CHAPTER 1: THE BITE
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The pine woods behind Northmont University didn’t care that it was a full moon.
Ariel walked through them anyway. Campus warnings were for girls with cars. She had a 7am lecture, rent due Friday, and sneakers that were already wet.
The snow glowed blue under the moon. The air felt too still.
She heard it before she saw it. Not a growl. A pressure. Like the forest was holding its breath.
The wolf stepped onto the trail ahead of her. Black fur. Shoulders as wide as a man’s. Silver eyes that did not look animal. A scar split its muzzle from nose to ear. It did not move. It watched her like it knew her.
Ariel’s backpack slipped from her shoulder. Go away, she whispered.
The wolf took one step.
She turned to run. Pain hit her shoulder like fire and teeth. The world went white.
She woke to smoke and the smell of leather. A wooden ceiling. A fire. Her shoulder was wrapped tight and burning.
A woman leaned over her. Grey hair. Her hands smelled like herbs. You’re safe, honey. I’m Naya. Pack healer.
Where am I. Ariel’s voice was dust.
A cabin. North territory. Montana border. You were bitten. Full moon bite.
The door opened and cold air came in with him.
He was human now. Tall. Black sweater. Black hair damp from snow. The same scar ran down the left side of his face. His eyes were the same silver as the wolf’s.
Alpha Kain, Naya said.
He did not look at Naya. He looked at Ariel. Like she was a mistake.
You bit me, Ariel said.
Yes. His voice was low and rough from not using it. Full moon. Rogue in my territory. I shifted. You were on my land.
Why me.
I don’t know.
Naya glanced between them. Kain, she needs rest.
Leave us.
Kain.
Now.
Naya left. The door shut. The fire cracked.
Am I going to die.
No. You’re going to turn.
Ariel’s breath caught.
Full moon bite from an alpha, Kain said. In three full moons you shift for the first time. If you don’t accept the bond you go feral. We put ferals down.
I have a life. School. My mom in Denver.
You had a life. Three moons, Ariel. Accept the bond. Join the Blackfang Pack. Or run. If you run you won’t survive the first shift alone.
Blackfang.
My pack. We stay off the grid. We don’t take humans.
Then why me.
He looked at the window, at the moon. I don’t know.
He lied.
Her shoulder throbbed under the bandage. She could feel it. A brand under the gauze. Am I locked in.
For your safety, and mine. Stay here. Naya will change your bandage. Don’t leave the cabin. Don’t shift. Don’t look at the moon.
Or what.
Kain’s hand paused on the door. If I touch you again I won’t stop.
He left. The lock clicked.
Day two Naya came with soup and questions. Do you feel the pull.
What pull.
When he’s near. In your chest. Like a string.
No.
Naya did not believe her.
At night Ariel dreamed of snow and silver eyes watching from the dark. Her shoulder burned without pain.
Day three Kain came back with snow on his boots and a tray of food. He set it down and stood far from the bed.
You hate me.
I don’t know you.
You bit me.
I told you why.
Let me go.
He looked at her then and the cold in his face cracked. I can’t. The bond is already there. Faint. If I let you go it will drag you back and it will hurt worse than the bite.
That’s not fair.
Nothing about this is fair. You’re human. You shouldn’t be in this world. But you are. And my wolf chose you.
I don’t have a wolf.
Not yet. But you will. And when you do you’ll look at me the same way he did.
How.
Like you’ve been waiting your whole life.
Don’t, Ariel said.
Don’t what.
Don’t make it sound like fate.
Fate is just another word for trap, Ariel.
He reached toward her bandage and stopped before he touched her. Three moons. Choose.
He walked out.
Ariel stared at the door. The ache started the second he was gone. In her chest. A string pulling her toward him.
Night seven the moon was a thin crescent and she could not breathe in the cabin. She went outside barefoot. The snow bit her skin.
Kain, she shouted. The woods swallowed her voice.
He was between the trees when she turned. He had not shifted. He was just there, like he had been waiting.
You left the cabin.
You left the door open.
Go back inside.
Tell me the truth. Did you mean to bite me.
He did not answer.
Did you.
Yes, he said. Damn you, yes.
Ariel stopped breathing.
I’ve been alpha for twelve years, he said. I don’t lose control. I don’t make mistakes. I smelled you on my land and my wolf went insane.
Why.
Because you smell like home, he said. And I’ve been homeless my whole life.
Her knees gave. He caught her. His arms were cold from the snow and hot underneath.
Kain.
