Page 4 of Wolf Mate's Forbidden Fire
He didn’t back down, his eyes locked on mine. “I’m saying you’re distracted. An alpha doesn’t sneak off to watch a human. You’re putting us all at risk. Maybe it’s time we stick to the old ways, no exceptions.”
A few shifters nodded, their faces hard, and my chest tightened. “You think I’m not protecting the pack?” I said, stepping closer, my voice a growl. “I’ve kept us safe for years. That human’s a problem, and I’m handling it. You want to challenge me, do it properly.”
Lukas held my gaze for a moment, then raised his hands, his smirk fading. “No challenge. Just saying what everyone’s thinking. We trust you, Omer, but don’t let her make you forget who you are.”
The pack went silent, waiting for my response. I straightened, forcing my voice to stay calm. “I know who I am. I’m your alpha, and I’ll keep this pack safe. Now, let’s finish the ritual. We’ve got bigger things to worry about than rumors.”
The chants started again, but the air felt tense, like a bowstring pulled too tight. I led the ritual, my voice steady, but Lukas’s words stung. He wasn’t wrong, I was distracted, and the pack could smell it. When the ritual ended, the shifters scattered into the night, and I caught Lukas’s eye as he left. He gave me a nod, but it wasn’t friendly. I’d have to watch him.
I couldn’t stay still, not with her scent pulling at me. I slipped away from the grounds, moving through the forest until I reached Aurora’s cabin. The windows glowed with lamplight, and I crouched in the shadows, my heart pounding. She was at her table, a microscope in front of her, her eyes focused as she examined something, wolf fur, I realized, my stomach twisting. She muttered to herself, her voice clear through the open window.
“This doesn’t add up,” she said, adjusting the microscope. “The DNA’s off, like it’s not fully canine. What are you, big guy?” She leaned back, rubbing her eyes, then jotted something in her notebook. “If I can get a fresh sample, maybe I can crack this.”
I cursed under my breath. She was too close, way too close to figuring out what we were. Her determination was maddening, but it also drew me in, the way her eyes lit up, the way she bit her lip when she was thinking. My wolf growled, urging me to go to her, to feel her against me again, but I shoved it down. I couldn’t let this happen, not after Mara’s warning.
I pulled the carved wolf totem from my pocket, the wood smooth in my hand. I’d made it to scare her off, a silent message to leave Esoterra before she dug too deep. I crept to her porch, setting the totem by the door, my fingers lingering on it. Part of me wanted her to find it and run, but another part, the part Ididn’t want to admit to, wanted her to keep it, to hold something I’d made. I stepped back, my chest aching, and turned to leave.
A howl cut through the night, Lukas’s signal, too close to the cabin. I froze, my blood running cold. He stepped out from the trees, still in human form, his green eyes glinting in the moonlight. “Fancy seeing you here, alpha,” he said, his voice low, mocking. “Dropping off gifts for your human?”
I straightened, my fists clenching. “What are you doing here, Lukas? I told you to patrol the north ridge.”
He shrugged, stepping closer. “Thought I’d check on our problem. Looks like you’re handling it real well, leaving trinkets on her doorstep. You’re slipping, Omer. The pack’s starting to talk.”
“Then shut them up,” I said, my voice hard. “You’re my beta, not my keeper. Lead the patrol, and keep your nose out of my business.”
He smirked, but there was no warmth in it. “Just looking out for the pack. Someone’s gotta keep things in line.” He turned, shifting into his wolf form, and loped off, his howl fading into the night.
I stood there, my heart pounding, the totem still sitting on her porch. I wanted to go back, to knock on her door, to tell her everything, but Mara’s words echoed in my head, the Forbidden Fire, the pack’s laws, my duty. I turned and slipped into the forest, my wolf howling inside me, torn between the woman I couldn’t have and the pack I’d sworn to protect.
