Lucas's pov
She was supposed to be human.
That was the lie I had always believed. The fragile little wife my brother paraded, the woman everyone pitied and despised in the same breath. A weakling with no wolf, no power, no claim to our world. That was what I expected when I came down here nothing but a broken human begging for mercy.
But the air in the dungeon changed.
Her eyes flickered, not dull with defeat as I intended, but molten, blazing, unnatural. I heard the crack of bone before I even believed it. Her body contorted, spine bending as if wrenched by invisible hands, the sound of sinew tearing and reforming filling the silence. Fur spilled across her flesh, teeth elongated, claws split through skin.
And then it happened.
Where Eliza had lain moments before, gasping and trembling, stood a wolf.
A wolf.
My breath caught, my claws already twitching though I hadn't shifted. Her coat shimmered dark, sleek, like midnight swallowing the dungeon shadows. Her eyes burned silver, pinning me where I stood. The air thrummed with something primal, something untamed.
She shouldn't exist.
My wolf stirred in my chest, restless. Fear curled in my gut before I shoved it down. I was Alpha. Fear was for others. But still this was not possible. Eliza had no wolf. Everyone knew it. Everyone.
She growled low, the sound vibrating through the stone floor. My wolf growled back instinctively, unbidden.
And then she lunged.
Her weight slammed into me, knocking me off my balance. I hit the wall, stone biting into my back. She was faster than she had any right to be, her claws sinking into my arm, hot blood slicking my skin. I snarled, shoving her off with brute strength, but she landed neatly, her hackles high, tail rigid, eyes alight with fury.
She was magnificent.
And that thought alone made me want to tear her throat out.
My wolf clawed at the inside of my chest. Shift, it demanded, teeth bared in my mind. Face her. Or bow to her.
The last words burned like acid. I would not bow. Not to her. Not to anyone.
The change ripped through me, bones snapping, muscles tearing, fur bursting across my skin until I stood on four legs, black as night, towering, snarling, my jaws dripping with the hunger for battle. The sting of her earlier strikes fueled me, rage sharpening into something blinding.
We circled. Predator and predator.
Her movements were raw, untrained, but there was instinct in every flick of her ears, every shift of her paws. Her scent tangled with mine, thick with power and the sharp bite of blood. My wolf growled, breath hot, muscles coiled, waiting for her mistake.
She struck first again.
Her teeth snapped toward my neck. I twisted, jaws clamping on her shoulder, tasting fur and flesh and blood. She yelped, but instead of retreating, she shoved against me, claws tearing into my side. Pain seared white-hot, and my wolf roared, forcing her back.
We crashed against the wall, stone cracking beneath the weight of us. Dust fell from the ceiling as we tore at each other, claws scraping, fangs snapping. She was relentless, every strike brimming with defiance. My wolf howled in exhilaration finally, a fight worth its claws.
But something was wrong.
Every time I bit, every time I struck, hesitation knifed through me. My wolf faltered—not from weakness, but from recognition.
She is not prey, the beast whispered inside me. She is
"Silence," I snarled back, though the words came out as a growl, a snarl of fury as I slammed her to the ground. My teeth closed around her throat, a killing hold, the position of an Alpha's victory. She should have stilled, should have submitted.
But she didn't.
Her eyes met mine, not with fear but with fire, golden flames daring me to end her. And in that look, my wolf shuddered. Not with triumph. With desire.
It was like plunging into ice.
I released her with a roar, leaping back as though burned. She scrambled up, fur bristling, blood dripping from her shoulder, her chest heaving. Her foul scent filled the dungeon,and something else. Something that called to me in a way that made my wolf restless.
"No," I snarled, pacing, my claws scraping furrows into the stone. "You are nothing. Nothing!"
She answered with a growl so deep it vibrated through my bones.
And then she attacked again.
This time we were both ready. Fang met fang, claw met claw, blood spattered across the dungeon walls. Every strike was brutal, every counter merciless. But for all my strength, for all my training and dominance, I couldn't break her. She rose from every blow, snarled through every wound, her body driven by something greater than survival.
She fought like she belonged.
My wolf howled, exhilarated. Yes. This is her. Ours.
"No!" I slammed her into the wall, claws digging into her side. She bit into my leg, drawing a roar from me as my knees buckled. My jaws closed around her fur, ripping free tufts, but still she pressed on, her gaze locked to mine, unyielding.
The dungeon shook with us. Stone cracked, blood dripped, the air thick with the stench of violence. Yet through it all, I could not bring myself to kill her.
And that was the worst defeat of all.
Finally, breathless, battered, both of us pulled apart, circling, panting, eyes locked. Blood stained her muzzle, my own fur ragged with wounds, but neither of us gave ground.
And worse my wolf wanted her more than ever before .
I could feel my wolf weakening due to arousal, my vision blurring, gums itching, oh no this couldn't be happening
I lunged at her suddenly, the movement so sudden it caught her off guard, my snout tilted towards the fur on her neck, I sunk my teeth biting down hard on it.