpacking. The air smelled like pine and damp earth, and the forest was alive with sound, birds chirping, leaves rustling, wind whispering through the branches. It felt like the woods were watching me.
I grabbed my trail cameras and headed out to set them up before dark. The forest was thick, the ground carpeted with moss and pine needles. I found a game trail near a creek, the perfectspot for wolf activity. As I secured the first camera to a tree, I heard a twig snap behind me. I froze, my hand on the camera strap, and scanned the trees. Nothing. Just the wind, probably. Still, my skin prickled, like eyes were on me.
"Get a grip, Aurora," I muttered, shaking it off. I finished setting up three cameras, each angled to catch different sections of the trail. The sun was dipping low, painting the sky orange, so I headed back to the cabin. Inside, I heated up some instant noodles and checked the camera feeds on my laptop. The first two showed nothing but swaying branches, but the third made my breath catch. A massive black wolf stood in the frame, its fur gleaming under the moonlight. Its eyes were a stormy gray, almost glowing, and it stared right at the camera. Right at me. My pulse kicked up a notch. Those eyes weren't just animal. They were human, somehow. Intense. Knowing.
I leaned closer to the screen, my noodles forgotten. "Who are you?" I whispered, zooming in. The wolf's gaze held me, like it could see through the lens, through the miles, straight into me. I'd studied wolves for years, but I'd never seen one like this. Too big, too aware. My fingers brushed my pendant, and I felt a weird pull, like something was tugging at my chest.
That night, I fell asleep on the lumpy cabin bed, the wolf's image burned into my mind. I dreamed of a man. Tall, broad-shouldered, with jet-black hair and those same gray eyes. He stood in a clearing, moonlight spilling over him, his presence heavy, commanding. He didn't speak at first, just watched me, his gaze pulling me in. Then he stepped closer, his voice a low growl, rough but warm. "You shouldn't be here," he said, his hand brushing my cheek, calloused and warm. My skin tingled where he touched me, and my breath hitched. I wanted to ask who he was, why he felt so familiar, but the words wouldn't come. His eyes softened, and he leaned in, his breath hot against my ear. "Be careful, Aurora."
I woke with a start, my heart pounding, the cabin dark except for the glow of my laptop. My cheek still felt warm, like his touch had been real. "Okay, that was weird," I said to the empty room, rubbing my face. I grabbed my journal from my bag and started sketching the wolf from the camera, its eyes taking shape under my pencil. I wasn't an artist, but I needed to capture it, to make it real. The lines flowed easily, the wolf's form filling the page. I added the man's face next to it, those gray eyes staring back at me. My hand shook as I drew, my mind racing. Was the dream just my brain messing with me, or was there something more?
The next morning, I stepped outside to check the area around the cabin. The air was crisp, the forest quiet except for the distant call of a hawk. I sipped coffee from a chipped mug, scanning the ground for tracks. That's when I saw it, a paw print in the soft dirt near the porch. It was huge, way bigger than any wolf I'd ever studied. I crouched down, setting my mug on the ground, and traced the edges with my finger. The print was fresh, the dirt still damp. My stomach flipped. This wasn't just a big wolf. This was something else.
I grabbed my field guide from the cabin and flipped to the section on wolf tracks. The largest recorded gray wolf print was maybe four inches long. This one was closer to six. I snapped a photo with my phone and marked the spot with a stick so I could find it later. "Okay, big guy," I said, standing up and brushing dirt off my jeans. "What's your deal?"
Back inside, I uploaded the photo to my laptop and compared it to the camera footage. The black wolf's size matched the print perfectly. I leaned back in my chair, chewing my lip. Elaine's warning echoed in my head, that forest has a way of getting under your skin. I wasn't scared, not exactly, but I was hooked. This wasn't just a research project anymore. Something was out there, something the field guides didn't cover, and I was going to figure it out.
I spent the day hiking the game trails, checking the cameras, and taking notes. The forest felt alive, every rustle and shadow making me jump. I kept my pendant tucked under my shirt, its weight grounding me. By dusk, I was back at the cabin, exhausted but buzzing. I pulled up the camera feeds again, hoping for another glimpse of the black wolf. The screen flickered, and there he was, standing in the same spot as last night, those gray eyes locked on the camera. My heart skipped. "You're back," I said, leaning closer. He tilted his head, like he heard me, then turned and vanished into the trees.
I grabbed my journal and wrote: Day 1 in Esoterra. Massive wolf, gray eyes, too smart for its own good. Paw print outside cabin, way too big. Dreamed of a man who knew my name. Something's off here, and I'm going to find out what. I closed the journal, my fingers lingering on the cover. The forest was calling, and I wasn't backing down.
Chapter Two
Omer
I loped through the Esoterra forest in my wolf form, my paws silent on the mossy ground, the night air sharp with pine and earth. The Moonridge Pack’s territory stretched for miles, a hidden realm tucked in the Pacific Northwest’s dense woods, and it was my job as alpha to keep it that way. Reports of a human poking around our borders had me on edge. I’d sent patrols out earlier, but I needed to check the boundaries myself. The wind shifted, carrying a scent that stopped me cold, wildflowers mixed with cedar, sweet and strong. My wolf surged, a howl ripping from my throat before I could stop it. My heart pounded, my instincts screaming one word:mate. A human. It was impossible, forbidden by every law we lived by, but the pull was undeniable. I shook my head, trying to clear it, and kept moving, my gray eyes scanning the dark.
By midnight, I was back at the pack’s meeting cave, a hollowed-out cavern lit by flickering torches. The air was thick with the smell of smoke and fur as my pack gathered, their eyes glinting in the firelight. I shifted to human form, my black hairfalling into my eyes, and stood at the center, my boots scuffing the stone floor. The pack quieted, waiting for me to speak. Lukas, my beta, leaned against the wall, his lean frame relaxed but his green eyes sharp, watching me too closely.
“We’ve got a problem,” I said, my voice carrying over the low murmurs. “A human’s in our territory. Some wildlife researcher, setting up cameras. I found her scent near the creek trail today.”
A low growl rumbled from Mara, our lead tracker, her braids swinging as she crossed her arms. “Cameras? That’s too close, Omer. What’s she looking for?”
“Wolves,” I said, keeping my tone steady. “She’s studying the pack, doesn’t know what we are. But she’s persistent. I saw her gear, professional stuff. We can’t let her get too close.”
Lukas pushed off the wall, his smirk sharp. “You sound worried, alpha. One human got you spooked?”
