He wanted to have her so badly it made him shiver, but not when she didn't understand the danger she would step into just by being close to him.
His jaw clenched, every muscle taut as he forced himself to pull back an inch. The urge to claim and taste her thundered through him like a storm, but he gripped the sheets instead, white-knuckled, fighting his own instincts.
Her wide eyes locked on his, searching, pleading and so confused it nearly broke him.
His voice came out rough, almost a growl.
"I can't do this Jessie."
He pushed away, sitting at the edge of the bed with his back to her, shoulders heavy with restraint. She hesitated, then sat up beside him. When her hand brushed his shoulder, soft and trembling, he nearly lost the battle. He turned, leaned close, and pressed a kiss to her forehead, letting his lips linger a heartbeat longer than he should have.
"I'm fighting hard not to take something so precious from you right now."
Her breath caught. "But I want you to be my first."
The words hit him like a blade. His chest ached with the longing in her voice, but his will hardened.
"And I want to, but it's not right. You barely even know me."
"I think I know you well enough. Yes, I admit we met only days ago, but does that matter now? Besides, I'm an adult who is capable of making my own decisions, you know."
"But I can't." His tone steadied, slipping back into the control of the Alpha, the man able to set his desire aside and do what's right. " Get dressed, let me take you back to campus. I'm leaving early tomorrow."
Her face fell. "What? You're leaving already?"
"Yes. I only went to the diner tonight to say goodbye."
For a moment, silence thickened between them. Jessie pulled her knees closer, the hem of his T-shirt brushing her thighs, suddenly aware of how small she must look sitting there in his clothes. Heat rushed to her face, not from desire now, but from the sting of being turned away.
She forced her shoulders back, refusing to shrink. If he could walk away so easily, then so could too. With steady hands, she pushed her hair behind her ears, every movement deliberate and controlled. When she finally spoke, her voice was calm, clipped, leaving no room for argument.
"Alright then. Take me back to the hostel."
***
The car ride was thick with silence, broken only by the low hum of the engine. Jessie kept her gaze on the window, refusing to let him see the sting in her eyes.
When they pulled up outside her dorm, she finally turned. The streetlight caught his face, his eyes gleaming in the dim glow, and something in her stilled. A shiver rippled through her as a memory rose of the dream she had tried so hard to dismiss. The giant white wolf crashing through the woods toward her, vivid and terrifying and for one fleeting second, staring at her professor now, the resemblance pressed too close.
Her breath hitched. No. It couldn't be. She forced the thought away. That was a dream. This was reality.
He tapped the steering wheel, restless. "So this is it?"
Her voice was soft, almost fragile. "Will I ever see you again?"
"Jessie…" He caught her hand, lifting it to his lips. His kiss was gentle, aching, lingering longer than it should. "It would be unfair of me to make you wait. Best you forget tonight ever happened."
Her throat tightened, anger and hurt warring in her chest. "Oh, so you're that guy?"
His brow furrowed. "What guy?"
"The pretend-it-never-happened type."
Frustration flickered in his eyes, dark and sharp. "I'm doing this for you. I'm twice your age. My life… it isn't one you could ever want. If you knew the truth about me, you'd understand."
Her laugh was hollow, bitter. "Excuses. You shouldn't have come tonight if you were just going to drop me like I was nothing after I let you in. Goodbye, Professor."
She shoved the door open, slamming it behind her, but his voice followed, ragged. "Jessie, wait!"
She turned, eyes shining, her voice breaking as she whispered, "Please… don't make this harder for me sir."
"But I need to…"
"Please. Just go back to wherever you're coming from and leave me alone."
Her voice snagged something deep inside him, and for a moment he couldn't move as she walked away. Then, slowly, he sank back into the driver's seat, gripping the wheel until his knuckles whitened. Her warmth still lingered on his hand, searing him like a phantom touch he couldn't shake and her scent clung to him, burning in his chest, stirring a hunger he had no right to feel. For a moment he closed his eyes, fighting the urge to chase after her, to drag her back into his arms and lose himself in her completely.
But he couldn't. To bring her into his world was to put a target on her back. Better she hate him now than bleed because of him later.
He sat in silence, watching her dorm window, the ache of her absence heavy in his chest. At last, he started the engine and drove into the night.
***
The night reeked of smoke and death. The village lay in ruins, homes reduced to smoldering ash, streets painted in blood. Men, women, even children, all torn apart as though wild animals had feasted without restraint.
Hunter knelt by a broken body, jaw clenched so tight his teeth ached. His gloved hand brushed over the dirt where claw marks had carved deep grooves into the earth. His chest heaved, fury burning hotter than the flames still licking the charred remains of rooftops.
"Commander," a voice called from the distance, hoarse and urgent. "You'll want to see this."
Hunter rose, his long coat trailing ash as he strode across the wreckage. His second-in-command, Roger, stood at the edge of a ruined well, pointing at the ground. A streak of blood stretched into the darkness, thick and fresh, glinting under the fractured moonlight.
Hunter crouched, dipping his fingers into it. He lifted them to his nose, inhaling sharply. His stomach twisted. His lips peeled back in a snarl.
"Werewolf," he spat, his voice raw with venom.
Before Roger could respond, a low growl cut through the night. Hunter froze, every nerve alive, as the sound rolled over the smoking ruins like thunder. His men stiffened, weapons raised, scanning the shadows.
Then it appeared.
A hulking silhouette at the edge of the firelight, silver eyes gleaming with unnatural calm. The beast stood tall, chest broad, its fur bristling like steel. It didn't charge, didn't retreat, it only waited. Watching.
Hunter's pulse thundered. It wanted him to see. It wanted him to chase.
"Open fire!" he barked.
Gunfire ripped through the night, deafening and unrelenting. Muzzle flashes lit the ruins like lightning. Bullets tore through the beast's frame but it didn't flinch. Not once. It turned, powerful muscles bunching, and bolted toward the woods.
"After it!" Hunter roared, sprinting forward, his men pounding at his heels.
Branches whipped at his face as they tore into the treeline, unleashing another rain of bullets. The wolf moved like a phantom, faster than anything human, dodging trees with an unnatural grace.
Hunter's lungs burned, yet his fury drove him harder. "I'll have you!" he swore, his voice raw, ragged.
But the wolf only ran deeper, dragging them further into the choking dark, until at last the sound of its retreat faded into silence and the forest grew still.
Hunter lowered his weapon, chest heaving, sweat and ash mingling on his brow. Around him, his men exchanged uneasy glances wondering why their bullets had done nothing.
And then, from deeper in the woods, came laughter.
It was soft and unmistakably human. But it grew louder, sharper, until it rang through the trees like shattered glass.
Hunter whipped toward the sound, then through the shadows stepped a figure. Bare feet. Bare skin. Long hair matted with sweat and blood. A woman!
She moved with the confidence of something far older, far darker. Her lips curved in a slow, devilish smile as she tossed her head back, laughter spilling free like a song of madness.
And in the flicker of moonlight, Hunter saw the blood on her hands. Fresh. Sticky.
His gut twisted. This wasn't the beast they chased. This was worse.
"Impossible," Roger whispered, voice trembling. "She's a shifter"
The woman's eyes snapped open, burning a feral gold. She tilted her head, gaze locking onto Hunter as though she could see every ounce of his hatred.
"You'll never stop us," she purred, her voice carrying an edge that felt like claws against the spine. "Not you. Not your kind. The hunt has just begun."
Hunter raised his weapon, teeth bared, finger tightening on the trigger.
"Then let the war begin," he growled.