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A cold chill runs up my spine. I shoot a glance over my shoulder. No one follows, so I move faster.
Sunlight splashes the hallway ahead of me, and my heart soars. I scramble up the stone steps two at a time and swing right, following the light, and burst through the arched passage. I squint at first, adjusting to the brightness. I’m on an oversized balcony with a carved stone railing, at least three stories off the ground. Down below, the fortress grounds stretch out before me—the courtyard we walked through when I first arrived, the driveway and the metal gates. The metal fence encasing this territory shows just how enormous this settlement is.
Something creeps into my chest, a feeling I haven’t felt since the last settlement I lived in with Mama. Where everything was safe and cozy. Until it wasn’t.
But here, the settlement is enormous. How does Dušan control all these wolves? Where does he get the resources to feed and protect them? By the amount of homes below, there have to be close to two hundred wolves living here…maybe more. The sting in my heart pierces deeper for the simple reason that under any other circumstance, this could be a perfect home for me. Minus the small problem of me being a half-breed, putting me at the bottom of his wolf hierarchy and making me a monster in their eyes.
I need to get out of here. I swing around to find the balcony I’m standing on curls outward on either side of the castle.
Voices come from inside the building, and my heart pounds in my ears. I don’t wait, running to the left, where the balcony vanishes out of sight.
Someone will see me!
Running, I breathe heavily as I push myself. Each time I pass a window, I duck to avoid being seen. I don’t stop, hurrying on and praying I find some way down that doesn’t involve going back indoors.
The castle is massive and I’m running out of breath by the time I reach the other end. I pause for a moment, sucking in breaths when I spot a set of metal steps a bit farther away. A desperate gasp escapes my lips.
“Someone’s watching you,” a male stranger hisses in my ear.
I jump in my skin from sheer fright. I jerk around, my arms raised to my chest. “Fuck!”
“Boo!”
My whole body goes rigid at the shifter in front of me. Pale blond hair flutters over his strong, broad shoulders. He has pale skin, and his eyes are a vivid green, like he’s one with the forest. The rest of him reminds of a Viking god. Built like a bear, he towers over me, dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved black tee. My knees weaken, and his presence alone leaves me utterly speechless. His closeness turns my reaction to a wash of heat.
I recoil, panic gripping me.
Seizing my arm, he hauls me toward him, my feet almost floating under me from his quickness. His eyes darken with the intensity of an Alpha, and the sensation of this power swarms me.
Face to face, his breath grazes over my brow, and my inhale hitches at his crisp wolf smell mixed with the fresh mountain air. My pounding heart leaves me breathless.
Clasping on to my bravery, I shove myself to my toes, lean closer, and kiss him right on the lips.
He flinches, not expecting that. I land a quick kick to his shin, and then rip out of his grip.
He grunts, but I’m already flying down the metal stairs, my hands sliding over railing, my feet scrambling down so fast, I keep losing my footing.
“Get your ass back up here!” he orders.
My heart is racing. I hop down on the landing.
A heavythudsounds behind me, the ground trembling.
I spin around, and he’s right there, reaching out to grab me.
“Leave me alone!” I flick my arm up to block his, then pivot right out of his grasp.
Large arms swoop around my middle, and suddenly, my legs are flailing about midair as he has me tucked under his arm.
Irritation flushes my skin.
“Where are you running to?
My mind races. Maybe he doesn’t realize who I am, so I can trick him into letting me go.
“Put me down. I’m on my way home and you startled me.”
“What quadrant do you live in?” he growls, a hint of northern European accent coming through.
