The wind howled through the empty woods, carrying with it the bitter scent of the coming rain. Aria tightened her cloak around her shoulders, her boots crunching softly against the frost-bitten ground. It was yet another cold night for her. She had nowhere to go after losing the only shelter she had due to the heavy rain that had been going on for some time now.
She had spent her whole life on the edges - edge of towns, even under rhe bridges. It was just her alone against the world. It had always been that for as long as she could remember. No family. No pack. No home. Just a series of forgotten places she got to call home for a short duration of time.
The lone wolves were always scorned by society, always mistaken for criminals and all evil things. "Don't trust the lone wolves, they would say".
Aria had learned to live with the loneliness. Sometimes, she even thought she preferred it. When you live in loneliness too much it swallows you and makes you feel it is the most comfortable to be in it. At least loneliness did not lie. It did not make promises it could not keep either.
As she walked, the surrounding woods thickened, ancient trees groaning under the weight of their own age. Darkness had already gathered this far north. Still, Aria wasn't afraid. She knew these woods better than anyone. She knew every hidden trail, every hollowed-out log, every secret spring where the deer gathered at dawn.
Because she knew all she could about the woods, she also knew - the woods weren't empty tonight.
Something was wrong.
The air smelled different-sharp, metallic. Her wolf senses sharpened, the fine hairs on the back of her neck rising in alarm.
Her ears twitched when a low growl echoed through the trees.
Aria froze, her instinct warning with caution. Every survival instinct screamed for her to leave whatever that was to its devices and run. But something else deep in her bones urged her forward.
She moved quietly, slipping between the trees like a shadow. The more she pushed forward, the more she could smell the strong scent of blood. Fresh blood.
And then she saw him.
A man-no, not just a man. A wolf. He looked powerful. His presence alone was imposing to an extent. She felt it was difficult to even breathe. His body was torn, claw marks slashing across his side, crimson staining the ground beneath him. He looked to be struggling to stay conscious, dragging himself forward, leaving a blood trail behind him.
He radiated power and commanded respect even in his wounded state. Only an Alpha could command such a presence she knew. That was why she felt suffocated, like there was a force forcing her to kneel and bow to his might.
Aria was contemplating moving forward when he lifted his head, silver eyes locking onto hers. A snarl ripped from his throat, feral and defensive, but weak.
A flash of surprise passed by Aria's eyes. Those silver eyes, she had only ever had of them from stories of the fallen royal wolf past. Aria hesitated to see whether she should leave and walk away. She kept telling herself that it was not her problem or her fight.
But she couldn't. She was not that heartless.
Cursing herself in small murmurs of how much of a busybody she can be sometimes, Aria moved forward to where he was. Something seemed to be calling her to get closer to the man.
Without thinking, she knelt beside him.
"Sssh, I am not your enemy," he whispered, his voice low and steady.
He growled, trying to rise, but his body betrayed him.
"You are bleeding out," Aria said, glancing around. "If I leave you, you'll die before sunrise."
The alpha's breathing was shallow, ragged.
Aria pressed her hand against the worst wound , ignoring the blood soaking her skin. She had no medical supplies, only few herbs and the knowledge passed down by old healers she'd met on the road and the many shelters she had been to. It wasn't enough. He needed real help.
"You're going to have to trust me," she muttered.
He gave a weak snarl but did not push her away.
It was all the permission she needed.
Working fast, Aria tore strips from her cloak to bind his wounds. Every second, she expected him to bind his wounds. Every second, she expected him to shift, to attack, but he stayed still, silver eyes watching her with a strange intensity. Only Aria knew how much confidence it took her to be near him. She felt like his stare could stare right into the deepest parts of her soul.
"You're lucky I came through this way," she said, forcing lightness into her voice as she worked. "Or maybe you're just incredibly unlucky."
The alpha made a sound, halfway between a growl and a laugh, then winced sharply as she tightened the knot.
"Sorry," she muttered almost a whisper. "You're too heavy for me to carry. You're going to have to help me out a little."
No answer. His eyes fluttered closed.
Panic flickered through her.
She slapped his face lightly. "Hey. Hey! No passing out. Stay awake!"
The alpha's lips curled in a weak, humorless smile.
"I hate...orders," he rasped.
His voice-deep, rough, commanding, even on the brink of death-sent an unexpected shiver down her spine.
"Good," she said fiercely. "Then you'll hate dying even more."
She braced herself under his arm and, with a grunt of effort, began dragging him toward the only place she knew they might be safe: an abandoned hunter's cabin half a mile away.
The storm broke overhead, rain pelting down in icy sheets.
Thunder cracked like gunfire.
But Aria kept moving, one stubborn step after the other.
Aria had no clue who this man was.
She did not know what nightmare she might be dragging into her life.
But something deep within told her the moment she touched him, her fate had been sealed. There was no going back.