### Chapter Fourteen – Shadows Between Them ###
(Mayer POV)
The night air reeked of blood and damp fur.
Mayer moved like a phantom along the rooftops, her boots skimming the ledge as she tracked the commotion below. A low snarl echoed through the alley, followed by the crash of a dumpster tipping over. Her pulse spiked. She crouched low, peering through the rain-slick darkness.
There—Bryan.
He was cornered by two full-grown wolves, their yellow eyes gleaming, claws tearing against the pavement. But it wasn't just their attack that froze her breath—it was him.
Bryan's body shook, veins bulging at his neck, his hands flexing as if bones beneath were straining to break free. His teeth sharped, lips curling in a growl that wasn't human.
Her stomach lurched unsteadily.
He's shifting.
"Damn it," Mayer whispered, going down from the ledge.
Bryan lunged forward with wild strength, tackling one wolf against the wall. His punches landed too fast, too hard for a human. His eyes flickered—silver, sharp, not of this world.
For a heartbeat, Mayer didn't recognize him.
Then his knees buckled. The second wolf pounced, claws raking his arm open. Bryan roared in pain, staggering back, his body trembling on the brink of transformation.
Mayer didn't think—she acted.
Her blade cut through the wolf's flank, sending it howling into the shadows. She dropped beside Bryan, gripping his shoulders.
"Stop!" she hissed, her voice sharp, commanding. "Don't let it take you—do you hear me?!"
Bryan's breath came in ragged bursts, eyes wild. But her voice, sharp and near, dragged him back. He collapsed, the glow in his gaze fading into exhaustion. Blood soaked his side.
Cursing under her breath, Mayer hooked his arm over her shoulder. He was heavy, dead weight, but she drew and dragged him through the backstreets until she found an abandoned apartment, its windows boarded, its smell of rot clinging to the walls.
Inside, she lowered him onto a dusty mattress. His face was pale, lips trembling. She tore cloth into strips and bound the bleeding wound, cleaning it as best as she could in the dim light.
When at last his breathing steadied, she sat back in the shadows, her own heart pounding.
He almost turned.
And she had stopped him.
---
Morning brought weak light through the cracks of the boarded window. Dust hung heavy in the stale air. Bryan stirred, groaning, his hand instinctively clutching at his bandaged side.
His eyes opened.
And froze.
Mayer sat against the wall, her sword resting across her knees, watching him.
Bryan jolted upright, panic flashing in his eyes. He startled at the pain, teeth gritting as he tried to stand.
"No—no, stay away from me!" he barked, stumbling back against the wall. His chest rose and fell in shallow bursts, eyes darting wildly around the room.
"Hunters," he muttered, realization slamming into him. His fists clenched, trembling. "You—you caught me…"
"It's not what you think," Mayer said calmly, keeping her voice low, steady. She didn't move closer.
Bryan's eyes narrowed, suspicion burning. "Where are the others? Where's Owen?!"
Her jaw tightened at the name. "It's just me."
He blinked, disoriented, sweat moving down his brow. The fight, the wolves, the almost-shift, his memories blurred, colliding with the sight of her now, sitting there as if guarding him.
"Why?" His voice cracked between disbelief and fury. "Why save me?"
For a moment, Mayer didn't answer. Her gaze lingered on him, this boy who carried both fragility and power in the same breath. The boy whose blood smelled faintly of royalty, though he didn't know it.
"Because if I didn't," she said finally, her tone sharp but softer than she intended, "you'd already be dead."
The words hung heavy between them, tangled with things neither of them dared to say.
Bryan sank back against the wall, pain itched across his face. His eyes never left hers, though confusion and mistrust warred inside him.
He wanted to hate her. To push her away. But she had saved him.
And that truth unsettled them both more than the wound bleeding beneath his bandages.