CHAPTER 116:The Wolf in My Dreams
ADAM
Maybe my father was right.
Humans are more trouble than they’re worth, and that girl is the last one I ever want to see again.
I stayed perched on a thick branch, legs dangling as I stared up at the silver moon. The wind was cooler up here, brushing against my skin like the gentle whispers of my realm my true home. I missed it, yes. The air there carried a peace that didn’t exist in this chaotic world.
But even so… there was something about the human world that pulled at me. Something wild. Something alive.
And then there was her. That girl who kept stumbling into my life like some cosmic joke.
She was nothing but a distraction. A walking magnet for bad luck.
I sighed, my voice echoing softly through the trees. “Come on, Adam. Stop thinking about her.”
The forest answered with silence until a sharp scream tore through the still night.
I sat up straight. Another scream followed. Louder. Desperate.
My jaw clenched. “Seriously?” I muttered.
I wasn’t going to help. Humans always found a way to cause problems. They could deal with their mess without me.
Another scream. My ears twitched.
“Ugh, fine,” I groaned, dropping from the tree and taking off, my legs stretching into long strides as I blurred through the undergrowth with wolf speed.
I stopped short when I saw her.
Alone. Again. In the middle of the woods. And no one was chasing her.
She was just standing there, eyes wide, hands on her chest like she’d just fought off a demon.
She spotted me instantly. “I knew you’d come,” she said, breathless but not from fear. No. She was expecting me.
My eyes narrowed. “Did you seriously fake a scream just to get my attention?”
Before I could stop her, she ran up to me and grabbed my arm. “It seems like you live around here, right? Can I know where your house is?”
Was she out of her mind?
I yanked my arm from her grip. “Don’t ever do that again.”
She blinked. “Do what?”
“Yell. For no reason. Just to drag me here.”
“But it worked,” she said with a cheeky smile.
I turned my back to her. “Unbelievable.”
“My name is Emmanuelle,” she called after me. “What’s yours?”
“I didn’t ask for your name.”
She huffed. “That’s not how you respond to someone who’s being polite.”
I turned to face her. “Shouldn’t you be home helping your mom? It’s late. You shouldn’t be wandering alone in the woods.”
She looked down. Her voice dropped. “I don’t know my mom.”
The irritation in my chest dulled. I didn’t expect that. There was something raw in her voice something I recognized.
“I… I’m sorry,” I said, softer this time.
She lifted her gaze. “It’s okay. You’re right, though. I shouldn’t be out here. But I’m curious about you.”
I froze.
“I saw what you did at the restaurant,” she continued. “That bullet should’ve hit you, but you moved so fast. It didn’t even graze you. No human could’ve done that.”
Damn.
She knew.
I tried to play it off. “You’re imagining things.”
“No, I’m not,” she said, stepping closer. “No normal person could dodge a bullet like that. You should be in a coma or dead but you’re not. So… what are you?”
Zane, my wolf, stirred inside me. Don’t do it, he warned. She’s just a human. Leave her be.
She’s already figured it out, I replied inwardly. Might as well end this now. Maybe it’ll scare her off.
I looked Emmanuelle in the eye. “You really want to know?”
She swallowed hard but nodded.
“Fine. You asked for it.”
I let the shift begin.
My eyes glowed. My face elongated. Claws extended. The transformation was only partial just enough to show her what I was.
Her eyes widened. I expected her to scream. To run. To cry.
But she stepped closer.
And touched my face.
“You’re not scary,” she whispered. “I’ve seen scarier.”
I stared at her in disbelief as she stroked the fur along my jaw and gently scratched behind my ear like I was a damn puppy.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“I need your help,” she said calmly.
I pulled back, shifting quickly into human form. “No. Not interested.”
“Please. Just hear me out.”
“I don’t do favors.”
“Okay… then I’ll pay you.”
I raised a brow. “Pay me?”
She exhaled. “Can you be my bodyguard?”
I blinked. “What?”
“A bodyguard. You’d be perfect for it.”
Was she serious? I was a prince. The next alpha of my pack. And she wanted me to be her bodyguard?
I stared at her like she’d grown a second head.
This girl was out of her mind.