Don’t say my name like that if you don’t mean it.
She looked up at the scar, at his mouth, at his eyes.
Three moons.
Three moons, he said.
He let her go and stepped back like it hurt. Back to the cabin, he said. Before I forget why I’m supposed to hate you.
Ariel walked. Behind her she heard a low sound that was not a word.
She did not look back. If she did she would not make it to the cabin.
CHAPTER 2 : THE BLACK FANGS
The cabin felt smaller without him.
Ariel sat on the edge of the bed and stared at the door. It was unlocked. No one stopped her from leaving. That was worse than a lock.
Naya came at noon with fresh bandages and bread. You didn’t run.
I tried, Ariel said. The string pulled.
Naya nodded like she expected it. The bond always wins the first week.
Is it going to get worse.
Yes.
They changed the dressing in silence. The bite was healing too fast. The edges were black. Naya’s fingers lingered there.
You’re turning, Naya said. Your body knows.
Ariel pulled her shirt back up. When do I meet the pack.
Tonight. Kain said no. I said yes.
Why.
Because if they only see you through his eyes they’ll kill you.
Dusk came fast in Montana. Naya drove an old truck down a dirt road that did not show on any map. Trees closed in. No phones. No signal. No people.
They stopped at a gate made of iron and bone. Two men stepped out of the dark.
Naya rolled the window down. Healer business.
The first man looked at Ariel. His eyes were yellow. His nose flared. Human. You brought her.
Kain doesn’t know, Naya said.
Then Kain will put a bullet in your truck.
He won’t, Naya said. Because she’s here.
The gate opened.
The Blackfang compound was not a house. It was a camp. Wood cabins. A fire pit. Wolves and people moving between both. Some had fur on their arms. Some had eyes that did not blink right. They all stopped when the truck rolled in.
Ariel got out. The cold hit her lungs. Fifty pairs of eyes hit her skin.
She felt it then. The pull in her chest turned into a snarl. Not hers. His. Kain was close.
He stepped out of the largest cabin. No coat. Snow in his hair. He saw her and stopped like he hit a wall.
What is she doing here, he said.
Pack meeting, Naya said. She needs to stand on her own.
She can’t. She’s not pack.
Then make her pack, said a voice from the crowd.
A woman pushed forward. Tall. Red hair. A scar on her collarbone that looked like teeth. Selene.
She walked a circle around Ariel. Sniffed the air. Human, she said. And marked. You stink of him.
Don’t, Kain said.
Or what, Selene said. You’ll bite me too.
The crowd shifted. Some laughed. Some did not.
Kain moved. He was in front of Ariel before she saw him move. His back to her. To him.
She stays, he said.
She’s a liability, Selene said. Rogues will come for her scent. You brought weakness to our door.
Kain turned his head. Just enough for Ariel to see his profile. The scar. The jaw. She’s under my protection.
Protection is not pack, Selene said.
Then give her a trial.
Silence.
Kain looked at the crowd. Not at Ariel. You want her gone. Fine. Three trials. Moon phases. She passes, she stays. She fails, I end her myself.
Ariel’s stomach dropped.
You don’t get to decide, Selene said.
I’m alpha, Kain said. I do.
Naya stepped forward. First trial. The Run. Tomorrow night. Crescent moon. She runs the border with two wolves. If she makes it back, she lives.
And if she doesn’t, Selene said.
Then she doesn’t, Kain said.
He did not look at Ariel. He walked back into his cabin. The door shut hard.
The crowd broke. Whispers. Stares.
Selene stopped in front of Ariel. Close. She smelled like pine and blood. Three moons, she said softly. That’s what he told you. Cute. He’s had three moons before. He always chooses the pack.
She walked away.
Naya put a hand on Ariel’s arm. You’ll run.
I can’t outrun wolves.
You won’t, Naya said. You’ll outrun yourself.
Back at the cabin that night Ariel could not sleep. Her shoulder burned. Her bones felt wrong. Like something was trying to get out.
She went to the window. The moon was thin.
Kain was outside. He stood at the tree line with his back to her. He did not move for hours.
At 3am he turned. Looked straight at her window.
Ariel did not hide.
He raised one hand. Not a wave. A warning. Stay inside.
She pressed her palm to the glass. The string in her chest pulled so hard it hurt.
Kain dropped his hand. He turned and walked into the dark.
Ariel slid down the wall. Her teeth ached. Her gums bled.
Tomorrow night she would run with wolves. And if she failed, the man who bit her would be the one to kill her.