Chapter Five
Aurora
I sat at the wobbly table in my cabin, the microscope’s light casting a soft glow over the wolf fur I’d collected from a thorn bush near the creek. My laptop hummed beside me, displaying DNA sequences that made no sense. The results were clear, but they turned my entire scientific worldview upside down. The fur wasn’t fully animal, not even close, but it wasn’t human either. It was something else, a hybrid that shouldn’t exist. I leaned back in my chair, rubbing my eyes, my coffee long gone cold. “This is impossible,” I muttered, staring at the screen. I’d run the test three times, double-checking every step, but the data didn’t lie. Whatever this wolf was, it wasn’t in any textbook I’d ever read. My fingers brushed the quartz pendant at my neck, its weight grounding me as I tried to wrap my head around it.
I needed to see that black wolf again, the one with the gray eyes that haunted my dreams. I grabbed my camera, slung it over my shoulder, and headed out, locking the cabin door behind me. The forest was alive at midday, sunlight filtering through the pines, but there was a strange hum in the air, likethe woods were holding their breath. I followed the oversized paw prints I’d been tracking, my boots sinking into the soft earth. The trail wound deeper into Esoterra, the trees growing denser, their branches brushing my shoulders. Leaves rustled overhead, but there was no wind, and my skin prickled, like eyes were watching me from the shadows. I gripped my camera tighter, my heart picking up speed, but I kept moving, drawn to the mystery I couldn’t let go.
The trail opened into a small clearing, the ground carpeted with moss, a fallen log at its center. I crouched to check a fresh print, my fingers tracing its edges, when a shadow moved behind me. I stood, spinning around, my camera raised like a shield. Omer stepped out from the trees, his presence filling the space, his gray eyes locked on mine. He wore a fitted black shirt this time, but his hair was still messy, his scars faintly visible at the collar. My breath caught, the memory of our kiss flooding back, heat pooling low in my stomach.
“You’re back,” I said, my voice steadier than I felt. “What’s with the sneaking around? You here to scare me off again?”
He didn’t smile, just stepped closer, his boots silent on the moss. “I’m not sneaking,” he said, his voice low and rough, like it carried the weight of the forest. “But you need to stop this, Aurora. You’re digging into things you can’t handle.”
I laughed, short and sharp, lowering my camera. “You keep saying that, but you never explain. I’m not leaving, Omer. I found something in that fur, something that doesn’t add up. Care to tell me why it’s not normal wolf DNA?”
His eyes widened for a split second, then narrowed, his jaw tightening. “You’re too smart for your own good,” he said, stepping closer, close enough that I could feel the heat off him. “You want the truth? Fine. I’m the wolf you’re chasing. The black one with the gray eyes. That’s me.”
I stared at him, my mind spinning, trying to process his words. “What?” I said, my voice cracking. “You’re saying you’re… what, a werewolf?”
“Shifter,” he corrected, his voice firm. “We’re not monsters from some movie. The Moonridge Pack, we live here in Esoterra, hidden from your world. We shift between human and wolf, and we’ve got laws to keep it that way. You’re breaking every one of them just by being here.”
I took a step back, my camera bumping against my chest. “That’s insane,” I said, but the pieces clicked, the oversized prints, the human-like eyes, the DNA. “You’re serious, aren’t you? You’re actually telling me you turn into a wolf.”
He nodded, his eyes never leaving mine. “I am. And you need to leave before you bring trouble we can’t fix. The pack doesn’t take kindly to humans knowing our secret.”
I shook my head, my hands balling into fists. “I’m not running away just because you say so. I’ve spent my life studying wolves, and now you’re telling me there’s a whole world I didn’t know about? I’m not leaving, Omer. I want to understand.”
He growled, low and frustrated, running a hand through his hair. “You don’t get it, do you? This isn’t just about you being curious. There’s a reason we stay hidden. There’s a force, the Forbidden Fire, and if you and I…” He stopped, his eyes flicking to my lips, then back to my eyes. “If a human and shifter get too close, it could destroy everything.”
